Here you can read about what Teng’ena Community Development Organization has achieved so far:
Our organization has developed a strategy to address FGM in the district of Monduli. The strategy involves:
- Running campaigns on the health consequences of FGM performed on girls and women
- Recruiting supporters from within the community
- Enforcing the law against the practice of FGM
The practice of performing FGM in our district has so far (April 2023) been reduced with 5%. Our struggle against FGM will continue until it becomes history in our district!
Another positive aspect of our work is that now we also have men from the community joining the struggle against FGM.
One of them is Saruni Saitoti. He is a traditional leader in Losimingori village.
As the father of three daughters, Saruni works together with with other male leaders to end the practice of FGM and to find “alternative rites of passage”.
Together with us they recognise the impact of FGM on the most impoverished girls. It keeps them out of school due to recovery time and health complications.
Due to the individual efforts from various organizations 3 ritual leaders have stopped FGM practices in Losimingori village.
More than 10 girls between 9 and 19 years have been protected against FGM practices through our campaigns and programs.
Our efforts to decrease female genital mutilation in our district have proved very successful.
The struggle continues and we believe that FGM will be eliminated before 2030.
In our background paper you can read more about how our organization offers education to the community. We gather the girls in their own villages and discuss the effects of early marriage through campaigns stating “Stop Early Marriage to Achieve Your Goals”.
We also give lessons in entrepreneurship, for example how to make soaps, jewellery, petroleum jelly or how to keep chickens - all to improve their standard of living.
We are also preoccupied with environmental conservation.
For example we want people to stop cutting trees (deforestation) and instead have them plant trees.
Another example is about recycling plastic bottles and encourage people to use alternative sources of energy - such as solar energy which could reduce the cutting of trees for firewood.