Kenya Midterm Break

At Valvisions Foundation, we inspire for our girls to be strong, smart and bold. We believe in providing our diverse girls with life changing experiences and solutions to the unique challenges that girls face. We create an environment that empowers the girls to succeed. We build lasting relationships in the girls by helping create a sense of mutual respect and sisterhood. We provide the girls with a physically and emotionally safe environment. We provide hands-on programs that give the girls skills and knowledge to set goals, overcome obstacles, and improve academic performance. These girls come from a culture that does not recognize the girl child; her place is in the kitchen, doing house chores while waiting for a suitor regardless of her age. Education is a vital tool to help traditional culture and religion abandon reasons for subjecting girls to the cut. “A home without daughters is like a spring without a source.” We love our girls, and we do everything possible to ensure that they are happy and...

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KENYA BACK TO SCHOOL 1ST TERM

Our girls are back in school after a well-deserved December holiday. They had a good time with their parents and siblings, and they are grateful for the time spent with their families. They are now in their final year of school and very apprehensive as they wait to sit for their final examinations in November, which will mark the end of their secondary education. Those that will pass their examinations will be heading to the university. Those that don’t make the mark, can attend local colleges. The girls are happy; they have everything they need at school through the funding they receive from Valvisions Foundation. Their tuition fee is paid, they have all the school supplies they need, and they have adequate pocket money for their use until the term ends. We keep a keen eye on the girls, visiting them at school as often as possible, following up with their teachers, and making sure they stay on top of their grades. We enlist the help of a tutor who helps those with challenges in various subjects. Valvisions does everything to ensure that the girls get as much help as possible because we believe that they are willing to take up the mantle of leadership and do something outstanding with their lives.  ...

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Home for the Holidays

The Uganda girls are home for the Christmas holidays; it is the first time this year that they have returned to their village, Kaplegep. Understandably, they were overjoyed when the holiday began. A beautiful, lush green land, tucked away in the furthest corner of South East Uganda, Kaplegep is a hilly countryside covered with fronds of banana plants, maize gardens and the tendrils of bean plants. In the mornings, the air is thick with mist, and in the evenings, smoke from household hearths fills the air with the fragrance of burning wood. This is the life our girls were born into, which has shaped most of their experiences of the world. It is a simple life: there is no electricity and no indoor plumbing, therefore no TV, refrigerators, microwaves or other devices humming in the background. In fact, at night, the silence is almost absolute – broken only by the occasional animal howl. Their homes are simply furnished, and centered around the cooking hearth where family meals are prepared. The fire also provides warmth in the biting cold of this mountainous region. Most of the girls are part of large families, extended families, with several generations living in close vicinity. With frequent inter-marriages, and polygamous unions most families in the area are related and in-laws are considered to be very important connections. A woman’s household duties may extend to her in-laws, the family she has married into. Her in-laws have a huge influence on her life; often taking over her household. Men occupy the highest echelons of society; women may sit on the ground in their presence and they may certainly refrain from speaking unless spoken to. It is not uncommon for women to remain utterly silent in gatherings where men, or their in-laws, are present. There are many aspects of this culture which point at a challenging state of affairs for women, not least of which is the practice of FGM. This, not surprisingly, attracts the most censure, international condemnation and a legal ban on the ritual as well as various efforts to protect girls from the cruel cut. From the outside looking in, it is easy to judge and perhaps condemn the seemingly complicated state of gender relations. This however, is the way things have been for time immemorial; the culture has been molded thus over centuries even and any real change would certainly take time. Yet...

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A Typical Day In A Pokot Girls Life

It takes between 2 and a half to 3 hours for Cecilia to get to her home village from the rescue center that she lived in for many years before her life was transformed by Valvisions Foundation. Cecilia and the other 7 girls that are on a scholarship program through the Helen Valverde scholarship Fund have to go home every once in a while to visit their parents, relatives and siblings. The journey home from the rescue centre is tiresome and grueling due to the dry and humid conditions in Pokot, there is no public transport and even the common motor bikes that are used by most travelers have not reached Pokot yet. After the long and tedious journey home, Cecilia is welcomed by her mother and her younger siblings, her father watches from his hut as the greetings are going on, he cannot show excitement or affection towards his daughter, such actions are reserved for the mother and the younger children, so he watches from a distance and looks disinterested. Cecilia after exchanging pleasantries with her mother and siblings then goes to her father’s hut, she humbly says hallo to him, and he responds barely looking in her direction, whatever emotions he feels are not revealed, that is the way culture dictates. Cecilia has brought her mother some sugar, cooking oil, onions and tomatoes, rare commodities at home. She has also brought her siblings sweets and bread, and they jump with joy on seeing the gifts, she has cleverly saved part of her pocket money throughout the term to enable her buy this goodies. She rests for a while, and then she gets into the normal everyday routine of a Pokot girl. Before dusk she helps her mother prepare dinner, ‘Ugali’ (maize flour mixed with hot water and cooked over a fire for about 15-20 mins making a loose paste, similar to mashed potatoes) and fermented milk is the staple food of the Pokot. They eat together, but the father eats from his hut. The meal is barely enough, but they have learnt to share what is provided. The dinner dishes are piled in one corner, the hut Cecilia shares with her sibling’s acts as the kitchen, dining area and sitting room. After dinner it’s time to sleep, there is no electricity and so they use a lantern, made from old tins filled with paraffin. Cecilia’s bed comprises...

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The Kenya Girls

This holiday season, get to know a little more about our Kenya girls; they have been in our lives for nearly four years now and we love them dearly. Cecilia is the tall girl who plays netball like a pro, Janet is always smiling and she loves to read a good novel, Irene is thoughtful, deeply religious and very focused on everything she does, she has excellent leadership qualities and she does a great job of watching over the other girls. Vemiah is inquisitive, mischievous, always has a big grin and loves to learn new skills like cooking and farming: she effortlessly milks the cow on the farm, and she makes very delicious food too. Vivian is vibrant and talkative, she loves her books and likes adventure, while Helidah is gentle, but she likes a good laugh and watching movies, she loves to farm and play football. Sandra takes a while to warm up to new people because she is shy, but start a conversation with her about the Pokot culture, and you will be amazed at the wealth of knowledge she has on Pokot traditions and norms. Alexine is smart as a whip, confident and extroverted; she loves to read anything and everything, like books and newspapers to catch up on the current affairs; she is very observant and is the first to notice little details. The holiday house Together, the girls have a warm, homely holiday house this Christmas. The house is based in Kinangop in central Kenya. It is a well-furnished house with amenities like water, electricity, a well secured compound, a farm with cows and sheep on it and lots of space for the girls to run around, they also have a vegetable garden which they tend with pride. Vemiah the ‘cook’ invites you to lunch: Enjoy with them the traditional but delicious Mukimo Ingredients: Maize (corn), Peas, Potatoes (Irish) Boil equal proportions of the maize, peas and potatoes until very tender. Then combine in a large dish, and mash with lots of butter and seasoning. Serve piping hot alongside meat or chicken....

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Steadily Moving Forward

The end of the year is as much a time for reflection as the beginning; perhaps even more so for our students, because what happens in these last months will have such a huge impact on the New Year. The months of October and November require them to dig very deep, and find a last burst of energy that will propel them into the next grade. In Kenya, next year is their final year of High School! At this time next year, our girls will be doing the University entrance exam, which is both exciting and terrifying for them. Understandably so because after that, they suddenly will be required to take control of their lives; thrust from the relative safety of the life we have helped them build for themselves, as our children near and dear to us, carefully and lovingly provided for in every way. While still our children, the girls will all be 18 years old by the end of next year, legally recognized as adults and free to make their independent way in the world. University life in Kenya can be as socially and academically hectic as it is anywhere else in the world, and our girls are definitely looking forward to being undergraduates. Hopefully, they are well prepared! It is easy to forget in all the ensuing hype, that their lives could have been very different without the intervention of Valvisions Foundation. Children from the Pokot tribe in Kenya continue to face an uncertain future. Violent clashes between nomadic tribes and clans routinely disrupt any attempts at normalcy; children have to miss school altogether as they are caught in the crossfire. Extreme changes in the climate have also taken a toll on the livelihoods of tribes like the Pokot; many women and children with no means to move from one location to another face hunger and a near certain death. And while boys endure an unbearable burden, girls have it even worse because they bear the brunt of savage cultural practices put in place centuries ago in a crude attempt to establish absolute control over family life. The dark side of this is FGM, which despite progressive attempts to ban totally, continues to fester like a secret wound. The word on the street is that more and more families are choosing not to take part in this practice; even our girls say that they see...

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