Leadership Training for Girls in Rural Kenya

Among the interconnected barriers that girls and young women still face, one persistent challenge is teenage pregnancy: about one in three adolescent girls become pregnant in our county, nearly double the national average. Through our health education and community engagement initiatives, we are transforming the social norms that drive harmful traditional practices and gender-based violence.

• Reaching thousands through Jijue: Our Health and Leadership Training Program, known locally as Jijue (“know yourself” in Swahili), equips youth with essential knowledge about their health and legal rights over a three-year curriculum. The afterschool program also provides menstrual products and underwear to thousands of girls and boys across 87 partner schools in Narok and Kisii Counties.
  
  
• Measuring what matters: To ensure Jijue remains relevant and responsive to students' needs, we hired a consultant to conduct a baseline survey for the 30 new partner schools that joined in May, which will be used with future mid- and endline surveys to measure concrete changes in students' behaviors and attitudes toward greater equity.

• Breaking the silence on menstruation: KCE students hosted a special Menstrual Hygiene Day podcast featuring Hildah Nyangara, a nurse from Enoosaen Health Center. We marked the day by supplying sanitary products to 701 students and held a community-wide awareness event with peer nonprofits for the Day of the African Child in June.
  
  
• Uplifting girls' voices: In June, we facilitated two child-led community forums which brought together parents, youth, and village elders to discuss the issues girls face. Creating space for young people to advocate for themselves builds self-confidence while strengthening families' understanding of their children's needs.
  
  
• Supporting teen mothers: While our education and outreach programs work toward prevention, many girls still become pregnant, and stigma often leaves them with nowhere to turn for support and advice. Young mothers face difficulty returning to school or accessing economic opportunities, and few support systems exist to help them. Our health clinic launched a new initiative to change that, starting with a monthly support group for teen mothers that began in March and has seen steady attendance since then. We are building out this initiative with mentorship, parenting education, and support accessing related services at the clinic.