The Humankind Foundation believes that all human beings are entitled to health, education and prosperity. It works to end disease, poverty and violence by supporting sustainable projects that foster personal empowerment, healthy practices and financial security.
Everyday 6,000 girls, babies and women are mutilated. Yet, FGM continues while the world is silent to their screams.
Female genital mutilation, FGM, is practiced in 28 sub-Saharan African countries, the Middle East and in immigrant communities throughout the world. Approximately 135 million women and girls have been circumcised. The practice can lead to never ending suffering, chronic urinary infections, infertility, childbirth complications, maternal mortality, the transmission of HIV/AIDS, decrease in sexual pleasure, and death.The Lancet [WHO FGM study, 2006] estimates that one to two deaths per 100 births are the result of FGM. Kamilika is dedicated to eradicating female genital mutilation and raising global awareness about gender based violence. It is contributing to the global campaign to stop female genital mutilation, FGM, by working directly with practitioners of FGM and members of their communities and by providing educational sponsorships for young girls. Kamilika’s holistic approach is successfully eliminating the practice of FGM in villages of Northern Tanzania. Kamilika believes that every woman has the right to life without violence and that FGM is a violation of the human rights of women and girls.
Kamilika focuses on:
Educating women, girls and their communities to the severe health risks of female cutting
Providing alternate income sources for practitioners who have stopped circumcising
Encouraging alternate safe rites of passage
Empowering women to make healthy decisions for themselves and their families, and to become actively involved in their communities
Sponsoring girls at Noonkodin High School and safe house
AAEO understands that for the education to be effective it must be taught in a culturally sensitive, easily understood way by local trainers. Local educators train men and women from each village to become community health trainers. After training, they return to their villages where they can share the information they have learned with their neighbors. In this way, the education is taught in their own language from someone they trust and is more easily understood. The teaching is done through classes and one-on-one contact in the villages and the surrounding area.
