Girl Power Supports Gen50+

As a program we support youth programs that we believe have a positive impact on the girl. This led us to working again with an exciting Kenyan students from Africa Leadership Academy (South Africa), led by Francis Okong'o Kinyanjui, as one of the main sponsors for the workshop that was held in Rusinga school form the 20^th to 22^nd August 2015 dabbed Gen 50+.

The topics covered in this workshop include; Gender based violence, Rape culture (Sexualisation), Women Empowerment, Body Image, Domestic Violence, Self Defense, Art Activism, Writing Activism, Social Media Activism, Visual Activism (Fine Arts, Animation, Film).

On the last day all groups were expected to pitch their ideas to a group of judges on how they are going to help solve one of the issues discussed on the previous days. There were six groups pitching their ideas.

1.     Group 1: looking in to the rape culture; through Unicorns’ don’t rape campaign.

2.     Group 2: Looking in to Abusive relationships; come up with a cartoon program for kids.

3.     Group 3: Looking in to Abusive relationships; through advocacy forums.

4.     Group 4: looking in to Women empowerment; by organizing holiday camps dabbed ‘What are those’.

5.     Group 5: Looking in to body image; using the social media they created an up.

6.     Group 6: looking in to body image; created a blog aimed at changing the way media portrays body image.

The sixth group had the best presentation. They were given certificates and chocolate for each member.

Entrepreneurship Survey: Siaya Girl Power Clubs

In January 2015, 101 girls from 7 Girl Power Clubs in Sigomre, Siaya County, answered questions in a survey that sought to know their understanding about business and their basic understanding about women's ability to run a business. These girls have been members of the Girl Power Clubs for the last one year, and it was hoped that they could now express themselves without fear or shyness.

This are the results of the survey.

Questions Asked in the survey:

1	Both boys and girls should have equal opportunities to become leaders in their communities .
2	I enjoy play sports, it make me healthy.
3	Business women are well respected.
4	Violence against girls and women is a problem in my community.
5	I would like to have a female mentor/counselor to whom I can turn to for help with a problem.
6	Women can do business alone without men.
7	I know where a health facility in my community is located.
8	I know a woman who runs a business well.
9	I am not able to cope with stress and difficult situations .
10	I live with both of my parents..
11	Having a business is possible for women.
12	I plan to continue with my education.
13	I would be willing to lead a community activity /event.
14	I believe I can run a business in the future.

 

This chart shows that a majority of the students agreed with the statements in the questionnaire

97% agree that both boys and girls should get a chance to be leaders.

92% enjoy sports and it makes them healthy but 3%do not.

62% believe business women are well respected while 17% do not.22% don’t know

55%agree violence against women is a problem in the community, 22% disagree ,the rest do not know.

85% wish to have mentors, 22% don’t , 7% are not sure.

79% agree that women can do business alone while 18%dont and 4% do not know.

8% do not know where health facilities are located, 80% do and the rest don’t understand.

67% know a woman who run a business well. 16%percent don’t know. The rest are not sure

29% of the population are not able to cope with stress while 60% can.

34% of the girls do not live with their parents while 63% do.

80% of the girls believe its possible to own business as women while 8% don't, and 22% do not know.

97% of the girls wish to continue with their education while 2% don’t and 1% are not sure.

90% are willing to lead in community events, 4% don’t and 6% are not sure.

90% believe they can run businesses in the future 7% don’t believe so and 3%are not sure. Conclusion Violence against women should be taught  since a good number seams not acknowledge  its in the community. The number of students not living with their parents is considerable why is this so and is there an underlying problem? Though insignificant, there still are a few girls who do not plan to further their education raises concern. Why is this so? Health facilities are a big resource in the community and their location needs to be known to all. There is a positive out look toward business and most students feel like they are capable of pursuing it now or in the future. There is obviously a strong need for girls to have mentors.