Educate girls and fight poverty in Kenya

WGEP congratulates our newest Alternative Rite of Passage program (ARP) graduates, 181 young women who stood up with their families and publicly said "No!" to the harmful practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).

ARP is a week-long event that is held each December with our Kenyan partner organization, Tharaka Women’s Welfare Project (TWWP). This 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, the ARP program has helped 1,940 rural Kenyan girls and their families abandon the harmful and deeply rooted tradition of genital cutting.

WGEP also included 78 boys in an ARP-like retreat program last month. Participants discussed safe male circumcision and publicly supported their sisters, cousins and female friends in standing up against FGM/C. Since its initiation in 2013, 307 young men have participated in this program.

WGEP has worked in rural Kenya for over a decade to provide access to quality education and supplemental programs to empower women and girls to build better lives and foster equitable and sustainable communities. Recognizing that educating girls in marginalized and impoverished communities is a multi-faceted challenge, WGEP employs a holistic approach by involving entire communities and finding solutions for the varied contextual barriers that may keep girls from accessing an education.

Thank you for supporting WGEP programs like the Alternative Rite of Passage!

Links:

• WGEP website
• WGEP Facebook page