Road Rehabilitation, FGM Awareness Sessions and Monitoring in Kalwarabe village

In Kalwarabe village, the previous state of the agro-pastoral communities was characterized by low-value farming with little to no improved inputs. it is also constrained by poor access to markets and high transportation costs. Candlelight/KNH FGM Project addressed these constraints through rehabilitating 10 km of feeder road in Kalwarabe village benefiting between 70 to 200 families (1600 inhabitants) which is expected to lower the transportation cost and improve the farm and livestock marketing.

The expected results include improving commerce and trade through increasing profitability of farm, livestock and other commodities produced. The other supplementary benefits expected include easier transportation of sick people to the nearby health centres.

During the implementation of this activity, a FGM mainstreaming technique was utilized by project staff together with the anti-FGM committee in the village, holding FGM awareness sessions both in the site and in the village, whereby workers and some village inhabitants were gathered and given short lessons about the harmful effects of FGM/C.

KNH project carried out their monthly monitoring trips to literacy and numeracy centres in each of the seven selected villages of the project. They also monitored the progress of the anti-FGM committees already established in each of the selected villages. The project staffs observes the progress of the literacy centres, whether the quality of what is taught in the centres matches the expected results of the attendants being able to acquire reading and writing skills as well as getting basic health lessons with much focus on FGM and its harmful consequences. The staffs at same time monitor the progress of the anti-FGM committee, their role in disseminating FGM awareness message, the number of times they carried out the campaign both in and out of the village, their achievements and challenges they face in general.