By Erick Nyayiera
Education stakeholders in Siaya County have put in place strategies to help contain the worrying trends of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the region which have threatened the education of many teenage girls in the region.
According to the latest report released by the national government through the County Commissioner Mohammed Bare, Siaya County has experienced a lot of GBV cases, especially defilement cases, that has led to high teenage pregnancies and school dropouts.
In line with their pillar of ensuring dignified livelihoods in the community, Rafiki wa Maendeleo Trust, a non- profit making community organization in Siaya County, has been putting up decent and spacious houses to poor families so that the less fortunate children are able to stay at home under the watch of their caregivers.
The organization’s Executive Director Wilfred Owuor said that girls who live in deplorable structures with their families easily become prey to predators who take advantage of them and abuse them sexually.
‘The statistics in Siaya County is bad. From March 2020 to July 2020, the county recorded over 5,000 cases of girls being defiled. It is for this reason that we purported to build good houses for these girls so that they are comfortable,’ he said.
Through the programme, the modest homes are also supplied with solar panels and lamps to ensure there is sufficient lighting to enable the children study and do their homework while at home.
‘We also link such children with donors who pay for their school fees and provide other necessary requirements until they complete their education ,” he disclosed.
Since 2018, the Trust has constructed more than 50 homes.
Harun Kodiaga, the Programs Manager at Rafiki Wa Maendeleo outlines that the outcomes of the projects have seen the plight of children in the area improve greatly.
‘We have witnessed improvements in the academic performance of children in our programmes because they are able to read for long hours using the solar lamps. There is also a reduction in the number of GBV cases since girls are staying in their homes away from the risk of being defiled when they go looking for sleeping places at night,” noted Kodiaga.
Kodiaga noted that they also engage girls in sexual and reproductive health programs Form 2 to Form 4.
“We have safe spaces where girls converge for counseling, teaching, debates and also creative arts. We also mould them to peer counselors so that they are able to help their peers.” He added.
He expressed regret that sex education was lacking in schools because teachers are trained on getting mean scores in schools.
