Gender Equality Kenya Project #7641

Educate & Empower 1200 Girls in the Nairobi Slums

by SAFE SPACES ORGANIZATION AFRICA

Educate & Empower 1200 Girls in the Nairobi Slums

Project Report | Apr 14, 2021
First quarter of 2021 | motivated and positive

By Peninah Nthenya | Founder and manager of Safe Spaces

In the digital library of Safe Spaces

Second year of covid 19 but we are strong and positive

We started the second year of covid 19 strong and positive and after the first quarter we are still in good spirits. Of course there sadly are casualties due to covid 19 in the mathare slums. This translates into grief and sadness in the families, the community and at Safe Spaces. At the same time it motivates us all even more to be more careful and respect all the necessary measures to prevent the virus from spreading and affecting more families around us. We are supported by a nearby hospital with covid quick tests when we want to gather with a group of girls for homework, counselling or other activities. This is very helpful for us and enables us to have motivating and inspiring gatherings with (small group of) girls. Rest assured that we also respect the distance and mouth protecting during these meetings.

Most girls have been able to keep up with their school work and lessons during the lockdown period, but for others it has been more challenging. They experience more difficulties to pass exams and possibly will have to double a class. We are keeping a good eye on all girls and are looking to ways to support them in the best possible way.

For the coming months we will continue with our community outreach where we provide the girls with mouth protection that we wash every weekend. The digital library is open where the girls can make their homework and get guidance and coaching while making their homework. The book club on Saturday morning is a big succes where girls read books on the computer and present their 'review' to each other to inspire other girls to have a reading experience as well. Same for another Saturday morning group that dives into a subject that they are interested in and collect information about it. Then they prepare a presentation and present to the group what they have learned. This way they get more experience in learning, investigating, using books and the internet and discovering whicht topics they find interesting.

This month is Easter Holiday, which means that we have many holiday workshops running at the moment. We try to have the girls spend as much time outside the slum and at Safe Spaces as possible. They can join into photograpy, computer illiteracy, presenting, dancing, poetry workshops, personal development. All to develop their skills, have them discover and unveil their personality, talent and interests.

We will continue in the next quarter our work and efforts and will keep you updated regularly,

All the best and thank you so much for your support.

It means more to us than you could ever imagine,

Peninah Nthenya

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Dec 4, 2020
End of the year reflection from Nairobi

By Peninah Nthenya | Founder and manager of Safe Spaces

Girls at Safe Spaces

Dear supporter of Safe Spaces,

This period of the year makes you reflect on what has happened, what you have achieved, what you have encountered and experienced.

The predominant feeling I have is a huge grateful feeling for people like yourself you are supporting us. The financial support you provide Safe Spaces also translates in a moral support. It keeps us going, it gives us the feeling that we are not alone and that we are truly supported by others.

In this past year, we have provided all the girls with hygiëne kits: making sure they can keep their teeth healthy, sanitary towels, soap and underwear. But this year we also provided them with desinfection soap and other protective materials because of covid 19. We make our community constantly aware of how to protect oneself against an infection with covid 19.

In the past year where we also lived a lockdown for the better part of the year, we managed to create an online library and a physical space for our girls to do their schoolwork and follow online classes. In the morning we welcome the girls who attend primary school and in the afternoon the girls of secondary school come in. We allow 20 girls at the same time, the space caters for many more but we take our covid protections seriously. This library is a quiet place where the girls can study, concentrate on their schoolwork and make sure they are able to complete their year. We help them with their classes and their homework.

In these times where schools are closed, the girls are at home in the slums which is not a safe space. Teenage pregnancies, domestic violence and other challenges occur on a daily basis. We are coaching the girls more than ever to prevent teenage pregnancies, guide them in these times, talk to their parents, and so forth. This way we try to empower the girls and guide them through these sometimes tense times. We offer them a safe space at our organisation during the day and on weekends.

For the parents of the girls it is even more difficult now than it already was before to provide for the family. Day jobs are rare now, restaurants are closed and these provided the more deprived families with leftover food. We provide food for the most deprived families as much as we can.

The whole team of Safe Spaces, including myself, would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your (ongoing) support this year. It truly makes all the difference. It gives us financial stability and it makes sure we can better forecast our budget. And as I mentioned before, it gives us a huge moral support.

If you decide to support us again in 2021, I thank you very much in advance. It is more than appreciated and it will allow us to empower girls in the Mathare slums and guide them on their path to an financially independent future outside the slums.

Wishing you a nice holiday season,

stay safe, stay healthy,

Peninan Nthenya Musyimi

On behalf of the entire Safe Spaces team

The digital library at Safe Spaces

Staff member helping out one of the girls

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Oct 6, 2020
Corona in the Mathare slums of Nairobi

By Peninah Nthenya | Founder of Safe Spaces

SAFE SPACES STRATEGIC RESPONSE AGAINST CORONA VIRUS

Background to the problem

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a respiratory infectious disease that causes illness ranging from common cold, middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) to server acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV). 30 million cases and over 500,00 deaths have been reported globally. The government of Kenya has committed itself to fighting the virus through mass testing, isolation, treatments, closing schools, placing curfews and closing borders. The measures have negative socio-economic impacts specifically, to the urban marginalized girls and women living in the informal settlements. Many young women have lost their informal jobs and business, households are currently facing acute shortage of food, there have been reported cases of domestic violence and stigma. Girls that are not going to school are being exposed to child labor, negative peer influence, drug abuse, early sex and unwanted pregnancies.

Intervention

Safe Spaces a Community Based organization that empowers and advocates for girls and women rights in the slums of mathare has come up with strategic responses to mitigate the adverse effects of corona virus. Our goal during this pandemic are to ensure that there is zero hunger, continuity of quality education to girls, decent work for women and good health and well being of households in Mathare slum. Our objectives in this pandemic include Creating awareness and sensitizing over 300 households on the Public health measures against corona virus. Distributing of sanitization products to 1200 people living in Mathare slum, Provision of food to 150 needy households, providing a working Space and jobs to 3 young women, trainings on life skills and provision of resources for girls to study when they are home.

Key milestones in programs/projects

SDG 1 Zero hunger

I. 150 needy households living in Mathare slum have been supplied with relief foods

II. Safe Spaces community farm has 72 circular gardens that provide bi-weekly 216 kgs of fresh vegetables supplied to 300 households in Mathare

SDG 3 Good Health and well being

I. Safe Spaces has created awareness and sensitized 300 households in Mathare slum on the Public Health measures against corona virus

II. Safe Spaces Organization has distributed 1200 hundred face mask and antiseptic soap to 300 households in Mathare.

III. Safe Spaces has training of Trainers for Peer educators on the Public health measures against Corona Virus

SDG 4 Quality Education

I. Safe Spaces Has launched a Digital Library in the Slums of Mathare where over 1200 girls will be accessing educational materials virtually

II. Safe Spaces selected 11 girls who are currently undergoing a course on Photography. The trainings are being done by Lensational.

SDG 8 Decent Work and economic growth

I. Safe Spaces Has provided 3 women with tailoring skills a contract of 3 months Produce and sell over 1200 Face mask

II. Safe Spaces has provided casual Jobs to 10 disabled women living in the slums of Mathare. Their responsibilities involve packaging of food to household packs.

Next Steps

Safe Spaces is planning to resume its school and holiday programs adhering to strict social distancing and government directives. Additionally, Safe Spaces is planning to launch its computer literacy trainings, and continue its basketball program activities in October.

The digital library at Safe Spaces

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