Newsletter Autumn 2025
News from Nairobi
Our mentorship project continued throughout the school year in all of our schools (nine in Mathare and 15 in the rural areas. Our mentors taught weekly lessons and coaching sessions, which covered topics on reproductive health, menstrual health and hygiene, preventing Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS.
We also discussed drug and substance abuse, taught girls leadership skills and discussed gender roles and gender equality. The program was taught by our 55 trained teacher-mentors, with support from Head Teachers, parents and community leaders.
In total, 4,800 students have followed the program in 2025. Out of this number, 1800 girls joined in the urban slum of Nairobi, and 3000 girls joined in the rural outreach program where there is a huge population in the village government schools.
Some of our lessons are also relevant to boys so this year we started including small groups of boys. We hope that this will increase understanding and awareness in boys and that it will eventually lead to gender equality, starting with the younger generation. Next year we hope that more boys can be included in these essential lessons.
Training new mentors
In Kenya teachers are regularly moved from one school to another. They don’t have any say in where they are sent to and this has an impact on us if that teacher happens to be a mentor. So this year we invited 25 new teachers along with all our mentors for training in Nairobi. In this case peer to peer coaching helps new mentors and sharing experiences is vital when becoming a mentor.
All our 55 mentors from Mathare and our Outreach schools were invited to spend two days training. It was a great opportunity for them all to get to know each other, learn from each other and become a strong team. All these ladies are working for us voluntarily and are very dedicated to girls empowerment and improving the lives of girls living in poverty. We couldn’t do it without them!
Learning new skills
Thanks to the fantastic support from the Contribute Foundation we have been able to introduce a hand sewing project into all of our schools. We have made reusable sanitary towels which we distributed to all our Girl Power girls but starting this project means that girls can actually hand sew their own sanitary towels and learn a useful new skill at the same time. First we taught all our mentors how to sew them, during their time at the training session in Nairobi. And they took their new skills and sewing materials back with them to their own schools.
The girls each made three towels for themselves. These towels are more sustainable and less polluting for the environment. But the biggest benefit by far is that girls no longer have to resort to giving sexual favours in return for sanitary towels, to the men who bring them to the rural villages.
Results 2025:
- Data gathered from teachers has shown that 92% of participants reported an improvement in their knowledge of sexual and reproductive health topics.
- Head teachers observed improved discipline, classroom participation, and an increase in self-confidence among mentored learners.
- The introduction and inclusion of boys in some key sessions encouraged mutual respect, challenged traditional gender stereotypes, and improved awareness in boys, helping towards breaking taboos.
Welcome to our new committee member Judit Hodos
We are very happy that Judit has joined our team and we are very grateful for her support.
We’ll let Judit introduce herself
I was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary. I have lived in the Netherlands since 1989. I first worked as a visual artist and, for the past 20 years, as an art teacher.
I first encountered the Mathare Girl Power Project at Vathorst College through activities and projects there. I want to contribute to this inspiring project, so I’ve approached my (former) colleagues. I’m deeply motivated to work with them to make this project flourish and thereby help improve many vulnerable lives.
December School Breakfasts Appeal
All the children in our 9 schools in Nairobi, receive a cup of porridge daily to help them through the day. This provides 3,500 children with a nutritious breakfast and supports poverty stricken families who can’t feed their children every day.
It not only improves their nutrition, but it improves children’s concentration and ability to learn in class, too.
Our funds for breakfast are not enough at the moment to feed the children in December.
Our goal is to raise a total of 3000 euros to provide for all of them.
Any support you can provide would be very much appreciated.
Open the link below to see a short film showing our breakfast program in Mathare