Hope for Girls and Women Technology, Training

Detecting pests in Maize and Cassava with the PlantNuru app

Agriculture is the backbone of the rural economy in Tanzania and the families of girls at risk of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) are often farmers. By identifying ways to overcome the challenges these farmers face day-to-day, we can also forge bonds that help us to educate on gender equality.

Although in theory there are networks of agriculture extension officers to help them, often in practice they are too far away to be of any use. Therefore, we were very pleased to learn of the PlantVillage Nuru app which seeks to help farmers improve their practice.  In February 2021 TDT  had an online training session for people interested in how to use this free app to detect Fall Army Worm (a pest for maize) and Cassava diseases which was attended by our volunteer and GIS specialist Herry Kasunga. 

Since then he has been out training our Digital Champions to use the app. As maize and cassava are the main staple crops grown in their areas this is particularly important.

Here you can see the Digital Champion for Burunga village, Agness Marinya checking her crops with the app.  She says, “It is an easy way to monitor crops and give you feedback on how crops grow, and I will provide training to other farmers in my village.

“With better agriculture, people are less likely to need to cut their daughters and sell them for cows.  I have 3 children all girls. I am so proud of my work as a Digital Champion in Burunga, because there have been so much changes in my village.

“Now the number of girls who are cut is reduced. We all need to raise our voices to say no so our children can live free from FGM.”

The slides from our training session are here, and the recording here.  You can also view and download the slides Herry used for training the digital champions below.

Please watch this space for further updates on how this helpful app is being used in Tanzania. 

To find out more about Hope for Girls and Women’s work to improve gender equality and end FGM in Tanzania here.

Hope for Girls and Women Event reports, Human Rights

Rhobi Samwelly participates in women’s health talk

On 5th December 2020, East African Education Foundation and TUHEDA hosted a Women’s Health Talk to discuss the impact of female genital mutilation (FGM). Hope founder, Rhobi Samwelly, joined a panel with OB-GYN specialist Dr. Leila Rusamba and international broadcaster Zuhra Yunus. Together, they educated attendees on the health risks of FGM and the strides being made to educate communities.

They stressed the biological implications of cutting girls without consent across the four types of FGM. When girls lose their clitoris, they essentially lose a part of their body that they don’t yet understand. They do not comprehend what they have lost, and how this practice will redefine their attitudes towards intimacy, which in turn increases the potential of domestic violence. In addition, while the clitoris may be considered a small part of the human body, it is served by an artery that contains a major blood supply, so when the artery is cut, there is the potential to bleed to death.

FGM also affects childbirth, particularly due to the extent of cutting and the scarring left behind. In the most severe case, when genitalia is completely closed, there is no passage for the baby to come out. Thus there is a high likelihood for the woman to suffer a hemorrhage, and for the death of the woman and child. In cases of partial removal, the scar tissue that has healed does not stretch as much as normal tissue, increasing health risks and pain levels during birth.

However, Rhobi discussed how our work has visibly changed attitudes towards FGM in rural Tanzania. She can see girls standing up for themselves and refusing to undergo this rampant practice, with a prevalence of around 32%1 in the Mara region. Parents have also started refusing for their girls to be cut, and laws have been more strictly enforced to send cutters to prison.

She also highlighted the support received from boys and men. While Mara is a male-dominated area, men are a part of our FGM clubs and attempt to educate other men about the effects of gender-based violence and harmful traditions. Boys have increasingly refused to marry girls who have been cut after learning about unwarranted health risks. There have been challenges in educating families who value the income generated from cutting. Families receive higher dowries when girls who marry are cut. Yet through our community dialogue, and awareness generation, Rhobi believes that progress is being made.

Rhobi then discussed some of the Hope initiatives taking place during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, including a village debate with men around gender-based issues, a mapathon during Human Rights Day, and a girls’ march in front of government leaders. These actions are designed to raise awareness around the issue of FGM. Rhobi summarised:

“You have to create awareness. You have to teach them about the effects of FGM. Change is slow, but one day FGM will be history.”

Watch the full recording here:

1 UNFPA report on FGM

Find out more about FGM in Tanzania here.

See which upcoming events Hope for Girls and Women will be involved in here.

To get in touch with the team, please visit this page.

Hope for Girls and Women Event reports

Debating Gender-Based Violence (GBV) with male villagers in Northern Tanzania

In December 2020, we held debates with 60 local men in Bonchugu village and Nyamburi village, Northern Tanzania, on the impact of female genital mutilation (FGM) and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV). They voiced their views on questions including;

  1. Why men like to marry girls who are cut?
  2. Why men do not like to marry girls who are not cut?
  3. What are the challenges that girls who are cut are likely to face in their society?

This fostered a dialogue that challenged gender roles and practices as a step towards ending harmful practices against girls and women.

Those gathered discussed how men prefer to marry circumcised girls so that they can protect their wealth, earn respect within their communities, and build recognition as keepers of their customs and traditions.

They also examined how men did not like to marry uncircumcised girls because they believed that it would be a curse on their families. Men and their wives would be segregated by other villagers as girls who are not cut are not allowed to participate in traditional ceremonies and partake in community decisions. Some of the challenges faced by girls who marry without being cut were raised and included:

  1. They will likely face segregation among community members
  2. They may be called names and insulted
  3. They will not be involved in activities of their tradition
  4. They will be prohibited from contributing to community decisions

We then evaluated the challenges that girls face when they undergo female genital mutilation. Men were educated on how girls face bleeding during cutting, which may lead to death, and how it is possible to be infected with diseases such as HIV due to cutters using the same tools across recipients.

Locals discussed how to end gender-based violence in their societies. Men believed that governments should more strictly enforce the law, and education should be provided to community members. In addition, traditional elders should be taught the impact of gender-based violence and be convinced to align with governmental goals for abolishing it. More safe houses should also be constructed to protect girls during this period of drastic change.

We then listed baseline expectations among locals to be ambassadors during the fight against gender-based violence. Men should inform the police when they detect unwarranted practices in their villages and should educate their communities about the impact of FGM and gender-based violence at large.

Holding debates and community outreach events can foster a continuing dialogue that will challenge and change existing norms around gender practices. Being able to engage men in villages in this way is also a huge indication of the progress being made, we will continue to build upon these opportunities to have an open dialogue with individuals who previously would have been unwilling to do so.

This debate formed part of our recognition of the United Nation’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. Please see our series of blog posts and our social channels for further information on the events we have been involved in during this important 16 days.

Find out more about our work to end FGM in Tanzania here.

Hope for Girls and Women Maps, Technology, Training

How mapping is helping Tanzanian villages source water

At the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team global conference on Friday December 4 2020, Herry Kasunga talked about the Water Source mapping project that he has been coordinating with the Hope for Girls and Women digital champions.

This is an extremely important project as the majority of people in Mara, and in the rest of Tanzania, are dependent on rainwater for household water, sanitation and to grow their food.

It is also estimated that 40% of village water sources are degraded or non-functional. The shots below show some of the water points used by the digital champions:

  • Water point in a Tanzanian village
  • Water point in a Tanzanian village

In addition, climate change further threatens water access and means droughts and average temperature rises are likely, coupled with intense flooding events with significant damage to infrastructure and livelihoods, meaning mapping will become even more important.

Herry’s presentation slides can be viewed and downloaded here.

As well as water points, maps are also used by the Hope for Girls and Women team to send rescue teams to girls who are imminently at risk of FGM. It is often very challenging reaching these cases which are often in very remote areas, in villages that do not appear on maps. The Crowd2Map team, with a global cohort of 16,000 virtual volunteers, works on improving this on a daily basis.

Find out more about the work being done to map vast unmapped areas of Tanzania by visiting the Crowd2Map website.

Find out about upcoming Open StreetMap events via their website here.

Hope for Girls and Women Human Rights

Bringing Hope to ending FGM, via film

Earlier in 2020 we were joined by Liz and Alex as they concluded their round the world trip. They came to Hope for Girls and Women to share their skills by producing a film that would reflect the determination, energy and compassion of the team and the work delivered here. Watch the film here:

The film is about an amazing Tanzanian woman, Rhobi Samwelly, and the organization she founded that is rescuing young girls from female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage in the Serengeti district of Tanzania. It highlights the stories of girls who have fled FGM, as well as the staff and community leaders involved in this effort. We learn about Rhobi’s story and what led her to create the nonprofit, Hope for Girls and Women in Tanzania. The organization manages two safe houses among many other initiatives and programs, such as school and community education, and community mapping. In this film, we sought to highlight the individuals involved in this effort to rescue the girls, and to show the audience all the amazing collaborative work they are doing.

Alex and Liz with the Hope team
Alex, Liz, and Herry Kasunga of the Hope for Girls and Women team

My husband Alex, and I (Liz) were taking a career gap to travel around the world full-time when we learned about Hope for Girls and Women in Tanzania. When first planning our around the world trip over 5 years ago, we knew we wanted to spend some time working with a nonprofit in Sub-Saharan Africa. Having both spent time volunteering in Sub-Saharan many years prior, we knew we only wanted to volunteer if we were able to bring a unique set of skills to the table that would have a lasting benefit to a nonprofit.

We both have had an interest in video creation for years, but had only put together a few videos for fun mostly related to travel before we left on our around the world trip.

We created a YouTube channel to document our travels and develop skills that would enable us to create documentaries, which has always been an interest of ours. I have spent most of my career working in the nonprofit/public sector so while I was learning editing and video creation, I immediately saw the potential to utilize these skills to benefit nonprofits by highlighting the amazing work they do which could then be used to reach additional funders and donors. While not everyone can visit rural Tanzania, we thought a film that brings to life the work being done would be the next best thing. 

We had a very strict set of criteria for the type of organization we were looking to work for and we both could not have imagined a more perfect organization than Hope for Girls and Women in Tanzania. We were looking for an organization that is:

  1. community run;
  2. working to improve a human rights issue;
  3. focused on women and children.
The Hope team
Liz (right) joined the wider Hope team including FGM survivor and Hope founder, Rhobi (middle)

Hope for Girls and Women not only met, but completely exceeded all of our criteria. We loved that it was founded and led by an amazing, passionate Tanzanian woman, Rhobi, who was such an inspiration.

I had some background knowledge about FGM in Tanzania, having written my final cumulative paper on it while completing my Master of Public Health.

So not only did it align very well with my interests, I also was able to see that they were implementing all of the best practices I had learned. They were the first and only organization we reached out to, while we were living in a van and exploring New Zealand. We had a quick phone call with Janet and Rhobi after sending a few samples of our work. We were then invited to come to the remote town of Mugumu in the Serengeti district of Tanzania. Getting to Mugumu from New Zealand was quite the experience! Our total travel time was over 60 hours consisting of 5 flights, and a very long car ride.

Our experience in Tanzania at Hope for Girls and Women will remain as my favorite experience on our around the world trip.  The entire team was so welcoming and accommodating to us following them around with video equipment. Without their language translation, logistical support, and the stories shared by the girls, the film would not have been possible. We really appreciate the kindness that was shown to us by the whole team while we were in Tanzania. 

While we were in Mugumu, COVID-19 was declared a global health pandemic. American citizens were urged to come home or plan to stay away for an indefinite time period. We were so torn and heartbroken about this, but made the hard decision to return home. As a result, we were unable to finish filming everything that we had set out to film. However, while quarantining in the United States, we had enough footage to compile and edit the film over the next two months. 

We are extremely grateful for this opportunity to highlight the work of an organization that truly deserves it. We were so inspired by the girls and all of the staff there. We will forever cherish this experience. 

Thank you!
Liz & (Alex) Clark

Hope for Girls and Women Human Rights, Technology

Improving the impact of our data on FGM in Tanzania

‘Female Genital Mutilation’ and ‘data visualisation’ might not be two terms that you would immediately put together. However on June 1st, the Viz5 team and makeovermonday.co.uk did just that. Their global community of data enthusiasts were challenged to help communicate some of Hope for Girls and Women’s critical stats through a range of different visualisation techniques. 

Created by: Priya Padham

Data can, at times, be quite impenetrable and dry. Being able to identify a logical flow and narrative using data visualisation techniques on a webpage, presentation or report, can help the information become more digestible and intuitive for the audience. According to t-sciences.com,  ‘the human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text, and 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual.’ 

Created by: Liam Spencer

As part of the monthly #Viz5 data visualisation challenge, the team featured data from Hope in an effort to support our advocacy work and raise awareness of the fight to end FGM. There were so many great data visualisations produced! These were reviewed by Eva Murray, Technology Evangelist & Tableau Zen Master at Exasol and Seth Cochran, Founder & CEO at OpFistula.org.

  • You can see and hear the feedback they provided here.
  • The shortlisted visualisations are also available to view here.

Hope for Girls has a relationship with the Viz5 team through our association with the Tanzania Development Trust and Crowd2map. They have supported with our data collection and mapping of Tanzania, and were keen to use their platform to help us drive awareness around the challenges we face with FGM and the support we provide through the safe houses. Viz5’s passion comes across in the feedback session – we look forward to collaborating again soon!

To read more about the outstanding efforts and this important collaboration, please find the Viz5 article here.

Hope for Girls and Women Campaigning, Events, Human Rights

‘End FGM’ Campaign at schools in Tanzania

We are happy to share pictures of the first day of incredible youth power, using their voices and passion to end FGM in this schools campaign. Hope for Girls and Women Tanzania visited Kukilango Secondary School, Kiabakali Primary School and Kiabakari Secondary School at Kukilango ward.

Hope for Girls and Women Tanzania managed to educate the students, made up of both boys and girls, about FGM and its effect on girls and on the whole community.

Below are additional pictures of the second day of the end FGM campaign. This time, the campaign took place at Nkono secondary school, Kyamojojoo primary school, Bisumwa primary school, Ibiso primary school, Ryamgabo primary school, Nyabekabwe primary school and secondary school at Kukilango ward.

We are very happy and proud of these youngsters who are challenging traditional conventions and are educating their peers in the process. We look forward to sharing news of Hope’s campaigns to end FGM Tanzania.

Find out how donations are used to help girls in our care and to help girls who need our support here.

To sponsor the education of a girl and help ensure she can achieve her dreams, find out more here.