Kenya
Rural Women’s Empowerment & Development Organization
$22,500 grant, over three years
The Rural Women’s Empowerment & Development Organization (RUWEDO) initially formed with the mission of teaching widows in rural Kakamega how to farm more sustainably.
But as project organizers spoke with participants, they learned of a more troubling threat to their community: rampant sexual violence against female students, which the under-funded schools were unable to stop.
The VGIF-funded project’s leaders sprang into action - training 30 paralegals to educate girls on their legal rights and defend survivors of gender-based violence in court.
These paralegals have since taken on many critical cases. Their legal victory representing a 15-year-old girl who had been raped and impregnated by a neighbor sent a clear signal to the community that assault would no longer be tolerated.
30 paralegals trained to represent child survivors of violence and sexual assault.
2,000 girls educated on women’s health and how to protect themselves from gender-based violence.
60 single moms provided with materials and training to plant kitchen gardens.
“These girls have no one to protect them. The work is hard, but we can’t stop.”
