The United States is committed to supporting African countries’ efforts to strengthen democratic institutions, support civil society, advance gender equality, improve governance, and protect human rights.  We view these efforts as priorities not just because they are vital by themselves, but also because good governance and human rights underpin sustainable economic growth and peaceful and just societies.  The United States pursues these goals through our development assistance, high-level diplomatic engagement, partnership with like-minded stakeholders, and public diplomacy that engages directly with citizens across the continent.  Several of President Obama’s signature initiatives directly promote and elevate inclusive, transparent, and democratic governance in Africa.

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100 girls in West Pokot rescued from FGM and child marriage graduate with entrepreneurial and ICT skills.

Head of DFID Kenya Lisa Phillips recently attended a graduation ceremony for girls from the Pokot community who completed trainings on social entrepreneurship and ICT. The over 100 girls who escaped from Female Genital Mutilation and forced early marriages will now become ambassadors to educate and sensitize the rest of the community on the dangers of FGM.

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Resilience. The development community sees resilience as a bridge between emergency response and long-term development. Yet, it can be difficult to understand what the term really means.

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Catherine M. Russell: Ambassador-At-Large for Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Department of State and
Sarah Muthoni, Global Give Back Circle Beneficiary.

June 15th-16th, 2016, FHI 360 hosted the 4th global Gender 360 Summit in Washington, DC. The two-day summit put a spotlight on important development issues affecting adolescent girls and boys. Speakers from around the world — including adolescent girls and boys, youth activists and development experts —convened to support adolescents’ empowerment and leadership, addressing core obstacles such as gender-based violence, to come up with tangible solutions to help advance gender equality.

Africa Genesis TV interviews Global Give Back Circle beneficiaries, as they share their rescue story.

Global Give Back Circle Beneficiary, Faith Chepkiror, shares her story and the brave story of other Kenyan girls.

Violence Against Women is taking root in most parts of the country and the perpetrators are viewing it as a normal practice in a family or community. The victims always end up suffering in the hands of their husbands, boyfriends and siblings who ignore the fact that the act is violating some human rights and the inflicted pain on the victim can be dangerous.

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Unlike most girls born into poverty, three young Kenyan women – all recipients of scholarships and mentorship opportunities from the Global Give Back Circle (GGBC) –are leading the global discussion on girls’ empowerment.

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On May 19th, the Global Give Back Circle hosted its 2018 Annual Renewal Ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya. This year’s theme was ‘Giving Back,’ and the event brought together beneficiaries and benefactors of the program, including: alumna, beneficiaries in college, mentors, private sector partners, and local community members. Everyone celebrated and renewed their commitment to the ‘Circle’ for another year. We also had the pleasure of appreciating all beneficiaries and Alumna, who are giving back to their communities, by acknowledging the impact they are making in society. These incredible women shared words of wisdom with the younger beneficiaries –encouraging them to harness their passion and create practical solutions for positive change.

Renewing Give Back Commitments:

In honor of this renewal, the girls reviewed their Give Back Commitment and measured the impact it has had on their communities and themselves over the last year. They also discussed solutions to the challenges they faced during implementation and reflected on what they could have done to make their commitments even more effective. We were so impressed by how impactful they were and the number of lives directly and indirectly touched by the girls’ commitments.

Alumni-Lead Workshops:

Unique to this year’s Renewal Ceremony were the Alumna-taught workshops on health education that the beneficiaries attended after the main event. These workshops were organized and delivered by Alumna, who are now working as medical professionals. The workshops covered topics from lifestyle diseases to mental health to cancer awareness. The younger girls learned about risk factors, the importance of health assessment, and the various preventive measures for the diseases. This workshop helped to raise awareness about healthy decision-making and supplied the girls with useful skills, resources, and information to share with their peers and community.

Our Key Note Speaker:

Our Key note speaker this year was Ms. Betty Adera. She is passionate about matters related to youth and goes out of her way to advocate for them. She is the Founder and President of Betty Adera Foundation and is also the Chief of Party of the DREAMS Initiative, a PEPFAR Initiative targeting adolescent girls and young women that implements HIV prevention interventions in the informal urban settlements of Nairobi City County, Kenya. In the Global Give Back Circle Program, she is a mentor to two mentees: Nelly Mpuhwe from Rwanda and Perpetual Mukami from Starehe Girls’ Center in Nairobi. What stood out from her inspiring speech at the 2018 Annual Renewal Ceremony was her message on ‘Giving’:

“People are not defined by what they get, but what they give. Let your story be defined by your giving and by those people you help… A little can go a long way.”

To hear more of Betty Adera’s empowering speech, see the video below:

On June 23, 2018, Global Give Back Circle mentor, Naomi Lanoi, met her mentee Faustina Christine Wangari for the very first time ever. After eight years of exchanging letters, they were thrilled to finally meet in person.

When Christine’s lovely mentor, Naomi, came into her life, she was a young adolescent high school girl from an at-risk background, with a limited perspective on her potential in the world. In 2010, Naomi joined Christine on her journey with the Global Give Back Circle to become an empowered young woman with endless possibilities.

Christine attended St. Martin’s Girls Secondary School in Kibagare, Kenya, and graduated in 2012, where she then proceeded to college at Kenya Institute of Management (KIM). Christine says, “I thank God for Global Give Back Circle for educating me at KIM having received a diploma in Business Management- Human Resource.” Christine attributes her success at college to Naomi’s love and support, and to the helpful workshops given by the Global Give Back Circle. In 2016, she graduated from college with Naomi still by her side inspiring her every step of the way.

Naomi works for an NGO that fights for women’s rights and land rights. Christine has grown to cherish her and the relationship that they have. “I feel like she’s family,” Christine emphasizes. She goes on to say that Naomi is just the “best match” for her and that she is so friendly and loving. She admires Naomi’s unrelenting fight to secure justice and freedom for women, no matter what it takes.

Christine is currently at the College of Human Resource Management taking a professional course to become a Human Resource Expert. She’s also doing an internship at AMREF Flying Doctor’s as she gains experience to eventually work in a Human Resource Consultancy firm. She wants to get exposure in the HR field, since her big dream is to eventually open her own HR Consultancy firm. Naomi’s support, she says, has made her dreams seem achievable.

On Saturday, June 23rd, Naomi had the opportunity to meet Christine as the empowered young women that she helped her to become. We are so happy to have witnessed Naomi and Christine’s amazing journey together. A special thank you to all mentors, like Naomi, who have proven that educating and mentoring a girl can change not only her life, but the world as well.