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Garissa leaders seek help for sole rescue centre for vulnerable girls

Womankind Kenya Programme Coordinator Halima Hussein Halima Hussein is interviewed on April 14, 2024, during an open day for the UmmulKheir Girls' Home in Garissa Township. (Photo: Issa Hussein)

By Issa Hussein | 14 Apr 2024

The UmmulKheir Girls' Home is the only rescue centre in Garissa for girls vulnerable to retrogressive practices such as FGM and child marriage.

Several leaders in Garissa have appealed for support for the UmmulKheir Girls' Home, the only rescue centre for vulnerable girls in the county, noting the need to assist more of them.

Womankind Kenya, a non-governmental organisation in North Eastern Kenya, opened the home in 1995 to promote the education of girls from vulnerable families and serve as a rescue centre for those facing early marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM).

Programme Coordinator Halima Hussein reported on Sunday that they have assisted more than 1,000 girls so far, helping them through their primary and secondary education, higher learning and vocational training.

Halima added, however, that the home in Garissa Township needs more support so more pastoralist girls are assisted.

"We are unable to meet their needs due to limited resources. We appeal to government institutions, donors and well-wishers to support the institution that is the only one of its kind," she told journalists.

Halima noted that UmmulKheir's founders are determined to provide a safe home for girls undergoing retrogressive cultural practices such as early marriage, so they can match their male counterparts, who are prioritised when it comes to education.

She thanked donors such as the Dr. Ekman Foundation, the M-Pesa Foundation, Direct Aid, the KCB Foundation, Equity Bank, UNICEF and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) for their scholarships.

Mohamed Khalif Nunde, chairperson of Garissa civil rights organisations, lauded the institution for helping vulnerable girls and asked the county, the national government, and donors to mobilise resources for their benefit.

Garissa's Gender and Culture executive Hawa Abdi Sahal and Education's Ebla Minhaj, who attended the institution's open day, said it plays a key role in society's well-being and advancement.

"We will join efforts to ensure the institution continues to offer help to the community," Hawa said, noting that girls are saved from gender-based violence and other vices.

Ebla said the beneficiaries need more scholarships and donations of learning materials, food, and dignity kits, and that the home could benefit from infrastructural development.

Abdiwahab Ibrahim, the North Eastern head of the National Gender Equality Commission, speaks to journalists during an open day at the UmmulKheir Girls' Home in Garissa Township on April 14, 2024. (Photo: Issa Hussein)

Abdiwahab Ibrahim, the North Eastern regional boss of the National Gender Equality Commission, noted that the region has in the past recorded the highest levels of gender-based violence and FGM.

Abdiwahab assured UmmulKheri of the commission's support for girls' rights and urged parents to report crimes such as GBV and FGM to authorities for appropriate action and give girls the opportunity to go to school.