Kenyan Music personalities hang out with girls from Kibera for
International Women’s Day. To commemorate the day, CARE Kenya’s Empowering Girls
Through Education held a half-day event with the girls from the ten
schools the organisation assists. The day started off with discussion forums
between the girls. After the discussions were over, the surprise guests we
introduced to them – five of Kenya’s most famous singers – Wahu, Pili Pili,
French Boy, Reina and Kawira.
The girls were shocked to see that the
celebrities who they had only ever seen on TV had come to visit them, making
them feel special and wanted. The artistes spent three hours with the girls,
inspiring through their own life stories – many Kenyan artistes come from
humble backgrounds, some even hailing from the very same slums as the girls.
One of the things that all of them emphasized to the girls was the need for a
solid education – one that would later act as a base for talent exploration.
The girls were also encouraged to remain independent and stay away from any
‘suitors’ who may offer them gifts and financial assistance in exchange for
sexual favours.
Before the celebrities left, they, together with the girls,
left their mark for the future by placing their hand prints to commemorate the
occasion. CARE Kenya’s Empowering Girls Through Education aims to
facilitate lobbying and advocacy forums on girls’ rights to education with
educational stakeholders and community members.
Their vision is to increase the
proportion of girls completing primary school education and transitioning to
secondary education, while ensuring that the primary schools offer quality
primary education. This is a fairly new project that started in June 2011 with
a focus on empowering adolescent girls in the Kibera urban informal settlement
so that they can use their education to improve their own life situations as
well as those of their families.
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