• Girls trained at technical and vocational colleges to get skills for self employment after they were unable to resume school due to pregnancy.
• Teen pregnancies increased especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
Trans Nzoia county has partnered with Child Rescue Kenya to rehabilitate more than 300 pregnant girls who dropped out of school.
Stephen Baraza, who is in charge of the project, said the girls have been trained at technical and vocational colleges in skills for self-employment after they dropped out of primary and secondary schools.
“We have been able to support training in courses like tailoring, mechanics and many others. We then give then give them start-up kits so they can be self-employed."
County education executive July Kichwen said they want to increase funding for technical colleges so that institutions can accommodate more youth for training.
“We have so many youth who require training to get skills that can help them be self-employed. We urge all stakeholders to focus their support on the expansion of the technical colleges,” she said.
Kichewen said the programme would be expanded to bring on board thousands of girls affected by teenage pregnancy.
Women in leadership in the North Rift have formed a caucus to help deal with challenges plaguing, in the region, plaguing especially women and children.
The group, led by Nandi Deputy Governor Yulita Mitei, said the challenges include insecurity in the Kerio Valley, increased gender-based violence, teenage pregnancies and creating cancer awareness.
They also want to deal with women and girl child empowerment, FGM and girls' mentorship.
Mitei said they will ensure the voices of women are heard whenever county and national leaders discuss critical issues.
Other women leaders present included Elgeyo Marakwet Deputy Governor Grace Cheserek, former envoy to China Sarah Serem and governor's wives from some of the counties in the region.
Mitei said as women leaders they had been updated on the UN resolution 1325 which looks at matters related to prevention and protection of women from all forms of GBV.
“We will work on empowerment programmes so that we sensitise women on their roles and rights,” she said.
Mitei said they will also focus on the cultural settings of communities which seem in some cases to variously discriminate against boys and girls during their upbringing.
“We need a dialogue involving many stakeholders to deal with the challenges as a whole,” she said.
Cheserek said FGM is still extensively carried out in some North Rift counties despite many years of efforts to wipe out the illegal outlawed practice.
She said women leaders have resolved to sensitise affected communities to abandon FGM.
She said they would also team up with counties to provide support through North Rift Economic Bloc so they can implement the activities they have lined up. They plan to establish a charter through NOREB to deal with women's issues.
(Edited by V. Graham)