We are a Pan-African feminist women-led organization based in Kenya that was established in 2004, in response to the sexual violence and exploitation against girls in Kibera’s informal settlement in Nairobi. We have since grown to implement programmes beyond Nairobi county. For more than a decade, we have worked closely with schools, local education authorities and communities to improve the lives of adolescent girls and women in their diversity. Over time, Polycom has built trusting relationships with the community and the local Government, enabling us to integrate complex issues such as social injustices, child protection, GBV and SRHR into our work as well as programming. Our work is summarized under one word “G-PENDE” (which means to love yourself) thus promoting self-worth and appreciation among women and girls in their diversity. We are keen to bridge the gap and connect the local realities of these women and girls to regional/global processes and decisions.

Over the last 19 years, we have worked together with women’s rights organizations, civil societies, governments, and the private sector, developing strategies, partnerships, programs, and community and policy dialogues for the promotion and protection of gender equality and inclusivity across Nairobi County and Kenya at large