Kamsino and Chepoghon were about to undergo FGC and be married off. Now they get to attend school for the first time ever.

So They Can met Kamsino and Chepoghon in September 2022. The girls had been collecting small quantities of cooking oil and maize flour for their households, and were returning home, 20 kilometres each way by foot.

Kamsino and Chepoghon told our local team that they had never been to school and were about to undergo Female Genital Cutting (FGC) to prepare them for early marriage. Their hair had already been put into red coils as a marketing message to show the community that they were on the market to be sold.

Neither of the girls wanted this — they both admired the idea of attending school — but they thought this could never be an option for them.

A couple of weeks later, So They Can Education Team and Social Workers were able to locate Kamsino and Chepoghon’s homes and connect with their parents. Following conversations about the risks of FGC, as well as the importance of education for girls, both households decided they would not progress with their plans to cut and sell of their girls. Instead, both families have now joined our Family Strengthening Project and have agreed to send their girls to school for the first time ever.

Fast forward to today, Kamsino and Chepoghon stand proudly in their school uniforms and say they are happy to sit inside the classroom, have kind teachers, make new friends and learn.

On a recent visit to see the girls, they asked our team if So They Can could ‘save’ 3 of their friends who are not in school and are being prepared for FGC and child marriage. With your support and the dedicated work of our team and Champions Network, we will continue our mission in the region to help as many girls as possible from suffering from these cruel, deep-rooted practices.

Kamsino and Chepoghon’s story is just one example of how your support is standing up for girls’ fundamental rights to education every day, and saving them from a future of FGC and child marriage.