Welcome to the Marine Mammal and wildlife Research and Community Development Expedition blog where you can keep up to date with all the happenings and information from Kenya

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Empowering girls at Mkwiro Primary with Girls Club


This week saw the return of the popular girls club at Mkwiro Primary; the club offers a place for girls from standard 6 to 8 to talk freely about anything they want to. Sitting on the mat under the shade of a baobab tree, the girls were quiet to begin with, yet with the use of a spider diagram the girls slowly opened up by pointing at topics they wanted to discuss. As the time went on the girls got more talkative and wanted to know about everything, from careers to periods and sex. They bombarded me with questions about my life and did not have any reserve about what they asked. They got much delight at finding out I had a boyfriend back home and wanted to know everything about him. It was great to hear them ask things like “Does he respect you?” and “How do you know he loves you?” It was nice to receive an indication that they want to be respected by men and don’t want to be walked over!

The girls start to ask questions about everything!
At the end we have an anonymous tin we pass around that the girls can put any topic they want in for discussion next week, giving the more nervous girls a chance to ask questions. I really enjoy running the girls club, not only is it a chance for them to share any problems or worries, but it’s also a great way to learn about their culture and what their beliefs are. 

Sarah Cryer
Mkwiro Community Field Staff

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