Curtains Draw For Bungoma Red Cross Project As GBV Awareness Increases

By Isabella Maua

Awareness of Gender-Based Violence in Bungoma has improved significantly by 18% from 2022 to 2026.

This is according to preliminary reports shown during the closure of the ‘Prevention and Awareness Raising on Gender-Based Violence Bungoma project’.

Speaking during the colourful ceremony in Cheptais, project manager Wilson Owino reported that the project has been greatly impactful.

“As we started this project, there were over 60% cases of GBV, but now as we exist on the stage, we are glad to report that the cases have declined to about 47% across the county,” said Owino.

He further mentioned that they have developed policies that are gender-sensitive and inclusive, in which the vulnerable in society, as well as people with disabilities, have a say at the table.

“We have made progress on social behaviour, and gender roles have really been redefined to ensure the females who are more vulnerable are no longer tied down by a backward culture,” he added.

The GBV survivors have not only received psychosocial support from the Red Cross, but also, so far, they have been economically empowered.

According to Ann Bucheche Chepkebin, a reformed female circumciser from Cheptais, the Red Cross team trained them on how to access loans through village loaning and savings groups.

She narrates how she was stranded after the government ban on female circumcision, famously known as female genital mutilation.

“I did not know what to do next after the national ban of FGM, so together with my fellow cutters, we opted to do it secretly in the forest and sometimes even in the neighbouring country, Uganda,” explains Chepkebin.

She further states: “Upon training by the Red Cross, who came to us numerous times to educate us on the negatives and adversities of FGM, we were convinced to stop the vice, but with no alternative source of income, we became frustrated.”

Chemu (not her real name) is another reformed cutter who divulges that after complaints here and there, the Red Cross team advised them to form groups and bought them dairy cattle to start a genuine financial journey that would later change their lives for good.

“We now have many calves from the cows we started with; we sell milk, and we have a weekly savings programme where we can access loans amongst ourselves to keep us economically empowered,” she added.

Chepkebin called upon all reformed cutters to join the bandwagon and preach the gospel of fighting against FGM and all forms of GBV.

She called upon the county and national government to lend them a hand as they continue advocating for a GBV-free society.

“We would appreciate it if you linked us to organizations of this sort so that we can continue with sensitization and keep teaching our children and the youths, especially in Mt Elgon, which is a very high-risk area.

The reformed female circumcisers also requested that a safe house be erected in the region so that the community can benefit from counselling services.

Tina Chelang’at (not her real name) is a survivor of the 2007 Sabaot Land Defence Forces ordeal. The middle-aged woman is lucky to have lived and to be able to explain her story 19 years later.

Tina Chelang’at (not her real name) struggles to contain her tears as she recounts her experience of sexual assault by an army officer who impregnated her.

“I was married and already had children with my husband, but unfortunately, the heinous incident I went through resulted in a fatherless baby, whom I had no choice but to raise under very harsh conditions,” recalls Tamnai.

She narrates that after the Red Cross team came to their rescue, they provided medical attention and then gradually started counselling sessions, which helped them heal and slowly lead normal lives.

“After being beaten up by the army officers and being impregnated, it didn’t end there; I developed a fistula after giving birth to my baby, who is now in Grade 7, but the Red Cross helped me get medication at Cherang’any, and here I am, telling of God’s miracle through them,” she commented.

Whistleblowers also graced the occasion with their whistles to symbolise their duty to society: breaking the silence of gender-based violence!

Justin Wekunda is a certified whistleblower who proudly says he is mandated to break the chains of sexual and gender-based violence at the grassroots level, where they reach the most vulnerable groups.

Wekunda strongly holds the opinion of redefining the term ‘same-sex relationship’, observing that many girls and boys in the village are drowning in lesbianism and homosexuality as they experiment with what they see on social media.

“As this project ends, we are glad that we have owned it, and we shall continue enlightening the community on GBV; however, lawmakers should rethink matters of same sex since many of our children are putting themselves at high risk as they venture into the vice,” concluded Wekunda.

While thanking the Red Cross team for the fruitful partnership, Moses Chebonya, the director for gender in Bungoma County, challenged the stakeholders to intensify talks among the young boys in schools and at home.

“Male children are prone to rebellion, and that is why most of them are diving into drug and substance abuse, consumption of illicit liquor, among other vices. Let’s scale up the programme to deal with many boys,” he stated.

He also strongly condemned the infamous ‘sex for firewood’, which has become rampant in Mt Elgon forest, where the Kenya Forest Service officers sexually harass vulnerable women who seek firewood in the forest and its vicinity.

“Even as this project ends, let us focus on the Chepyuk area, where girls and women are being defiled and raped so that they can access firewood. Boys who look after cattle near the forest are also victims of circumstance,” warned Chebonya.

As the project nostalgically drew to a close, among other celebrants were the Ministry of Health at the county and national levels; watch groups; survivors; reformed cutters; religious leaders; cultural elders; male champions led by motorcycle riders popularly known as ‘boda boda’; and community health promoters.

It may look like the end, but this is just the beginning for all stakeholders to implement what they have learnt and keep touching more lives in their areas of jurisdiction to ensure zero tolerance for any form of gender-based violence.