PROJECTS | Case Studies | Kenya (Wema)

Wema Centre Trust – Vocational training for sexually abused and exploited girls

ICT began working with Wema Centre Trust (Wema) in 2007. Wema is a local NGO that runs a community rehabilitation programme for street girls in Mombasa, Kenya. It provides a number of vocational training courses at its Rescue Centre in Mombasa. These courses, such as sewing, cookery and IT, are linked to viable income generating activities. The programme is a relatively new initiative but is already having a profound effect upon the lives of girls who live and work on the streets of Mombasa. One such girl is Nyakio.

Nyakio is 15 years old and currently lives in Mombasa with her mother who has AIDS. She no longer sees her father.

In 2003, Nyakio’s mother started working as a prostitute to earn enough money to support the family - Nyakio and her sister spent most nights on their own. In 2005, when Nyakio was 11 years old, her mother was diagnosed with TB. With increasing regularity, Nyakio had to miss school in order to find work. As her mother’s health deteriorated, Nyakio was forced to drop out of school completely when she was just 13 years old.

In 2008, Nyakio lost her job as a home help and the family was forcibly evicted from their rented house; her sister was subsequently taken into care. Nyakio was forced to find work on the streets where she was vulnerable to harassment and exploitation on a daily basis. Luckily, she did not have to do this for long. Some children are not so fortunate. With few, if any, economic opportunities available to them, many poor children are lured into the sex industry, often with the promise of legitimate jobs. These children may end up working in the sex industry for the rest of their lives, which are often cut tragically short by HIV/AIDS and violence.

On hearing about Wema from a police officer, Nyakio and her mother made the 15km journey to Wema’s head office in central Mombasa. Once their immediate needs were met, Wema began searching for Nyakio’s relatives. Nyakio and her mother are now living with a distant cousin on the outskirts of Mombasa until they find an alternative. Nyakio was enrolled on Wema’s Vocational Training Programme in June 2008, during which she learnt cookery, tailoring and IT skills. She completed her training in late 2008 and is hoping to find local work with help from Wema. Nyakio’s mother is receiving healthcare and now, with ongoing support from Wema, Nyakio is feeling much more positive about her life.