Merry-Go-Strong

en’s Welfare Program - TWWP - as a community based organization with the mission of working to eradicate Female Ge***al Mutilation - FGM. Through grassroots efforts, TWWP advocates, educates, and mobilizes the community about the harmful effects of FGM while also providing the Alternative Rite of Passage for the girls of the community. The Alternative Rite of Passage - or ARP - is a week long event where adolescent girls throughout the Tharaka Nithi County gather to celebrate the transition to womanhood. The girls learn about relationships, sexuality, development, health, and human rights in lieu of FGM. Graduates of the ARP have the incredible opportunity for scholarships. In a place where education and success are nearly synonymous, the value of these scholarships is indescribable. The mothers of these children were so inspired by their girls that, they too, sought after education. TWWP expanded into helping found literacy groups that empower the women of the community. The groups give them the ability to share the same joy and excitement education brings to their daughters. While TWWP is able to provide scholarships for a large number of girls, the fundraising-based foundation is unable to provide scholarships for all of the girls. That’s where we at Merry-Go-Strong come in. We are working with the women and girls of the community to see the value in the traditional crafts they have know for years and also introducing new crafts they can test out with the resources available. With this added income, more women and girls will be able to afford school fees and work towards fulfilling their dreams!