Breaking the Silence Through Mentorship.

When the Rise to Shine Education Foundation team arrived in Elgeyo Marakwet on April 14th, 2026, they were not stepping into a classroom. They were stepping into years of silence carried by over a hundred girls raised to believe that pain is part of becoming a woman.

At Embobut St. Michael’s Church, the Adolescent Girls Anti-FGM Empowerment Camp became something rare: a space where girls could speak freely about their bodies without fear. What began with simple introductions and ground rules quickly grew into something deeper: a promise of safety, trust, and truth.

By the second day, that promise was already changing the room.

In the session “My Body, My Sanctuary,” the girls learned about their bodies with dignity, many for the first time. They were told clearly: no part of you is unclean, and nothing about you needs fixing.

This truth stood in stark contrast to the beliefs they had grown up with that FGM increases fertility, that an uncut girl is impure, unmarriageable, incomplete. These ideas are not written in books; they are passed down in homes, whispered between generations, and reinforced through silence.

In their community, girls as young as nine are subjected to the cut. Not when they are ready but when the time, family, and tradition decide.

A session led by a psychologist brought honesty to the physical and emotional consequences: lifelong pain, complications in childbirth, and silent trauma that often goes unnamed.

Then came role-play. The girls stepped into real-life scenarios: a mother insisting on the cut, a girl seeking it for acceptance, another with no say at all. Their response was powerful and unified: seek refuge, speak out, do not face it alone.

It was no longer just discussion. It was recognition.

In the quiet that followed, the girls turned inward during vision mapping. They wrote down their dreams, their obstacles, and the support they needed. For many, it was the first time they had truly imagined their own future.

The camp closed with one question: Where do I see myself in fifteen years?

For a girl taught that her worth lies in what she endures, that question is not simple. It is transformative.

Change does not come from condemnation. It begins with conversation honest, patient, and rooted in respect. It begins by reminding girls that their bodies are theirs, and so are their futures.

This is only the beginning. One camp cannot undo generations of silence. But over a hundred girls left carrying something new: knowledge, courage, and a sense of sisterhood they had never known.

And most importantly, the understanding that silence was never protection and they have every right to break it.

Happy End of 1st Term Holidays, 2026!