PILLOW PROJECT HELPS CHILDREN STAY IN FAMILIES
The 2018 Effecting Change for Women & Children Development Grant in the Human Rights category, funded by FAUSA, was awarded to The Pillow Project to Stop Child Trafficking, a project of the Stahili Foundation, based in Murang'a County, Kenya. The project was nominated by AWC The Hague, which has been supporting the organization for four years. Stahili means "to deserve" in Swahili, and The Foundation works to help children living in orphanages in Kenya return home where they deserve to live. Most children living in orphanages in Kenya have family who cannot care for them because of poverty.
Families are often tricked into giving up their children under the false promise of food and education, when in reality they are trafficked and exploited for the benefit of orphanage operators. Stahili works to end this practice and develop solutions to ensure that children can return safely to their families and communities with the support needed for them to stay together.
The Effecting Change DG will provide much-needed support in a crucial area of family-based care, improving the living conditions of children in the home, in particular the resources available for sleep and rest. Having a good bed and consistent, high-quality sleep has a demonstrated positive impact on children's health and education outcomes as well as family life and are vital for children to flourish, learn, grow, and develop a secure sense of their home environment. FAWCO's support will allow the Pillow Project to provide beds, sheets, pillows and blankets for 31 children who have been institutionalized and trafficked, significantly contributing to an essential aspect of their lives - the time they spend sleeping and resting. Speaking of FAWCO's support, Stahili's Country Director Joseph Wanyoike Kimani stated, "entire families rejoice when they see their children at home. FAWCO's leadership will ensure that children remain in families. Families do belong together."
EDUCATION DG TO BUTIAMA SAFE HOUSE VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER, SUPPORTS HUMAN RIGHTS TRAINING
One of this year's DGs in the Education category illustrates the overlap between education and human rights. The grant to Butiama Safe House Vocational Training Center - Serengeti, Tanzania, will assist in the vocational training of 22 young women escaping female genital mutilation and other forms of gender-based violence and saving young girls from forced marriages. The girls gain business experience by selling products they have made with their newly acquired skills while receiving Human Rights training. The youngest member of Munich IWC, the club submitting the DG application, traveled to Tanzania this summer, presenting the DG funds and volunteering her time.