Growing up in Meru, Brenda experienced a lot of injustices and sexual abuse from a close relative, which affected her self-esteem.
But thanks to her determination to heal, she is now a champion of child protection campaigns aimed at fighting against sexual abuse of girls as well as empowerment of frontline children’s workers to create safe learning environments.
She has founded a programme that advocates for a safer world for girls, which has seen the empowerment of more than 10,000 girls across Kenya with life skills to break the poverty cycle, make informed decisions and take charge of their lives.
“I was sexually abused by my close relative for a long time while growing up between the age of eight and 13 because I did not know it was wrong. First, because I wasn’t told, I wasn’t informed as I thought every child goes through that. I attended a training on child rights that became an eye opener to me,” Brenda said.
Her initiative includes training young girls on sexual abuse, child protection campaigns, training for caregivers, training of teachers on gender-based teaching methodologies and reaching out to churches on how they can incorporate comprehensive sexual education in their services.
“I’m passionate about child support because children, especially, girls are suffering in silence. There are many sexual abuses that go unreported. Statistics show that among every five girls who have been sexually abused, three cases have not been reported. These are the stories I get on the ground,” said Brenda, who holds a bachelor's degree in marketing and certificate from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK.
Her tireless efforts have brought about significant changes in her community, including increased awareness of the importance of protecting young girls and the establishment of safe spaces for them to seek help.
“My vision is to expand my organisation's reach to more regions in Africa, develop partnerships with like-minded organisations worldwide, and advance policies and legislation that support girl child education and empowerment at the national and international levels,” she said.
Her mentorship programme reaches out to adolescent girls aged between 13-19 years to help them overcome challenges like low self-esteem, sexual abuse from people closely related to them and early pregnancy.
Brenda said the aim of her programme is to empower girls to pursue their goals while overcoming life's hurdles.
A recent forum held in New York heard that more than 100 million girls and young women across the world will be out of school in 2030 if the Sustainable Development Goals indicators aimed at women’s equality will not be met.
The forum was hosted by the Bakhita Partnership for Education in partnership with the Conrad N Hilton Foundation and the African Union International Centre for Girl and Women Education in New York on the sidelines of the just-concluded 78th UN SDG summit.
Fr Charles Chilufya, chairman of BPE who opened the forum, said that many nations, especially in Africa, remain significantly behind, or even off-course, in meeting targets for gender equality and educational access.
“The 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly represents the mid-point towards the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals deadline. We need to move with speed in achieving these goals for a prosperous world,” Fr Chilufya said.
He urged Catholic sisters, among others, to unify their perspectives and actions in transforming education in Africa, noting that such a collective effort can create a catalytic impact on progress.
The event recognised the significant role Catholic religious sisters have played in education in Africa, particularly in providing access to education for marginalised communities and promoting the empowerment of women.
There was consensus among delegates that the Catholic Church had established numerous schools, colleges, and vocational training centres across the continent, often in remote and marginalised areas.
The Bakhita Partnership seeks to ensure that every girl child receives quality basic education, prioritising the poorest and the most vulnerable.
