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UNFPA Country Director Ademola Olajide visited the mentorship program being undertaken by Polycom Development Project. The projects aim is to offer life skills and sexual reproductive health rights to adolescent girls within Kibera. The Director had a one on one session with the girls and asked them what life skills they would want UNFPA to build on. As part of their response, the girls mentioned beauty, fashion, modelling among other interested skills. The UNFPA Director reiterated that the skills are beneficial for their own personal growth and that in the coming few months a great event will be organized by Polycom Development in partnership with UNFPA to ensure that the girls will take charge of the ICPD anniversary and follow it through to make it a success. To this the girls were thrilled. We look forward to more visits from the UNFPA Kenya country director’s visit to the Organization. Further to his visit, Dr Olajide gifted 10 pregnant adolescent girls with a dignity kit from UNFPA Kenya. The pregnant girls were promised a visit to a golf club as part of building their self-worth. A follow up visit was done by the UNFPA team to the offices to further find the training gaps that the mentors require.

Huairou commission has continued to partner with Polycom development in its resilient project of empowering women across the globe. In Kibera, most of the women are involved in small scale business and most lack capital to escalate their business into a fully-fledged business that can stand on its own. In this regard, 10 organized women groups from the slum were each given a small token that would enable their business go to a greater level. We hope this project continues for more women in Kibera community to benefit.

One of the women who sells vegetables in a broken wooden set up was purchased for a metal stand that can enable her have more vegetables neatly arranged in a neat stack. This she has confirmed has improved her business immensely.

She thanks Huairou commission and Polycom greatly.

Maintaining a healthy outlook in times of a pandemic requires urgent interventions from the society and the individual at large. Kibera has for a while now been recorded a high number of COVID 19 cases, this however has not deterred the community from keeping safe from the disease. Polycom Development in turn has partnered with VV100 to ensure that that staff members and the mentors within the Organization are equipped mentally and stay healthy physically as the society and the world grapples with the pandemic. The Program has been structured in such a way that the aerobics session is every Monday and Thursday from 9am – 11pm. Thereafter, this is followed by mental health training by a lead counselor Linet Odidi. Among the topics covered in her sessions is handling stress, overcoming fear improving our well being among others.

This program has enabled the girls engage actively with the Organization despite the fact that the office has not been running smoothly. The office has always acted as a safe space for the girls in the slum and we endeavor to continue providing the space under strict COVID 19 guidelines.

The entire staff members and mentors are much grateful to Vital Voices through their VV100 wellness grant. WomanKind Worldwide and Daria Foundation for this great support during this trying period.