“Sisterhood’s” date with Ruchu Girls!

Saturday February 19^th 2011 was to be the second fun filled day at Ruchu Girls with “Sisterhood”. Accompanied by great minds in the persons of Phyllis Nyambura founder of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Control Outreach-Kenya, Floyd Chanda a humanitarian and philanthropist from Zambia and of course the girls favorite, Miss Lilian Nyaga a law student who plans to major in Land Law.

With such a knowledgeable and capable panel it was quite in order to have them talk about a topic which is hardly ever discussed and often buried under the carpet.-Sexuality and Behaviour!It has often been assumed that sex-education is being conducted in our schools curriculum following a government directive from the Ministry of Education a couple of years ago. How true this is remains the big question as some teachers shy away from this discussion at all costs. Parents and the church seem to live this burden with the school and make little or no attempt to fill the void which is evident. With these unclear roles naturally young teenagers are finding themselves seeking answers and advice from ill-informed peers and the some-what misleading media.

Because “Sisterhood” aims at empowering young girls to make informed decisions in all spheres of life, we take it upon ourselves to ensure that these young inspiring ladies are getting the correct information and that they do not make our mistakes but learn from them. Speaking to teenagers has never been a tea party. You must be exciting and entertaining and our day’s facilitators knew precisely how to…it was quite evident in the pensive faces of the keen listeners.

Phyllis& Floyd-Facilitators of the day!



Mr.Floyd Chanda and the girls!



It was particularly important to get a male perspective to address the issue and Mr.Chanda gave his candid and valuable view on the same. It was worth noting that the girls were very comfortable with him and I am thrilled that the message was received loud and clear! Miss Phyllis being a peer educator on sexual abuse and exploitation was best placed to address the issue. Her presentation was more interactive that the norm and the discussion was very lively and informative, questions and answers were thrown around the room in a relaxed atmosphere. I couldn’t help but wonder if these young girls had ever had a listening ear to talk about Sexual Exploitation, Rape and Gender Based Violence, Sex, Boyfriends,HIV&AIDS,STIs and other related issues….and if so with whom? And if not…why the hell not?

Granted we can do only so much and so little-what a wonderful world would it be if we did not wait and hope passively that someone else will talk to our daughters and sons, nieces or nephews (etc) about some topics that we are not exactly comfortable with. And isn’t it a parents’ inherent right to educate his/her children on this? And doesn’t all religious institutions have a role to play in this issue as well?

“Sisterhood” has a long way to go to ensure all teenage girls are well equipped with knowledge on fundamental issues, but we are encouraged to know that we have positively influenced the lives of over 400 students to date all at Ruchu Girls High School. We are grateful to everyone who has supported us in terms of time and expertise -our facilitators who come to talk to the girls for free!Mr.Richie Miriti-an author, mentor and motivational speaker who thoughtfully donated over 200 sanitary towels to the girls and others for their kind wishes, prayers and support.



Elated girls having recieved the donation!



We are looking forward to the next session at the school on the 5^th March 2011…..and we’ll definitely keep you posted on the great progress “Sisterhood” and the girls are making! Till next time…....................................................xoxo!