6 Min Read
KENDU BAY, Kenya (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Mary Achieng’ sifted through her catch of silver cyprinid fish, sorting them into gunny sacks and carrying them to the weighing stand at Kogwang’ Beach, on the Kenyan shore of Lake Victoria.
Achieng’ had caught the fish the night before, using a solar-powered light to lure them into her nets.
The 500-kg (1,100-lb) haul would earn her 50,000 Kenyan shillings ($450) - enough to keep her family going until she next went out again on the lake a week later.
Before she got the lamp two years ago, Achieng’ had to stock her stall in Kendu Bay with whatever she could buy from local fishermen - many of whom would only sell to women offering up their bodies for sex.
4 Min Read
KISIMA VILLAGE, Kenya (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Tribal leaders in northern Kenya pledged on Friday to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage in their communities, a step hailed by President Uhuru Kenyatta as “an important milestone” in boosting girls’ rights.
One in five women and girls aged between 15 and 49 in Kenya have undergone FGM, which usually involves the partial or total removal of the female genitalia and can cause serious health problems, the United Nations says.
Kenya outlawed the widely condemned practice a decade ago, but it continues in some communities such as the semi-nomadic Samburu tribe, who see it as necessary for social acceptance and improving their daughters’ marriage prospects.
Kenyan tribal elders vow to end FGM, child marriage in milestone for girls reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Deep in Tana River County, in southeastern Kenya, a group of pupils formed a circle around their teacher, jotting down notes as they listened to a Swahili diction lesson coming from the solar-powered radio sitting in their teacher's lap.
5 Min Read
TANA RIVER, Kenya (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Deep in Tana River County, in southeastern Kenya, a group of pupils formed a circle around their teacher, jotting down notes as they listened to a Swahili diction lesson coming from the solar-powered radio sitting in their teacher’s lap.
The radio the children from Dida Ade primary school gathered around was one of hundreds distributed for free to the most vulnerable households in the semi-arid region east of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.
The radios allow children without internet access or electricity at home to continue studying while schools are closed to slow the spread of COVID-19, in a project that could also help children stay in education after the pandemic.