________________________________________________________________________ Vol. 6. Issue 2 ----------- Bi-Annual Newsletter ------------- July-December 2000

The latest report from Kenya
as reported by our local team.

SUMMARY:

     Female Genital Mutilation still remains a major aspect of our agenda. This is because of the existing and exciting new challenges that have arisen for the past three years of implementation of Project Innocence, our program to eliminate female genital mutilation, (FGM) in Kisii among the Abagusii people group.

     Year after year, opportunities propel us further and increase our hope and desire to see FGM stopped. It is this desire that challenges us to be more and more creative in order to reach out to the target groups.

     The use of Seminars, Printed T-shirts, Commitment Cards, Posters, Hand bills, Poem hand outs, Musical extravaganzas, Open air drama, Football contests, Training, Song writing, Disk jockeys (DJ´s) contest, Painting competition, an Ambassador Football team etc. proved very important activities and tools by which adult young men can be reached, educated, and motivated to be activists against FGM.

ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN

SONG WRITING Young boys were encouraged to write songs that would give messages that would water down the cultural songs that have for years been used to incite young girls who are not yet circumcised to the point that they feel useless in the society hence opt for circumcision.
These cultural songs have been used to instill courage and boldness in the girls by giving them false sense of belonging in the society. These songs have been well tailored to brainwash the girls making the ones who are not circumcised feel like outcasts, it lowers their self-esteem and convinces them that the only way out is by undergoing circumcision.

     These songs have been used to make the already circumcised girls feel superior and better mothers. One thing that this songs does not address is the fact that there are side effects to FGM. They are full of myths and lies and personal desires of men and traditions that must be fulfilled at the expense of the little girls. There cultural songs have blinded the thinking of upcoming future fathers to believe that they should reject the uncircumcised.

     These songs are so powerful that when they are sung everybody´s attention is captured and as the rhythm, dance, words and drums fill the air, all minds are held captive to the spirit behind the song.

     The power of such songs must be watered-down. Instead, the songs being composed by the young men must address carefully every area covered by traditional songs with a view to addressing the real issues involved.

     We are thinking of taping these songs on video and audio and making an agreement with the local radio stations to play such songs daily during prime hours hence educating and informing both the young and the old. As an incentive, a price will be given to good composers for encouragement.

TRAINING OF COUNSELORS

The training of young men as peer counselors is a very important exercise in order that they are empowered to be able to reach out to their friends.

This successful training was carried out in order that they could be more involved at their own level to exercise authority and influence especially in the rural areas where the level of education of young girls and boys is low and where traditions and culture is all that the young know as the basic order of the day.

It is in this seminar that capacity to form groups, and communicate have the right information to deal with opposition and questions, etc. were addressed.. The potential of young men to change their society was demonstrated by the willingness to attend the workshop and the lively contributions that were part of the one week exercise whose them was "A Brand New Life, A Brand New Youth".

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