Girl Child Counselling Women Group (GCCWG)

GCCWG is a nonprofit community-based organization, registered by Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development in Kenya, registration number UG/SS/REG/5957/2002.

A Brief History of GCCWG Organization:

GCCWG was started in the year 2002 by Ruth Njihia after she lost her sister to HIV/AIDS. Through this tragedy and pain, Ruth was determined to start an organization that would promote HIV prevention, especially among girls and young women from low-income backgrounds. To start the organization Ruth joined hands with 11 other young women that had also been directly affected by HIV through loss of a close relative to HIV related complications, or had someone in their immediate family living with HIV. This team of 12 women started GCCWG organization, and officially registered the organization as a nonprofit community-based organization by Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development in Kenya, with the main aim of empowering young people, and especially girls on HIV prevention. GCCWG membership has continued to grow and currently the organization has 62 active members who are all volunteers.

GCCWG Mission and Vision:

GCCWG mission is “To help ensure children, girls and young mothers are protected from HIV/AIDS infections, poverty, discrimination and all forms of violence by implementing programs whose activities help reduce these targets vulnerability to HIV/AIDS infections, fight poverty and ensure basic safety and equal opportunities in life”.

And our vision is “A HIV free generation that is socially and economically empowered”.

GCCWG Target Group and location:

To date, GCCWG supports children, girls and young women/mothers affected or infected with HIV and or extreme poverty. GCCWG mostly target girls because when girls are orphaned and or affected by extreme poverty, they become very vulnerable to unsafe sexual relationships, trafficking and exploitation, all these make them more vulnerable to HIV infections. GCCWG is located in the rural Matunda location, in Soy Constituency, Uasin Gishu County in Kenya, and our Programs/Projects target beneficiaries from all the 7 administrative wards of rural Soy Constituency.

GCCWG Programs:

• Education Support: Currently GCCWG is supporting vulnerable children from low-income backgrounds in a slum nursery school (Maili Kumi nursery school) with school uniforms.

• Vocational Training and economic empowerment: Each year since 2005 to date, GCCWG supports approximate 50 girls out of school from low-income backgrounds mostly orphans get vocational skills training. Skills that enable them get employment or start own businesses, hence empower them fight poverty which is the main contributor of HIV spread among this target group within our geographical area.

• Nutrition Support and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV: Each year since 2015 to date, GCCWG supports 23 young HIV+ mothers who have children under 3 years to start dairy goat farming, these helps ensures babies gets nutritious milk to supplement their diets, even when they are not breastfed due to their mothers HIV+ status, it also helps improve mother’s adherence to ARVs treatment, hence reducing risk of mother to child transmission of HIV.

• GCCWG is implementing a 3 years program/project (2021-2023) titled “Promoting uptake of Family Planning services among young HIV+ women and their male partners”, that is aimed to help HIV+ couples understand benefits of utilizing family planning services in ensuring good child and maternal health, and also fighting poverty among this group.

• Primary prevention of HIV among adolescent, teenagers and youths: since 2005 to date, GCCWG carries out voluntary HIV testing and counseling among young people in and out of school, as a primary preventive measure, thus empowering HIV- on how to maintain the negative status, and those HIV+ on how to live healthy productive lives.

GCCWG Awards

Impacts of these programs have brought lasting and sustainable positive change that has also been recognized and awarded internationally.

• In 2014 GCCWG efforts in fighting HIV/AIDS was recognized by UNAIDS and awarded the “Red Ribbon Award” as an outstanding example of excellence in the community-based response to AIDS worldwide, category “Stopping new HIV infection in children and keeping mothers alive”

• In March 2017 GCCWG was awarded Egmont Trust Award of Excellence as the “Most Effective Organization of outstanding contribution in improving the lives of children and families affected by HIV/AIDS”.

How GCCWG is Managed:

GCCWG has a management team that includes the Director who oversee overall administration of the organization operations and programs. Projects Manager who is in charge of daily reconciliation of projects records and oversees successful implementation of planned projects. Field Officer, who ensure one to one direct communication with project beneficiaries, to help ensure that each target beneficiary receives the planned services as per work plan and budget. Treasurer who ensures all organization income and expenditure are recorded and documented, and balances books of accounts. Secretary deals with organization correspondence. GCCWG also has a seven members Executive Committee who are in charge of carrying out research on Programs/Projects that the organization plans to implement and offer advice.

GCCWG Local Stakeholders:

To help ensure community support to our interventions even after Projects funding period, GCCWG works closely with local stakeholders, that include chiefs, village elders, women and youths’ leaders, community members, Ministry of Health, National AIDS Control Council (NACC), Ministry of Education, Local Business Community, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and Ministry of Trade and Industry.

GCCWG Future Planned Activities:

GCCWG plans to continue with the current activities, and also add the below activities to help ensure that our interventions bring positive, sustainable and lasting impact to our target beneficiaries.

• Construction of more classrooms at GCCWG Vocational Training Institute, hence enable more young people to get empowered with vocational skills that enable them earn income, hence fight poverty, which is the greatest contributor of HIV spread among poor children, girls and young people from poor backgrounds.

• Supporting poor families from the rural Soy Constituency get clean water, hence help address the increasing cases of water borne diseases and deaths among children from this target.

• Educating communities on Climate Change and its impact, and also implementing interventions to try and help mitigate impact of climate change in our operation areas.

• Establish a Community Library, and Computer Center where children from poor background can have access to books and other educational resources, hence promote literacy and reading culture.

• Establish a Sport Center, where children from poor background will have a safe space to identify and grow their talents, hence help them avoid engaging in behaviors that can put their life and future goals at risk.