Safety Circles - Supporting Girls During Crisis

Komera was thrilled to have our social worker, Ruth, selected by Creative Action Institute to be one of 10 Sauti Ya Dada Fellow Mentors during the COVID-19 crisis. The fellowship program by Creative Action Institute funded 15 Komera Scholars to participate in Safety Circles. Through these circles, Ruth was able to reach girls with programming focused on health, rights, advocacy, and leadership.

Ruth, in partnership with the Komera staff, was able to expand the reach of the program to all 83 girls at Komera! We are proud of the way we have adapted and used this opportunity to provide deeper impact to our entire secondary school scholarship program.

An incredibly important need during the COVID-19 crisis has been sanitary pads. Girls in the Komera program always have access to menstrual hygiene products, and when the government lockdown began, this became an urgent need for our girls.

The need was so great that some girls had to turn to making pads out of banana leaf fibers. The Komera team was shocked and saddened to see this happening. We knew we had to intervene quickly.

We are happy to share that all 83 scholars have several months’ worth of sanitary hygiene supplies including pads and soap to stay healthy and safe during this crisis. In addition, all girls have face masks and supplies to stay safe during COVID-19. 

As part of the Safety Circle program, Komera created small groups of 15 girls who join a call with a Komera staff person three times per week. In between the weekly calls, girls receive content and support messages through texts. Topics covered include COVID-19 safety measures, child rights, and sexual reproductive health.

Before the Safety Circles began, girls in our community were feeling unmotivated. It was hard to see what was possible for the future when the future felt so uncertain. Without being connected and updated with information, many students feared school would not resume. This mindset left many girls thinking about marriage or starting a family instead of continuing their education.

Komera staff calling girls through the Safety Circle Program

We are so proud at Komera for intervening at this critical time to keep our students engaged and focused on their goals. We don’t know how long this crisis will last, but what we do know is creating a community of support for our students has shown promising results to keep our girls focused and ready to resume their studies, whenever that may be!