Manga Health Education African Resource Team (Manga HEART)

Manga HEART is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the status of women and girls in the Nyamira community. They focus on issues such as female genital mutilation, orphans and vulnerable children, and the provision of sanitary towels.

The project aims to reduce FGM and partner violence in Nyamira county by mobilizing key moral and judicial duty bearers, addressing impunity and providing nonviolent alternatives to harmful practices. Trained volunteers play a key role in the project implementation. Communication activities such as IEC materials, social media posts, radio and TV programs, blogs, WhatsApp chats, and bulk SMS contribute to the project’s overall success.

Muungano Gender Forum will complement the project through the grassroots community dialogues organized in the Manga HEART target communities, through improved county-level coordination of CSO anti-VAWG efforts, and by supporting the drafting of Nyamira Costed Action Plan to end FGM. Also, expertise from ISF local livelihood partners will be utilized to strengthen Manga HEART’s knowledge and skills in promoting women’s livelihood resilience.

The main development processes in 2024 are as follows:

• The project continues building trust between community members and local government officials (chiefs and clan elders), and thereby encourage community members to report cases of FGM and partner violence to the officials. Manga HEART will organize workshops for men, women and youth and support them to use available mobile applications in reporting.

• To improve the self-image of young girls, the program will train schools girls and boys to be role models for their peers. Girls will receive training on sexual and reproductive health and how to stay safe in public places. 100 girls from the target schools will be taken through the Alternative Rite of Passage (ARP) curriculum, designed for children under the age of 12 and with a focus on those at risk of undergoing FGM. The curriculum also involves the parents, who will be educated on how to reject and prevent FGM. At the graduation ceremony, girls and their parents make public declarations to reject FGM. In addition to the girls, 50 male students will be taught important life skills, such as responsibility and positive masculinity, to empower them to stand up against gender- based violence.

• A total of 80 duty bearers, including clan elders, chiefs, religious leaders, and police, will be educated on the high prevalence, preventability, seriousness, and unacceptability of FGM and partner violence. They are encouraged to disseminate information through community dialogues, treat survivors with respect, report incidents, arrest perpetrators, and work collaboratively to reduce violence against women and girls.

• 30 medical and community health workers (CHW) have been trained to provide psychosocial support to victims and educate local officials on the subject. The project team will work closely with the Department of Health and Area Advisory Council to ensure effective reporting and response to FGM and other forms of gender-based violence. There will also be dialogues between community members and CHW, including awareness and counselling sessions by trained CHWs to target community members and peer clubs.

• Manga HEART will engage in collaboration with the County and other stakeholders. Relevant International UN Days will be marked, including FGM Day, International Day of the Girl Child, International Women’s Day and 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.