28/01/2026
It has been over a month since we facilitated the Health and Leadership camp trainings for our longstanding partner Kakenya's Dream Organization in Transmara Narok County. However, some moments remain etched in our minds as a sobering reminder of why the work we do is so critical.
One afternoon, as we were busy engaging with the participants at the camp, a young girl was brought in in a state of physical and emotional shock, bleeding from bruised knees, after being dragged on the ground by abductors who had stormed her school and wanted to take her to an elderly suitor on the very day of her final KCSE exam paper. While her peers celebrated their academic milestone, the girl's family had already orchestrated a plan to "marry her off," viewing the end of her schooling merely as the commencement of her life as a child bride. Luckily her elder brother and a friend of his who had caught wind of the plan came to her rescue and with the help of the law enforcers from the area, the perpetrators’ mission was botched.
This harrowing incident highlights the reality that despite a robust legal framework, retrogressive practices like child marriage and Female Ge***al Mutilation (FGM) remain rampant because they are justified, maintained and perpetuated by deeply entrenched community mindsets.
However, this case also offers a powerful blueprint for change through the lens of male engagement as the girl’s rescue was made possible only because her elder brother and a male friend stood in total opposition to the family’s plan, engaging in a physical struggle to secure her freedom. Their intervention underscores the vital role men and boys play as allies in the pursuit of gender justice.
When men transition from being bystanders or perpetrators to becoming active protectors and advocates for their sisters and daughters, the impact is transformative. As such, we must continue to engage men and boys as primary stakeholders in these efforts, as their voices are often the most influential in dismantling the patriarchal structures that sustain Gender-Based Violence (GBV) especially in patriarchal societies like ours.
We owe a profound debt of gratitude to our host the Kakenya’s Dream Organization (KDO) for being at the forefront of this battle in our Country. Their unwavering commitment to GBV prevention and the promotion of girl-child education has created a foundation of hope for many at-risk pupils and students from the wider Narok County and its environs.
By consistently engaging us over the years to conduct vital Assertiveness and Boundary Setting training and by extension engaging us in programming that is aimed at dismantling negative social norms in the County, we are reminded that while the work to change hearts and minds of community members is slow, it is the only path toward a future where a girl’s education is celebrated rather than cut short by violence. We remain committed to this noble work, ensuring that every girl has the right to a future defined by her own potential rather than by harmful traditions.
