Happy International Day of The Girl!
/2 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Kennedy OdedeEunice is in 5th grade at the Kibera School for Girls, and she is fiercely smart and creative. She lives in Kibera with her brother and parents, who grapple each day with challenges such as unemployment, high crime rates and poverty that are inherent in urban settlements. The challenging circumstances of Eunice’s childhood influenced her decision to become a doctor one day in order to give back to her community by serving the people of Kibera. She deeply believes in her dreams, and commands attention when she verbosely expresses herself and her ambitions.
The International Day of the Girl provides a vital opportunity to reflect on the progress that has been made globally for girls, and the distance we still need to travel. This year we witnessed unprecedented coverage of the many issues that girls face. Powerful public discussions have emerged in influential worldwide institutions; from the UN, to college campuses, to social media, the fight for the rights of women and girls is becoming more pressing and imperative.
Despite this amazing progress, 2014 has also been devastating in many ways. We witnessed the horrific kidnapping of the 276 female students in Nigeria who to our dismay have yet to be returned. Female Genital Mutilation remains high in many countries— in Somalia, for example, 98 percent of women between the ages of 15-49 are genitally mutilated. Violence against women and girls still plagues homes, communities, and nations. These issues continue to give the world a powerful call to action.
At Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), we have fully embraced that call. I started SHOFCO in 2004 as a grassroots urban movement that could lift the status of women through the meaningful participation of all members of the community. I grew up in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, and I witnessed the devastating abuse that women like my mother and sisters endured simply for being women. I knew that something could, and had to, be done to stop the cycles of oppression and stifle progress for us all.
I wanted our movement to be multi-faceted, homegrown, and hopeful. Therefore, SHOFCO combats gender inequality and urban poverty in Kenya by establishing free girls’ schools and linking them to holistic social services open to all. SHOFCO works to alleviate the elements in informal settlements that create vulnerability by providing provides a safe and nurturing environment in which to seek education, health, sanitation, and economic empowerment services.
Students who are in abusive or unsafe situations, for example, can move to our safe house where they will be fully cared for and protected. Social workers at our gender-based violence response center work closely with each survivor to provide her with healthcare and economic empowerment opportunities, as well as forge a path to justice in the courts. SHOFCO’s holistic approach creates lasting and sustainable change rather than haphazard, short-term solutions.
Our beneficiaries are not only receiving services they need, they are thriving. 100 percent of second grade students at the Kibera School for Girls (KSG) read at or above grade level, compared to roughly 28.5 percent of literate second graders across Kenya. Absenteeism is less than one percent. Mothers who have a daughter at KSG are 18% more likely than other married women in Kenya to either be the sole decision-makers of household finances, or to equally share this responsibility with their husbands. The girls we teach and the women we serve are empowered, savvy, and hopeful for their futures. These are girls like Eunice Akoth.
Eunice’s spirit shines each day at the Kibera School for Girls. On October 11th, we celebrate Eunice and every girl around the world. If you are in New York City, we welcome you to our Day of the Girl Event. We celebrate their dreams, their gumption, their bravery and joy. We hope the world will join us.
About the blogger:
Kennedy Odede is one of Africa’s best-known community organizers and social entrepreneurs. He was raised in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Africa, and while working at a factory in 2004, Kennedy saved 20 cents, purchased a soccer ball, and started Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO). Kennedy was awarded the 2010 Echoing Green Fellowship, won the 2010 Dell Social Innovation Competition, wrote two Op-Eds that appeared in the New York Times, was named one of Forbes’ 2014 30 Under 30: Social Entrepreneurs, and is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. He splits his time between Nairobi and New York City.
Survivors Lead the Fight Against Sexual Exploitation
/0 Comments/in Guest Author /by Lisa Goldblatt Grace LICSW, MPHTwo weeks ago, I visited Tanya at her new home: her college dorm. Tanya once thought that college wasn’t in the cards for her —she didn’t believe she could find a community where she would fit in. When we first met Tanya, she was a fourteen-year-old survivor of sexual exploitation. She had been commercially exploited by men who believed that she was a commodity that they could use and throw away. Her community saw her as a “bad kid”. Tanya felt judged and worthless.
When Tanya met her Survivor Mentor, Ann, she wasn’t convinced that we could help. She felt alone and profoundly angry—she had every right to be. She had been victimized by a multibillion dollar industry that systematically targets the most vulnerable children in our communities.
Now four years later, Tanya is a strong, proud young woman. She graduated high school with the rest of her peers last year and was given a four year scholarship to a top university. She knows that what happened to her was not her fault—that she is neither damaged nor worthless. She believes in her heart that her Mentor cares for her, wants the best for her, and has full faith in her. She has found her voice and sees herself as a leader in the movement to end exploitation. She has been an active member of our Leadership Corps, and is someone other girls in our program look up to.
My Life, My Choice strives to help survivors of sexual exploitation like Tanya find their voice, their place, their strength and their resilience. Our Survivor Mentor program is the core of a continuum of services we offer. Youth survivors, as well as those that are deemed to be at high risk for exploitation, receive one on one support for as long as they need it. We have served girls since our founding in 2002 and last spring launched a pilot program for boys and transgender youth. My Life My Choice is a nationally recognized survivor-led organization working to stem the tide of commercial sexual exploitation of adolescents. As of July 2014, we have trained over 7,000 youth providers, led prevention groups for more than 1,750 girls and mentored over 300 girls in the Greater Boston area.
As we walked through her dorm, Tanya pointed to different doors where her new friends lived. She told me about the incredible food in the cafeteria, her really nice roommate, her own messy side of her dorm room, and how great her public speaking class is. I left homemade cookies, pizza money, and a card from all the staff telling her how much we all love her. Tanya deserves this and so much more. Every young person does.
Like Tanya, there are countless girls who are commercially sexually exploited every day. Like Tanya, they need compassion, support, faith, and opportunity to become the next generation of leaders in the fight to end exploitation.
Lisa has been working with vulnerable young people in a variety of capacities for almost twenty-five years. Her professional experience includes running a long-term shelter for homeless teen parents, developing a diversion program for violent youth offenders, and working in outpatient mental health, health promotion, and residential treatment settings. She has served as a consultant to the Massachusetts Administrative Office of the Trial Court’s “Redesigning the Court’s Response to Prostitution” project, and as a primary researcher on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services national study of programs serving human trafficking victims. She has served as the Co-Chair of the Training and Education Committee of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Task Force on Human Trafficking, and is currently the Chair of the Training and Education Implementation Subcommittee.
A Path Appears is Released Today! Celebrate and Become an Ambassador
/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Rachel StevensNicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s new book A Path Appears is out!
Today brings the opportunity to be inspired by a myriad of stories that tell how people are fighting poverty and inequality across the world through research, evidence-based strategies and brilliant ideas!
Don’t miss out on this uplifting new book that will teach you about how to better channel your humanitarian efforts, and why we all benefit from social giving.
Share the news with your friends, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Our ambassadors received a special video from Nick and Sheryl, along with unique opportunity to win a free book. If you’d like to learn more about the ambassador program and get involved in the movement follow the links below.
To become a campus ambassador (for university and high school students), click here.
To become a community ambassador, click here.
Stay tuned for more information on this exciting new project, and a chance to be the first to view the trailer of the film series coming out in January!