SDG Alignment

SDG 1: No Poverty

Polycom Girls addresses poverty by targeting economic vulnerabilities that disproportionately affect girls and women in informal settlements like Kibera. Their Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) initiatives provide microfinancing, affirmative action funding, and skills training to enable income generation and financial independence. For instance, in Nairobi and Homa Bay, they support women in helping participants escape poverty traps exacerbated by GBV and limited access to resources. This aligns with SDG 1’s target of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030, as empowered women reinvest in families and communities, reducing multidimensional poverty.
- WEE programs have reached hundreds of women, with impacts including increased household income and reduced reliance on exploitative labor.
- Through partnerships, they’ve distributed sanitary products to prevent economic barriers to education and work, indirectly lifting families out of poverty.

Health is central to Polycom Girls’ mission, focusing on SRHR, mental health, and violence prevention to ensure girls thrive physically and psychologically. They combat issues like teen pregnancy, GBV-related trauma, and menstrual health stigma through mentorship and resource provision. The Menstrual Health Campaign promotes dignity and access to hygiene products, while annual mentoring for 6,000+ girls covers SRHR topics, reducing health risks from exploitation.
- Key Initiatives: Talking Boxes in 50 schools allow anonymous reporting of abuse, enabling timely health interventions; collaborations with UNFPA scale SRHR education.
- Impact Example: Holiday forums have engaged 2,244 teens in health discussions, fostering well-being and preventing long-term trauma from violence.

Education is a cornerstone, with Polycom Girls bridging gender gaps in access and retention for girls in low-income areas. Programs emphasize life skills, leadership, and safe learning environments to counter dropout due to poverty, violence, or menstruation.
- Key Initiatives: She Creates Change (with Room to Read) uses a six-video film series in Nairobi and Homa Bay to teach life skills to girls from low-income communities, inspiring resilience and enrollment; Boresha Binti deploys Talking Boxes and mentors in 50 schools (expanding to 11 more high schools) to address GBV barriers to education.
- Impact Example: Over 6,000 girls mentored annually, with storytelling programs amplifying voices and aligning with SDG 4 targets for equitable access.

As a feminist-led organization, SDG 5 is Polycom Girls’ primary focus, addressing discrimination, violence, and unequal power dynamics. We lead on ending GBV, FGM, and sexual exploitation through advocacy, safe spaces, and empowerment.
- Key Initiatives: Boresha Binti creates mentorship and expression spaces; we have developed comic books for the Generation Equality Forum commitments to simplify GBV commitments; interventions include sensitizing water vendors in informal settlements to prevent exploitation.
- Impact Example: Awarded for SDG 5 acceleration at SDGs Kenya Forum events; reached survivors via sanitary product distribution and community awareness, breaking silence on abuse.

Polycom Girls promotes inclusive economies by equipping women and girls with skills for sustainable livelihoods, countering barriers like early marriage or violence.
- Key Initiatives: Her Digital Hub provides renovated spaces with laptops and high-speed internet (via Starlink) for digital literacy and entrepreneurship training; WEE microfinancing supports job creation in underserved regions.
- Impact Example: Trained women as community leaders, fostering economic growth; 4Cs mentorship framework (Connect, Collaborate, Create, Champion) prepares girls for future employment.

In urban slums like Kibera, Polycom Girls works toward inclusive, safe cities by tackling insecurity and promoting child-friendly environments.
- Key Initiatives: Safe City project creates violence-free public spaces; Peace and Security programs use sports and collaborations (e.g., with National Cohesion Commission) to build unity and train women as peace advocates; joint efforts with Red Dot Foundation to create child-friendly communities.
- Impact Example: Reduced community conflicts through safe spaces, impacting thousands in informal settlements. Through advocacy women are now better placed to undertake business until the late hours of the night without fear of intimidation and violence.

Polycom Girls integrates climate justice by centering girls and women, who are often most affected by environmental changes, in advocacy and adaptation.
- Key Initiatives: Green Accountability Project maps climate-impacted communities and promotes resilience; they advocate for girls’ participation in climate policy, addressing how disasters exacerbate GBV.
- Impact Example: Enhanced participation in climate forums, empowering women to lead adaptation in vulnerable areas like Kibera.

Collaboration is core to Polycom Girls’ model, leveraging multi-stakeholder alliances for scaled impact.
- Key Initiatives: Partnerships with UNFPA (scaling Talking Boxes), Womankind Worldwide (evidence reporting), Room to Read (She Creates Change), and SDGs Kenya Forum (gender equality events); active in forums like ICPD+25 and UN Reforms workshops, partnership with Huairou Commission for the Green Accountability Project. These are just a few of the many donors and partners who believe in our work.
- Impact Example: Co-hosted events reaching hundreds of changemakers; global movements like Peace Connect amplify local voices.