Weekly update from our CEO, Cass Treadwell

 

— — —

 

While the whole world feels consumed by COVID-19, last week I found it incredibly rewarding to hear the impact of our Keeping Girls in School (KGiS) project, which we have been able to continue over the last months while it feels the rest of the world is ‘waiting’.

 

Within KGiS we have our Champion Mothers, 4 selected mothers from our 37 schools who receive public health education about the risks associated with Female Genital Cutting (FGC) — infection, severe blood loss, death and painful pregnancies and labour — and techniques and skills for mothers to have conversations with their daughters in relation to sexual and reproductive health. The role of our Champion Mothers is to then pass on this information throughout their communities.

 

Lucia Daniel (photographed here) was one of our most recent recipients of KGiS education, provided by one of our Champion Mothers.

 

Lucia is a mother of 9 children (4 boys, 5 girls). As an Iraque (tribe from Manyara region Tanzania) woman she used to follow all regulations of her tribe, including Female Genital Cutting (FGC), believing if a girl is not circumcised she will be segregated by other women in her community due to their belief that an uncircumcised woman is a prostitute.

 

Three of Lucia’s daughters have undergone FGC and she was planning to do the same for her last two daughters and her 1 granddaughter in July this year.

 

It is therefore so good to hear last week that due to the education she received from our Champion Mothers, Lucia will never let her last 2 daughters nor her granddaughters undergo FGC.

 

Couple this with the news that one of the FGC cutters has told us she will never cut again after learning from our Champion Mothers.

 

This really means such far-reaching impact for so many girls. Thank you all so much for your interest and support, none of this would be achievable without you.