Girls Empowerment | Peer Pressure and Abstinence

Every Saturday, we host a Girls Empowerment Workshop in Kibera, Kenya. Recently, one of our Volunteers & Girls Empowerment Committee Leaders (Kayla Recck, Therapist for the Charleston County School District, South Carolina) authored a 16 week lesson plan book that covers a variety of topics. We are excited to launch these new lesson plans with the new cohort that will begin on May 4th!

This last week, our Girls Empowerment Teacher Michelle, covered the topic of peer pressure and abstinence. Did you know that worldwide, it is estimated that around 16 million girls aged 15 to 19 or 1 million girls under 15 give birth every year (accounting for 11% of birth worldwide) (UNFPA, 2016)? "When young girls get pregnant, they will drop out of school. This is just one more reason we see young girls lack education in Kibera, Kenya aside from brief absences when they get their period or not being able to attend at all due to the school fees associated with High School. Unlike other places around the world, high school requires tuition payments and all too often, families cannot send her to school. When she engages in activity that leads to pregnancy, it only further complicates the ability to go to school and survive each day, not to mention exposes her to a variety of diseases. I don't want to see our girls end up in such situations so I cover this topic several times throughout the workshops,"says Michelle, Girls Empowerment Teacher.

After the class, the girls were able to spend some time with one another while enjoying a snack. This week, we had sandwiches, cookies and juice and they send their thanks to all of our supporters who provide this weekly workshop!