Project Report
| Jan 9, 2017
ARP Program Celebrates Its 10th Year
By Amy Maglio | Executive Director
![ARP participants perform a song and dance routine]()
ARP participants perform a song and dance routine
WGEP congratulates our newest "Alternative Rite of Passage" program graduates, 198 young women who stood up with their families and publicly said "No!" to the harmful practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).
WGEP's "Alternative Rite of Passage" program (ARP) is a week-long event that is held each December with our Kenyan partner organization, Tharaka Women’s Welfare Project (TWWP). The ARP program combats the practice of FGM/C by addressing its cultural and social underpinnings on multiple levels. Since its initial implementation by WGEP in 2007, ARP has helped 1,759 rural Kenyan girls and their families abandon the harmful and deeply rooted tradition of genital cutting.
Moreover, due to its great popularity and increasing demand, WGEP also included 72 boys in an ARP-like retreat program last month. Participants discussed healthy practices and publicly supported their sisters, cousins and female friends in standing up against FGM/C. Since its initiation in 2013, 229 young men have participated in this program.
Thank you for supporting important WGEP programs like ARP!
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Oct 27, 2016
After School Molding Clubs Teach Valuable Skills
By Amy Maglio | Executive Director
![Molding Club members from Gatunga Primary School]()
Molding Club members from Gatunga Primary School
Our after-school Molding Clubs for 5th-8th grade students are one of the many complementary interventions WGEP provides to keep students in school. These clubs provide an opportunity for boys and girls to learn about and discuss topics such as children’s right to education, development, parental care and protection against harmful practices and abuse.
Over 400 girls and boys from 9 different schools in the Tharaka region of Kenya participate in these clubs each year. In addition to learning important lessons, club members also take part in income-generating activities. Such activities include rearing chickens, growing mung beans, and delivering water.
Different Molding Clubs use the funds generated from their projects in different ways. For example, one club went on a field trip to an animal conservancy. Another club bought and planted trees in their school courtyard so that groups would have somewhere cool to meet. Other clubs have used funds to purchase more chickens and scale up their projects or to fund a year-end celebration.
Our Molding Clubs provide students with a safe and supportive environment in which to learn, exchange ideas and develop themselves.
Thank you for supporting WGEP programs like our after school Molding Clubs!
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Aug 3, 2016
40% of WGEP grads qualify for college scholarships
By Amy Maglio | Executive Director
![Nancy and her mother outside their home]()
Nancy and her mother outside their home
We are proud to report that 40% of our Kenya high school graduates qualified for university scholarships! To achieve this honor, students must receive a B grade or better on the KCSE exam (Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education). This is a notoriously difficult exam, which less than a third of test takers pass with a C+ or higher. It is even more rare for a test taker to perform well enough to qualify for a university scholarship. Less than 13% of test takers qualified for university scholarships in 2015, compared with 40% of WGEP scholars.
Nancy received the second-highest grade in her graduating class. A WGEP scholar for 4 years, she comes from a family that highly values education but lacks the means to support her in school. "My parents taught me the value of hard work and education. Now I help my younger siblings with their studies and encourage them to work hard." Nancy loves reading and math and hopes to continue her education to become an accoutant.
Thank you for supporting WGEP scholars like Nancy!
Data source: Republic of Kenya Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, “Education for All 2015 National Review: Kenya,” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2015.
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