Day Twelve - Kenyan Youth

July 23, 2012 (Sam)

      The World Health Organization estimates that Female Genital Mutilation has been carried out on over 92 million girls in Africa alone. “FGM has no health benefits, and it harms girls and women in many ways. It involves removing and damaging healthy and normal female genital tissue, and interferes with the natural functions of girls' and women's bodies. Immediate complications can include severe pain, shock, hemorrhage (bleeding), tetanus or sepsis (bacterial infection), urine retention, open sores in the genital region and injury to nearby genital tissue.”

      Today Christina and I had the opportunity to travel to Sultan Hamud, Kenya, about 150 km from Ongata Rongai, where we are staying. Beacon of Hope operates ten Youth Resource Centers around Kajiado and Machakos County. A local church in Sultan Hamud, Pentecostal Evangelistic Fellowship of Africa, has partnered with Beacon and opened one of their newest centers. Beacon’s purpose in opening these centers is to provide access to information and interaction among peers across all age groups. One of the aims of the centers is to get the youth together to discuss issues affecting their specific age groups. In an area largely dominated by tribal people, Female Genital Mutilation ranks as one of the top issues affecting the youth. Even though FGM is illegal in Kenya, it is still widely practiced among various tribes. It’s not uncommon for young girls to leave for school break and, after a visit to the local “circumciser,” (usually a traditional circumciser but sometimes a health care provider) return limping and wincing in pain.

      Being that Sultan Hamud is also a major hub for trucker drivers heading to Kenya’s east coast, child prostitution has also become a huge concern. Truckers are forced to stop driving at 6pm, and by that time, the street of Hamud are filled with girls soliciting themselves for a few dollars.

      Sultan Hamud’s Youth Resource Center is sparsely equipped. They attempt to provide resources to the youth, including computers, educative visual equipment, literature, sports gear, and games, as well as providing forums in which small groups can get together to discuss health, education, and other issues particularly affecting people their age. They also try to provide opportunities to get them involved in extracurricular activities like sports, drama, acting, painting & drawing, etc. When we stepped inside the cramped room allotted to the center, Elizabeth, the center coordinator showed us around. We saw two working computers, no books, and no other equipment. They are coordinating with the YRC at Beacon in Ongata Rongai to try to better equip the facility. Groups meet here three times a week and ages range from 13 to 35. Mainly young men come to the meetings; they have a hard time attracting girls, one of the reasons being that so many are married off at young ages, and by 14 or 15, these girls aren’t worried about community discussion groups, they’re worried about parenting the 2-3 children they’ve had in the last few years.

      Beacon’s vision is to have all 10 of these centers equipped one day with resources enough to attract hundreds of young men and women, pulling them off the streets and giving them the opportunity to learn, interact, and have fun with their peers. Every child should have the opportunity to better themselves. Every child should have the option to get away from the destructive cycles that so many have found themselves in. Every child should have hope for their future. And if Beacon of Hope has anything to say about it... they will.