By Ceci Arriaza, Senior Programs Manager
Photos by Kate Lord, Director of Advocacy & Communications
School prefects pose during a mentorship session with our partner Savana Kitui in Kenya!
On July 12th, I was excited to visit one of our amazing partners Savana Kitui, for the second time. I went last year when we selected community-based organizations (CBOs) for the new cohort of our Partner Coalition, and I was impressed by how they had built the organization from the ground up. This time, I visited with our Director of Advocacy and Communications Kate Lord and our Programs Assistant Florence Sidi to learn more about their programs and see how much the organization has grown since the partnership with STF began. They not only outgrew their office but have also grown their team and intensified interventions with girls.
The Savana Kitui team is a blend of nine full-time staff members and amazing volunteer mentors.
Savana Kitui’s mission is to work with marginalized communities to bring sustainable development and positive social transformation. They envision an inclusive society that values and supports the full engagement of women and girls in development. Paid staff are essential to achieve this mission, so I was excited to learn that the organization's team had grown to include nine full-time members, the majority of whom are young women working to design and implement girl-centered programs. The team’s passion is evident as they share how they have designed the programs and how they have built a network of volunteer mentors to work with them at the schools.
Savana Kitui works with schools to create safe spaces for girls to mentor and address issues of gender-based violence, access to quality education, economic justice and rights, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). They have done so by creating safe havens through the use of art, music, dance, and sports in order to build relationships with girls and address other more complex issues.
We were able to see some of these programs two primary schools. We witnessed how the mentors have created a safe space for girls to learn and grow. The girls connect with the mentor and ask questions about menstrual health, relationships with friends and boyfriends, unhealthy relationships, and gender-based violence. The mentor addresses each of these issues through games, art, and conversation, and uses the questions to plan the next sessions. We then went to a second elementary school where Florence led a session with girls about our What Would You Do? game, which mentors can now use in their sessions with girls to explore safe boundaries and healthy relationships.
She’s the First Programs Assistant Florence Sidi leads girls as they play “What Would You Do?,” our card game that inspires conversations about healthy relationships.
Another great element of the program is the mentorship program for young mothers. Savana Kitui recognizes that not all girls attend school and wants to ensure that they all have the opportunity to improve their educational outcomes and agency through mentorship and partnerships. These sessions are intended to give girls the knowledge and confidence they need to make informed decisions about their bodies, relationships, and futures. We met the mentors of a soccer team Savana Kitui has developed for young mothers. It is a unique strategy that uses sports for both income gain and the creation of a safe space for mentorship.
Three Savana Kitui soccer mentors demonstrate their skills.
One program we didn’t get to see but I was so excited to learn about was the Social Accountability Forum that Savana Kitui leads. They understand that change occurs when the entire community is involved, which is why they created this program, a space where girls can voice their demands to the larger community, which includes parents, teachers, and local representatives. This program has enabled girls to obtain water tanks for their schools, construction blocks, and menstrual health products. Talk about girl-led advocacy!
Our visit to Savana Kitui demonstrates that women-led and community-based organizations are best positioned to meet the needs of girls in the community. During this visit, I saw the transformative power of education, mentorship, and empowerment, as well as strong partnerships. We are excited to partner with organizations like Savana Kitui as we strive for a world where every girl can choose her own future.
Ceci listens to a primary school girl as she decides which response to choose while playing “What Would You Do?”