Happy International Day of the Midwife. S.A.F.E. celebrates the role midwives in the communities our fantastic teams are in. The Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) have been very important in creation of the Loita Rite of Passage in parntership with SAFE Maa.
The TBAs are also key stakeholders in both S.A.F.E.'s HIV awareness and FGC abandonment project's in Samburu. Key TBAs are leaders in behaviour changes which are improving the health and wellbeing of their communities.
Today we share the story of Namanu Lekarkaraule, a TBA from Samburu.
" My name is Namanu Lekarkaraule and my role in the community is that of a traditional birth attendant (TBA), this means that I look after women as they are giving birth, some TBAs are also traditional circumcisers who perform FGC on the girls. Practices such as early marriage and polygamy are putting the whole community at risk, especially the young girls. I had very little knowledge of HIV until I attended a SAFE Samburu workshop, I didn’t even know that as a TBA I was at a high risk of exposure to HIV. The workshop gave me the knowledge I needed to keep myself safe. I immediately went to the local health centre and requested gloves for protection. I also now advise women to give birth in the hospitals.
SAFE Samburu also empowered me to speak out against FGC. I know many women who have died because of FGC, one girl died only three hours after she was cut, however, we never spoke about it, I believed it was a curse. TBAs will never admit to cutting, most of the TBAs who practice FGC now in the community come from far and do it in secret. After the workshop, I spoke to my sons and told them a slight cut was all that was needed, this could even be done on a girl’s leg. I also spoke to my husband and told him that we should focus on our daughter’s education and even marry her outside the Samburu tribe if it means not cutting her. My daughter, now in form 4, has always resisted being cut, threatening to go to the police if we try to. I try and speak to other women, and tell them to encourage their daughters to stay in school too.
I believe that the practice of FGC will gradually change and end because girls and women have so many problems after being cut. I thank SAFE Samburu for all that they are doing, they say that girls should be able to practice and take part in the culture without being cut and I agree with that. SAFE’s approach is very good, they do not use force – when you use force, no one will listen." ... See MoreSee Less
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SAFE Pwani are very excited, on this #EarthDay to announce the commencement of the next phase of their environment programme in the coming months. This new project is inspired by the success of the Gangavazi Project - which was delivered in partnership with the University of Exeter.
As S.A.F.E. joins the world in celebrating Earth Day, we would like to highlight work done by the SAFE Pwani team in building resilient communities. Here is a video documenting their exciting journey so far: www.youtube.com/watch?v=W39zExbdiQ8
#earthday
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SAFE Pwani are continuing their Who Am I? Screenings in Mombasa. This week, the team engaged with stakeholders in Changamwe sub county, discussing how youth can be better protected against discrimination and polarisation in the lead up to the 2022 General Election.
All activities are carried out in line with the National Government COVID-19 containment measures. ... See MoreSee Less
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For over a decade, SAFE Pwani in partnership with P&G has educated the community on water, sanitation and hygiene through mobile street theatre. During this time, SAFE Pwani has also distributed over 50,000,000 litres of clean water. This life saving project is supporting healthier, cleaner and more productive communities.
Photo's show how the water purification products distributed through the project clean and treat dirty water making it safe to drink.
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