Eradicate Female Genital Mutilation in Kenya

Sanctuary Day Camps & Community Efforts to End FGM

School holidays in Kenya mark what many communities call the “cutting season” a period when girls are most vulnerable to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Without the daily protection that school provides, girls face heightened risks, and families often come under increased pressure to uphold harmful traditional practices.

At Last Mile4D, these weeks call us to action. Our mission is clear and urgent: protect, empower, and educate. This quarter, we expanded our Sanctuary Day Camps, strengthened community outreach, and deepened partnerships that amplify our impact at the grassroots level. And every step forward has been made possible because of supporters like you.

Sanctuary Day Camps: Safe Havens During High-Risk Weeks

As the holiday season began, the need for safe daytime spaces intensified. In response, we scaled up our Sanctuary Day Camps—places where girls and boys spend their days learning, playing, and staying protected.

Across 24 schools in three counties, our teams reached 2,300 girls and 500 boys through:

• Participatory anti-FGM education sessions
• Role-playing scenarios that help children practice skills like refusing FGM and seeking help from local authorities
• Outdoor sports and a shared, nourishing lunch
• Empowerment activities designed to build confidence and affirm bodily autonomy

Importantly, we continue to intentionally include boys. As future husbands, fathers, and community leaders, their understanding and advocacy are essential to ending FGM for good.

Community Sensitization: Transforming Mindsets and Norms

Protecting girls in the short term is only one part of the solution. Ending FGM requires a deep shift in community attitudes, challenging long-standing beliefs, and equipping families with knowledge and support.

Ahead of the anticipated cutting season, we conducted 17 community sensitization meetings across multiple villages, engaging 1,697 participants, including:

• Parents
• Teachers
• Chiefs and assistant chiefs
• Religious and cultural leaders

These sessions focused on:

• The illegality of FGM in Kenya
• The severe physical and psychological consequences of FGM
• The central role families play in safeguarding their daughters

The response was inspiring: 1,175 community members signed declarations committing to end FGM and violence against children. Even more encouraging, 95.3% of parents publicly pledged to protect their daughters—an undeniable sign of cultural transformation taking root.

Your Support Is Driving Transformational Change

Every safe day at a camp, every lesson taught, every girl who remains uncut—your support makes it possible. Your generosity is not only protecting children today but planting the seeds for a safer tomorrow.

• A gift of $800.00 helps us to run the Sanctuary Day Camps for 100 girls.
• Recurring donations unlock GlobalGiving matching funds and ensure we remain fully equipped during the most dangerous times of the year.

And as we celebrate each girl’s safety and strength at the conclusion of our year long program, we exercise an alternative rite of passage by planting trees in honor of girls that have not been cut and have said NO to FGM.

• A gift of $500 plants a grove of 150 trees, honoring uncut girls and symbolizing hope for 

generations to come. 

On behalf of our entire team—and the girls dreaming of safer, healthier futures—thank you for standing with us.

Stay Connected

Instagram: @Lastmile4d
Twitter/X: @LastMile_4d
Website: www.lastmile4d.org

Together, we are building a generation free from FGM— one child, one family, and one community at a time.

Links:

• Through role-play, our students learn to stand against FGM
• Sanctuary Camp in Sambalat School
• Kenya's Department for Gender held discussions with LM4D CEO