Met with Open Arms
Mary (on the left) and a friend
Girls' Rescue Centers
Kenya
Hope eludes many young Maasai girls in Kenya. Through tradition, their culture dictates two tragic events for girls: female circumcision and early marriage to considerably older men, old enough to be their grandfathers. It was from these two untenable situations that nine year old Mary (fictitious name) ran away from home for the Girls’ Rescue Center.
FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) is performed on girls while they are still young, usually between ages 8-12. Girls are mutilated so as to no longer be able to enjoy sexual intercourse, with the expectation that this will keep them “well-behaved.”
When a young girl is married to an older man, she is often stripped of her individual freedoms. It becomes her duty to serve her husband through child bearing and home tasks.
Due to extreme poverty conditions, arranged marriage is appealing to girls’ parents because they typically receive a dowry. In Mary’s case, her caretaker grandmother was given a few cows and goats in return for giving Mary to a man nearly six times her age.
Desperate to escape this future, Mary ran. After journeying barefoot for miles, she found safety at the Olosho-olbor Girls’ Rescue Center, a project sponsored by The Outreach Foundation and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA). She was met literally with open arms.
Beatrice, who runs the Center, is like a mother to these girls. She is pictured here in the girls' dormitory
The center changed Mary’s life and the lives of countless others. Not only has it rescued girls from unimaginably painful fates, but has provided them with a community of friends, given them confidence in themselves and provided an education. And, in conjunction with PCEA leadership, the center works toward reconciliation between the girls and their families. Staff counselors facilitate the reconciliation process.
God has brought special people together to provide shelter, counseling and reconciliation to the girls and their families. Praise him for his work!
60 girls are currently in residence at the Olosho-olbor Girls’ Rescue Center!
YOU Can Make a Difference!
- Support a girl at the rescue center for $500 annually by clicking HERE
- Learn more about FGM and help stop this dangerous and demeaning practice