Yesterday, I had the honor to be invited to the monthly talk of team members of Nokia Brazil to speak about our projects and activities in Kenya.
I spoke about our collaboration with Agnes Gitonga to educate women and girls in remote villages about the dangers and consequences of FGM (female genital mutilation). We showed pictures of our Nasaru Learning Center for Masai Girls and explained how it came into existence.
The dorm was a request from the Iloshon School Teachers as they had noticed an important dropout rate of girls in higher classes as they became pregnant on their way to and from school. The girls and boys of Iloshon primary school must cope with a walk of up to 10 km one way to get to school. Consequently, adolescent girls face a higher risk of getting pregnant.
Dorm provides social control
The boarding not only gives the girls more time to study but also protects them from being subject to FGM – at least to some extend as the school presents a social control and girls whose lower teeth have been filed as sign of their readiness for FGM are easier identified. FGM is a coming-of-age procedure for Masai girls and even though officially forbidden by law is still being practiced. It is the official end of the girls’ childhood and marks their transition from girls to woman. As women they can get pregnant and can be married off…which is the end of their education. And this triggers a vicious circle of illiteracy and poverty.
Great participation
It was beautiful to see and hear how interested the Nokia team members participated. One team member’s daughter had done research on Masai customs at school, and had discovered that via the PLAN INTERNATIONAL organization there have been some initiatives in the Kajiado County to substitute the FGM procedure with a less harmful celebration providing the girls with books. As the schools we are working with are in the same district we are trying now to get into touch with this group of young men.
Another learning of the talk was to emphasize the importance of spreading the word. We need to talk about FGM, and we also need to talk about the poverty of these communities in remote areas.
Thank you very much to all participant Nokia team members and to Vanessa Iglesias for the invitation!
