• Girls aged between eight and 14 were enrolled between May 2017 and January.
• Headteacher says they're illiterate and have to be enrolled between Standards 1 and 3.
Image: JOSEPH KANGOGO
More than 70 teenagers rescued from FGM are overcrowding Tangulbei Day and Boarding Primary School in Tiaty, Baringo county.
Headteacher Musa Terer said the girls aged between eight and 14 were received between May 2017 and January.
“Initially, the number was only seven but now we have a whopping 79 girls and the number keeps increasing daily," Terer told the Star on Tuesday.
He said the girls were completely illiterate, adding that despite their ages, most haven’t set foot in a school since they were born.
"This forces us to admit them between Standards 1 and 3," he said.
“But worst of all, due to the ballooning number, we are running short of accommodation, forcing some of them to sleep on worn-out cardboard and put up in the classrooms. So after lessons every evening they spend their night in the classrooms,” Terer said.
He said 30 girls have squeezed themselves on the floor of the sizeable dormitory while the rest sleep in classrooms.
Awareness
The increasing number of girls results from efforts by the Tangulbei Women's Network fighting FGM and early marriages.
Chairperson Mary Kuket appeals to the government and well-wishers for financial support so they can put up a modern rescue centre to shelter and enable the girls to acquire quality education.
She said they have the capacity to rescue thousands of girls but face the challenge of accommodation, feeding, clothing and keeping them in school.
“Especially during such a rainy season, most notorious parents are now preparing to circumcise their young girls and we know many of them opposed to the cutting will run to us,” Kuket said.
The community down here is still uncivilised and hostile — sometimes even as leaders we face a lot of threats while attempting to arrest the culprits.assistant chief Miriam Loremoi
She said the endangered teens were rescued from Mukutani, Karelwo, Kasitet, Kalabata, Akwichatis, Silale, Paka hills and Mondi villages along the borders of Baringo and Laikipia counties.
“While while the number was still small, we tried to purchase uniforms, mattresses and writing materials but due to the population we no longer can afford their upkeep,” Kuketsaid.
She urged Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i to impose stringent punishment of culprits and those who abett FGM, which is illegal.
The chair also asked groups like World Vision, Child Fund, Childcare and Red Cross Kenya to pool resources to eradicate gender-based violence.
Lack of evidence
Kachelitwa assistant chief Miriam Loremoi said the community is already willing to offer land to put up a rescue centre, “provided resources are available".
Loremoi confirmed FGM is still rampant at the grassroots. He said a rescue centre would provide a supportive learning environment like that of their mates elsewhere.
“The community down here is still uncivilised and hostile — sometimes even as leaders we face a lot of threats while attempting to arrest the culprits,” she said
Last year, at least 2,000 girls were forced to undergo the cut in the bush in Tiaty, although Loremoi said they did not manage to arrest anybody due to lack of information and evidence.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)