Educate & Empower 1200 Girls in the Nairobi Slums

"I joined safe spaces when  i had lost hope in life and lost in street life.My Mother died when i was 7 years from injuries inflicted by my father during home fights.At the time of death after one of the fights,he tied us on the bed with a rope and left.I was rescued by my grandmother 4 days later so weak out of hunger and my moms corpse almost starting to decompose in the house.My grandmother took me to our rural home and she passed on 2 years later. I was left alone and fear of dying of hunger i went into the streets and joined other girls who were doing prostitution.Life was so unbearable having to serve 3 clients in a night at the age of 12 years.My body was aching all over the next day.I was saved by one of the clients,as i explained to him about my situation. He took me to Safe Spaces programme.Safe Spaces enrolled me into a primary school and found me  safe home where i live up to today.I will be completing my High school next year through scholarship support in safe spaces and i want to be a Doctor in future to help many children in our community who cannot afford medication when they are sick.I have gone through alot of Reproductive health training and awareness in the programme and i feel that am a leader now and my first task is to go and talk to the other girls i left in the streets besides teaching the young girls in the programme every weekend".

Tracy-17 years

Safe Spaces provides a unique space for holistic growth for  girls living in the slums.We reach 200 girls every week through our lifeskills and reproductive health programmes and sports programmes.we support 60 girls with  part High school fees and 10 girls will be completing Automechanics course by the end of 2015.Every Holiday we hold workshops in photography and filming,computer literacy and basketball camps for  more than 300 girls to help them continue growing positively and with skills and also to keep them busy from idling in the community and being pressured to act otherwisely by their peers.We also help them do their homeworks in the office as there is no enough space in their homes.All this  is made posiible by your generous support and we thankyou so much.

This is what one of the girls Leaders said in a community forum

"In terms of world leaders,i would like them to know that young people are not just simply leaders of tomorrow,we are already leaders and members of our todays society,our views matter,we need avenues to express them and a guarrantee  that we have freedom of expression.when we are treated as full partners in development issues,real change will result"

"I want to be a  rescue pilot in future so that i can rescue people from my community during fire outbreaks.I lost my mum in one of the fire outbreaks.Living without my mum has been hell,am so mistreated by my relatives.The fire fighters take so long to come and put the fire off,lots of property get and people get  burnt mostly children who are left alone by their parents when the go to fend for food as the houses are not properly built with strong materials.we live in a maze of rusted ironsheets with mud walls and open gutters of sewage pass near our  door.Piles of rubbish are everywhere.I wish to live in a better place.When i joined Safe Spaces 4 years ago through a friend,i was planning to commit suicide. Its always an option in the slums apart from becoming a drug addict or a prostitute.Safe spaces gave me hope to live by helping me with school fees,i also got a space where i learn about myself,play games and meet other girls who face more challenges in life like me.We share and encourage each other and i have stopped feeling lonely  and hope to reach my dream.I am in form 3."

Diana-17years

Many girls come to safe Spaces so depressed and almost losing hope with life.In these condtitions,they hope that something new could take place and change their lives.Sometimes they dont realize that the change they so yearn for is within them.Through our Lifeskills,sports and arts programmes we provide that space where they can build power within themselves to work and tackle their problems.We help them become witnesses and advocates of their own conditions,we build a family with its own rules and they reveal their crude realities through poems,stories and songs.They start re-imagining their lives.This is possible because we dont walk alone,we walk together with you and you push us closer to our dream lives.