Bumulusi women: The uncelebrated frontline heroes in fighting unsafe abortion
Unsafe abortion has long been a silent killer in Navakholo constituency in Kakamega County. Young women and girls have died silently, their deaths described as resulting from sudden illness, while truth hides in the shadows, known only to a few families members. National figures show the scale of the problem. A Ministry of Health study released in 2023 estimates that about 792,694 induced abortions occurred in Kenya that year, translating to 57 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age.
Strings of misfortunes push a Kakamega woman to champion the fight against Gender Based Violence and unsafe abortion
When Jennifer Onyalo’s husband died in 2008, life as she knew it collapsed. She was left with four children, four months pregnant with a fifth, and living in a mud-walled house in Kakamega County. Overnight, she lost the family’s sole breadwinner and any sense of certainty about the future. Fear, grief, and poverty closed in at once, pushing her to the edge.
Turning the Tide: Local Leadership Confronts Violence and Unsafe Abortion
For years, local administrators in parts of Western Kenya have carried a damaging reputation. They have often been labelled in some of the vices holding communities back.
Transforming into Change Agents: How Ndhiwa’s Cane cutters are Inspiring Hope
A group of men sits patiently under a tree as they engage in a light talk after a hard day’s work in the plantations. Ordinarily, they would be talking about football, politics, or sugarcane associated expeditions. But this is no ordinary gathering.
From Risk to Referral: A former birth attendant’s stand against unsafe abortion
Hanifa Wechuli from Navakholo village in Kakamega County has seen the realities of unsafe abortion. These realities mirror a wider crisis affecting women and girls across Kenya.
Teenage mothers in Kakamega are rewriting their future through mentorship programs
Teenage pregnancy is a shock for many young girls in Kakamega. It cuts school short, creates confusion and disrupts the carefully imagined future. In a single moment, education is replaced by fear, and ambition gives way to the daily struggle to survive.
How motorcycle taxi operators have transformed the fight against unsafe abortion, teenage pregnancies in Homa Bay
For many years, motorcycle taxi, commonly known as boda boda operators have always carried a heavy stigma in society. They have often been associated with crime, defilement, sexual and gender-based violence, and the exploitation of young girls. This is changing.
Giving hope to survivors of teenage pregnancy, one day at a time
Idda Atieno remembers December 2024 as the month her life changed forever. She was still a minor, had just turned age 16, unemployed, and fully dependent on her single mother. She was also a high school student preparing for her final exams. Then she discovered she was pregnant.
Elders bet on dialogue to protect teenagers and young mothers from harm
The Elders of Nyada Ralek, a social network of the Council of Elders in Homa Bay have watched generations come of age, and seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of society. They have seen community thrive and celebrate, and in bad times, witnessed lives lost including to unsafe abortions, families torn apart by sexual and gender-based violence, and in recent times, social bonds weakened, leaving young people more vulnerable than ever. They have taken note and are raising a voice of concern and counsel.
From loss to advocacy: A woman’s appeal to stop unsafe abortion related deaths
Leonidas Mulembe, of Burangasi village in Navakholo Kakamega, still remembers the days her stepdaughter fell sick. The 15-year-old, then in Class Seven, had been vomiting frequently and growing weaker, but nothing prepared the 72 – year – old guardian for what was to come.