Ushindi for Women Organization is carrying out activities aimed at eliminating female genital mutilation in Balambala and Garissa County as a whole. This action is occasioned by the magnitude of the practice and its enormous negative impact on the economic, social, health and education progress and well-being of the girls and women.
The objectives of this action include;
- Reduce and in the long term eradicate the practice in Garissa County,
- Sensitize the community and educate them on the negative effects of the practice,
- Instill positive thinking among the community towards girls who have not gone through the mutilation,
- Encourage and introduce other rites of passage to adulthood like having the parents’ advice the children accordingly.
- Encourage and help female genital mutilation operators/circumcisers in setting up other Income generating activities as alternative sources of income.
Encourage Girl child education through early childhood development program (ECD)
Through this pillar, UWO seeks to address the reproductive processes, functions, and system at all stages of life from menarche through menopause. It is the focal point for issues related to reproductive health, maternal health, and infant health. Among the key things that this pillar seeks to address is to the improvement of adolescent and youths’ Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and ultimately, the achievement of the MDGs 3, 5 and 6 as well as promoting a holistic approach to SRHR in line with the principles of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the ICPD+5 Programmer of Action. This also includes HIV/AIDS, TB among other health conditions that adversely affect communities in Garissa County and beyond.
Our focus on reproductive health seeks to develop interventions in our programming activities that support our beneficiaries for complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of reproductive disease or infirmity; this pillar therefore focuses on dealing with the reproductive processes, functions and system at all stages of life particularly for vulnerable women in society.
FGM Interventions
UWO is extensively involved in end-FGM initiatives within Garissa County and beyond. We are centrally involved in monitoring and reporting FGM incidences in Balambala and are currently working with Action Aid Kenya and Garissa county gender technical working group towards ending FGM in Garissa County.
Violence (SGBV) Actors’ Engagement Forums
We have engaged in different activities to bridge the gap between the community and SGBV actors. Such events among other strategies, adopt the global and regional events to commemorate women and girls in Garissa. Through public outreach initiatives, the women and girls-centric issues are raised and social cohesion enhanced. After every event, members of the public are interviewed with a view to capturing their opinion for broader advocacy agenda.