Literacy
About Us
Started by 15 young women. Built for every girl who comes after.
G for Girls Initiative is a community-based organisation founded in 2022 by 15 young women from Vanga ward, Lunga Lunga sub-county. We began with one goal — that no girl would drop out between primary and secondary school — and we have grown alongside the learners we serve.
Locally-led, not delivered from outside
Our founders, champions and volunteers come from Vanga. Our gender policy commits us to consulting the people our programmes affect, and to building those programmes with communities rather than for them.
Do no harm
We work under a safeguarding policy and a policy on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. Challenging gender norms can cause unintended harm, so participant safety comes before every other consideration.
More About Us
Priscah Mongera
Founder & Executive Director
The KWEMA Programme
Kwale Education and Mentorship Program
KWEMA is how we work: six connected components that follow a learner from a Grade 4 literacy camp through Grade 7 mentorship — with parents, schools and local government alongside.
Talk to us about KWEMA
Literacy Camps
One hour a day for 25 days with Grade 4 learners, built on a guide that follows the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development basics of reading and writing.
Mentorship
Grade 7 girls meet community champions to work through self-awareness, puberty and menstrual health, girls' rights and how to lead.
Parents Awareness
Before each cycle, Grade 4 and 7 parents meet us alongside the Directorate of Children Services and Probation to consent, learn child rights and raise concerns.
Advocacy Campaigns
We campaign with other stakeholders on the calendar days that matter to girls' education and wellbeing.
Safeguarding
We pursue justice for child victims and survivors of abuse through referral to the court system, and provide psychosocial support.
GGI na Vijanaa
Young people aged 18–35 train in policy advocacy so they can work with local government on the issues facing their own community.
Results from the last cycle
- 75%
- average improvement rateLearners moving up at least one literacy level during a camp.
- 100%
- transition to Form 1Girls across all five schools, last KCPE cohort.
Bring KWEMA to your school, or campaign with us. Get in touch
200+
Young people trained since 2022
Measuring Our Work
We measure what changes, and we report it
Assessment is built into the programme rather than added at the end. Learners are assessed at the midpoint and again at the close of every camp, which tells teachers how to keep supporting them once we have gone.
How we measure progress
- Nyansapo AI assessments at the midpoint and end of every camp
- Data disaggregated by gender across all programmes
- Annual review against KPIs set by our gender committee
The Gap We're Closing
What girls in Lunga Lunga are up against
These are the conditions our programmes were designed around. They come from the schools and families we work with every day.
Support this work- Literacy
ExpectationsA patriarchal community that narrows girls' futures to marriage and childbearing
SafetyA continuing cycle of gender-based violence, FGM, forced marriage and teenage pregnancy
Bring KWEMA to your school, or campaign with us. Get in touch
How We Work
Five principles from our gender policy
Our Gender Policy 2024–2028 came out of an independent assessment of the CBO, training from the SBC consultancy through the Mastercard Foundation, and consultation with our members, advisory board, staff and champions.
Equality and non-discrimination
All genders benefit from our policies, programmes and activities, with deliberate steps to include those facing multiple, intersecting barriers.
Intersectionality
Age, ethnicity, economic status, disability and place of origin all shape a person's experience. We account for how those identities collide.
Locally-led participation
We consult our members and everyone our programmes affect, and commit to gender balance in staffing, activities and evaluation.
Do no harm
Dismantling gender norms carries risk. We consult every community we work with and put participant safety and protection above all else.
Collaboration
Gender inequality is not ours to solve alone. We work with government, the private sector, civil society, researchers and individuals.
- 5
- Schools in Vanga ward
- 200+
- Young people trained
- 75%
- Average improvement
Grade 4 literacy camps and Grade 7 mentorship run in all five.
Equipped with policy advocacy skills through GGI na Vijanaa since 2022.
Learners moving up at least one literacy level during a camp.
Advocacy Campaigns
The days we campaign, every year
GGI partners with other stakeholders to build campaigns around the themes of these days, advancing girls' rights in education and the issues affecting their wellbeing.
Campaign with us
24 January
International Day of Education
Making the case locally for every girl's right to stay in school.
28 May
Menstrual Health Awareness Day
Menstrual hygiene and health, taken out of whispers and into the open.
16 June
Day of the African Child
Child rights, with the Directorate of Children Services and local partners.
8 September
International Literacy Day
Marking what our Grade 4 learners have gained, and what is still missing.
25 Nov – 10 Dec
16 Days of Activism
Sixteen days against gender-based violence in Lunga Lunga.
Volunteers, schools and partners are welcome on every one of these days.
Get involved
Support Our Work
Keep a girl in school in Vanga ward
Every contribution helps run literacy camps, mentorship sessions and safeguarding referrals in the five schools we work with.
How your money is handled
Funds sit in the CBO's bank account with committee signatories. The annual report, financial statement and budget are presented to members and adopted at our AGM each December.
- Annual financial statement adopted at the AGM
- No funds are distributed to members as profit
Registered CBO
- Lunga Lunga sub-county, Kwale County
- Operating since 2022
- Gender Policy 2024–2028
Frequently Asked Questions
Your questions answered with transparency & care
We work with five schools in Vanga ward, Lunga Lunga sub-county, Kwale County. Literacy camps run with Grade 4 learners and mentorship sessions with Grade 7 girls, and both are built into the school schedule through our collaboration with the schools and the Ministry of Education.
Our Vision
What we are working towards
To narrow the gender gap in education by inspiring a community of leaders who are agents of sustainable change.
Our mission
To create safe spaces that foster girls' education through advocacy, mentorship, and the provision of technical skills.
G for Girls Initiative
Founded 2022 · Vanga ward, Lunga Lunga
Who We Work With
The partners who make KWEMA possible
We work with government, schools, civil society and technical partners — collaboration is one of the five principles written into our gender policy.
Nyansapo AI
Literacy assessment app used to level every learner
Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development
Reading and writing basics our camp guide follows
Ministry of Education
Camps built into the school schedule
Directorate of Children Services
Child rights sessions and safeguarding referrals
Probation and After Care Services
Parent awareness meetings on the justice system
Wazi
Online counselling for cases needing psychological support
Kwale Court Users Committee
Referral route for complaints of a legal nature
Mastercard Foundation
Connected GGI to capacity building with gender experts
Sustainable Business Consulting
Training and coaching behind our gender policy