A Kenyan based non-governmental organisation targets raise Sh20 million to help return and retain the 145 girls who had dropped out of schools.
Nyanza Initiative for Girls’ Education and empowerment organisation (NIGEE) said the goal is to return school girls who dropped out, mainly due to pregnancy and early marriages.
In a press release, the organisation also plans to use part of the money to establish a Girls Empowerment Centre (GEC), and enroll 400 more girls in 2016. The centre will also help train NIGEE beneficiaries who have completed Form 4 and for sustainability, the Centre will have a commercial wing for training non-NIGEE girls at a fee.
According to one of the event organisers, Felix Pala, the funds drive will be held on Saturday at Tom Mboya Labour College. He said the upcoming festival-cum-funds drive to support school fees for girls is dubbed “I care for her” Festival.
Artistes such as John Junior, Tony Nyadundo, Suzanna Owiyo, Ken Wa Maria, Koff Mak, Adori and Ongidi will perform at the event
“Our goal is to have 1,000 girls returned to school by 2018 and given a second chance to a meaningful future,” Pala said yesterday.
He said NIGEE is a young Kenyan-based organisation registered in May 2011 with a goal of returning to school girls who dropped out, mainly due to pregnancy and early marriages.
Pala urged Kenyans who are fortunate to have money to spend a little bit of it on many other unfortunate Kenyans who do not have money.
He added “We believe that citizens should play a more active role in addressing our challenges and that donor is not the solution to all our issues”.
Pala said the organisation has a unique approach to raising funds instead of relying on donor-funding, NIGEE is experimenting the concept of Kenya for Kenyans.
The organisation currently operates 100 percent on locally-sourced funding. It rely on profits from small business opportunities such as photocopying, printing T-Shirts, selling sodas and undergarments, and seeking small donations from individual well-wishers.
Through these modest income-generating activities, NIGEE has raised Sh 44,828,739 since 2011 and returned 349 girls who dropped out of school, to altogether 196 schools across four counties of former Nyanza province, Pala said.
“Besides school fees, we have also provided the girls with school uniforms, other levies and personal needs, and used part of the funds for field activities and as capital for the businesses,” he said.
Pala said NIGEE works in Nyanza, which exhibits some of the worst public health indicators nationally. For example, Nyanza reports the highest teen pregnancy, at 22.2 per cent, highest HIV prevalence, at 15.1 per cent (14-26 percent in the four NIGEE-focus counties).
Nyanza is also second highest prevalence of female genital mutilation, at 32.4 per cent, lowest age at sexual debut, at 16.5 years, second lowest age at marriage, at 18.9 years and third highest physical and sexual violence against women and girls, at 33.5 percent.
“We believe that educating girls is one strategy that can simultaneously turn around these indicators, because the right to education is a bridge to other rights and the cascading benefits of education to girls, their families and community underscore the imperative of supporting girls’ education,” Pala said.
He said Secondary education is particularly critical for breaking the cycle of poverty and addressing a host of other indicators of poor health that have plagued Nyanza for decades.