A Community-Based Organization (CBO) in Kisii County, championing the rights of the girl child, is calling for support from organizations to provide sanitary towels to help keep girls in schools and other learning institutions, thereby enhancing their education.
Grace Community Centre (GCC) Civil Society Organization Director, Robert Gutwa, notes that this initiative will enable the girls to be comfortable and remain in institutions to foster their education.
The official highlighted that some girls from poor families stay away from school during their menstrual periods, which negatively affects their education and performance in local and national examinations.
“We want both the boy and the girl child to be in school during the stipulated time, to compete and provide them with a level playing field,” Gutwa said during the end-of-year party for the children supported by the CBO.
Accompanied by Pastor Joseph Oichoe and Trainer Lydia Mosero, the Director provided learners with washable sanitary towels, personal items to enhance their education, and foodstuff for Christmas.
He mentioned that the towels last for three years, noting that the group sews them and that they are environmentally friendly.
The Director challenged the beneficiaries, both in primary and secondary schools, to also support children from needy families once they complete their education and secure jobs.
“We nurture talents in children, sensitize them on moral values, and empower them with pads and life skills,” Gutwa stated.
He appealed to parents and guardians to give both the boy and the girl child equal opportunities in education to enable them to exploit their potential.
Pastor Oichoe deplored the increasing cases of defilement and linked them to a lack of moral values and indecent dressing.
He urged parents and guardians to instill these values in their children and guide them to avoid temptations that could erode their values and ruin their education.
“Girls and boys grow up together in villages and attend school together. When girls dress indecently, adolescent boys might be tempted to defile them and ruin their lives,” Oichoe noted.
He advised girls who have completed their education and are ready for marriage to introduce their friends to their parents to avoid cases of femicide.
Mosero criticized some parents for colluding with medics to subject the girl child to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), calling it unacceptable.
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The trainer emphasized that they are teaching the girls to report those who try to lure them into embracing retrogressive cultures to the relevant authorities to face the law.
“Cases of FGM, femicide, and gender-based violence are increasing. The trend is worrying. I urge stakeholders to concert efforts to reverse them,” Mosero noted.
She added that cases of men killing their wives, children, and even committing suicide were gaining traction in the country, and urged them to embrace dialogue to resolve conflicts and foster peace in families.
By Emmanuel Gwakoi.
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