Langas, one of the largest slums in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County is characterized by extreme poverty, overpopulation, poor sanitation, alcohol and drug abuse, school dropout, sexual exploitation, early pregnancies, high HIV infections and crime rates. Due to these social ills, teenage girls in Langas are highly exposed to negative behaviours that are detrimental to their future. The Uasin Gishu National Aids Control Council 2019, Report indicates that children aged 15 to 24 make up more than 1/2 of the county’s new HIV infections. The County Reproductive Health Department (June 23rd 2019) Report, further indicates that the pregnancy rate in Uasin Gishu stands at 22% for girls aged 15 to 19 translating to 1 in every 5 girls within the age bracket being pregnant.
EREEP seeks to keep girls in school, arming them with the knowledge and life skills they need to prevent early pregnancies and Infections.
Empowering girls with life skills, education, and sisterhood is vital for them to become thriving women. According to UNICEF, every year a girl goes to school can increase her future income by 10 percent.
Through Girls Empowerment EREEP has created a safe space for girls, providing sisterhood as a means to create a sense of belonging by giving them a chance to learn about issues that affect their lives, enabling them to expand their social networks and learn basic girls’ survival skills through life skills. This mentorship is also extending to teachers and parents of these girls and the community, as a prerequisite to the empowerment of girls.
The EREEP Girls’ Empowerment Clubs in quarter 1 of 2022 has helped over 300 vulnerable adolescent girls from two Secondary schools within Langas slum.
The life skills sessions in the club help the girls in creating self-awareness, helping them in decision making, to build their self-confidence and help them to advocate for their rights and voice their concerns in school and within the community (including their sexual and reproductive health).
Learn more about EREEP here
