Kiwohede
KIWOHEDE (Kiota Women Health and Development Organization) - Tanzania, Africa
Kiwohede’s goal is to aid young girls who are being subjected to exploitation and abuse. Due to poverty and neglect many young girls in Tanzania today find themselves in vulnerable positions. As a result they fall prey to prostitution, trafficking, and dangerous, underpaid work. Many of them are homeless or have been taken away from their parents. They are denied their basic human rights and are being deprived from any chance at an education let alone a future. Kiwohede works in cooperation with the community to rescue and house them. If the police happen across any of these vulnerable children they will be referred to Kiwohede. Kiwohede tries to give the girls life stability by creating them support networks. They run a variety of rehabilitation programs, offer child counseling and run free testing for STDs and HIV.
They provide the girls with necessary tools for the future, such as a basic education and vocational skills. These include sewing, tie-dyeing, tailoring, weaving, embroidery, cooking, carpentry, sculpturing, weaving, hatchery, beekeeping and animal keeping. Finance and business management are also included to show them how to sustain themselves and how to make the most of their tools. Life skills such as self respect and respect for others are taught. They are taught how to use their own voices and lobby for their human rights.
The center provides sex education for the children and youth aged 12-24 years, highlighting dangers of teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse, rape and violence, HIV and AIDS. It offers family planning advice but encourages Abstinence as a means of battling STDs and teen pregnancy. Kiwohede encourages community involvement through its Outreach program. Through public events and house visits the girls can showcase their theater art talents, promote the center, and raise awareness of issues such as child labor, trafficking and HIV/AIDs. The center practices group discussion and encourages conversations between themselves, their relatives, community members and government leaders.
Since its inception, Kiwohede has reached through to roughly 40,000 girls. It has set up 22 counseling centers and 56 Peer Child Rights clubs. Each center has its own drop-in clinic for HIV testing. It has established itself in as many as 56 ward communities in 12 separate districts of Dar es Salaam.