A picture of some of the girls at Hope welcoming the year ahead

We provide a safe environment for girls escaping Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Tanzania

Girls often arrive at Hope’s Safe Houses late at night with just the clothes they have run away in. Those arriving on foot have to navigate from remote, rural villages in the dark. We also work with local police teams to rescue girls when we are alerted that FGM is going to take place.

According to the United Nations, in the Mara region of Tanzania, 32% of women aged between 15 and 49 report having undergone FGM.

Hope for Girls and Women was founded by the Tanzanian activist Rhobi Samwelly in 2017. Rhobi’s personal experience of being forced to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) as a child inspired her lifelong commitment to fight for the rights of girls and women.

Our organisation runs two safe houses in the Butiama and Serengeti Districts of the Mara Region of Tanzania, which shelter and support those fleeing FGM, child marriage, and other forms of gender based violence. Read more here.

Find out more about our important work to provide Alternative Rites of Passage ceremonies here.

We’re continually working on raising awareness locally and globally, whilst also raising funds for our safe houses.

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Thank you to the following organisations for supporting our work: