Empowered girls and young women are the seeds that propel a every society to greatness. Creating a safe space within a community where the AGYW can call on for support, life skills development and linkage to a referral system for essential services can help actualize their DREAMS. Having ready mentors, skilled counsellors and few materials mobilised, such girls can be capacity built to enhance life skills to surmount the challenges like early sex and teen pregnancies.
Teenage pregnancies and school drop outs among girls in Kenya is alarming. The covid pandemic which kept children out of school have further aggravated the situation. Family health programs and service delivery gave also been downscaled due to low funding resulting from donor fatigue and global financial shocks. Need to build local solutions to support girls avoid being nabbed in this racket of early sex by enhancing critical life skills is therefore paramount.
The project aims to equipp and run a model community based safe zone where girls are mentored, counsellors and supported with life skills and other material support to give them confidence and security to make better choices in life. Those targeted 100 girls will be given a chance to explore their strengths and take charge of their dreams. Linkages to referral points to aid in other essential support will also be realised through this safe space.
The community will boost a pool of dreamers and empowered girls positive about life and their health choices and ready to role model others to change their societies. Education remain a central pillar of this initiative and in long term we seek to achieve a state of no school drop outs and no cases of teenage pregnancies in our community.
