Our local partner Jihusishi is distributing sanitary pads to teenage girls to prevent them from being sexually exploited by predators. Poor vulnerable girls choose voluntarily to opt for transactional sex to acquire these products.
Covid 19 crisis has highlighted an increase in number of pregnancies in girls in Mukuru and Kibra slums in Nairobi county, Kenya. Kibra is one of the largest slums in Africa having a population of over 170,000, while Mukuru has 500,000 population.
Lack of access to menstrual hygiene products mean that women and girls have considerable difficulty in going about their lives during menstruation. Many of these projects are with support from the One Young World, UK, and other donors, who funded the purchase of the above items.
103 families have been given maize flour, soaps, and salt, masks, sanitary napkins. Brian has conducted a similar camp for 300 vulnerable families in Kibra, the largest slum in Kenya and second largest in Africa. Kibra families have a huge co-morbidity and are at high risk for COVID -19 due to malnutrition, diabetes, HIV, homelessness and unemployment.
We are also working on the distribution of masks, food and adolescent kit with the help of UNFPA-Kenya
Brian Owiti Mukasa from Kenya, residing in capital Nairobi working with Sports outreach organization implementing a project initiative dubbed “JIHUSISHE” which is a Swahili word meaning getting everyone involved in issues, women, children and adolescents.
Brian works in Kenya especially in the slums areas including kibra which is the second largest slum in Africa, and Mukuru. He also works with UNFPA Kenya country offices under the Youth advisory panel. They mentor, empower influence policy makers and help in the adolescent and youth programming.