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Pastoralist Child Foundation Launches January
Indiegogo Campaign
To End Female Genital Mutilation In Rural Kenya and Send
Girls To School
Kenya-based Nonprofit Is Historically First Ever Launched By
A Maasai Warrior
With Mission To End Female Genital Mutilation
The Pastoralist Child Foundation, a nonprofit organization
led by Maasai warrior Samuel Siriria Leadismo, historically
the first-ever founded by a tribal warrior in rural
north-central Kenya whose
mission is to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM),
is launching its first online fundraising campaign on
Indiegogo to end FGM and send rural Kenyan girls and women
to school. The Indiegogo campaign can be found here.
Founded a little over one year ago,
Pastoralist Child Foundation has sponsored six girls in
primary and secondary boarding schools in Samburu and Maasai
Mara and aims to sponsor 30 more girls in 2014, as well as
launch educational programs on the harmful effects of FGM
and childhood marriage, HIV/AIDS prevention, teen pregnancy
and child rights.
The Indiegogo donor levels include
“Alternative Rites Hero” which offers alternative rites to
FGM for 50 girls at $2,500 and “Sponsor A High School
Student” for one year in boarding school at $1,200.
Pastoralist Child Foundation's goal for the month of January
is a fundraising total of $20,000.
The 27-year-old
Maasai warrior Leadismo
and other regional leaders are leveraging the respect and
status of their positions to create dialogue with area
ruling patriarchs and eradicate the long held practices of
FGM and forced childhood marriage. Leadismo has led the
establishment of formal education programs for girls in the
Samburu region to enable
girls and women to live safely in their communities without
fear of culturally accepted violence.
“It goes against the conventional role of a Maasai warrior
to focus on anything to do with improving the lives of women
in our community, but I strongly believe that we must
champion our girls, both current and future,” Leadismo said,
noting that more and more of his fellow warriors are joining
the cause and that one hundred percent of girls and women
support the Pastoralist Child Foundation agenda. "Once
leaders find strength in themselves, they can allow strength
to come forward in others. Our
goal is to build communities where everyone, regardless of
gender, is valued, treated with respect and encouraged to
succeed.”
“At Pastoralist Child Foundation, we believe
that women and girls should be able to live safely within
their own villages, and never have to flee their homes to
avoid violence,” said Leadismo. “I congratulate everyone -–
from the elders and young warriors to the girls and women
themselves – for having the courage to create a new, updated
version of our culture.”
The Pastoralist Child Foundation's Indiegogo campaign runs
through
January 31, 2014.
About Pastoralist Child Foundation
Established in 2012, the mission of the
Pastoralist Child Foundation is to promote, develop and
support community initiatives to eradicate harmful cultural
practices including Female Genital Mutilation, and improve
the lives of the girls. The Foundation wishes to disrupt the
status quo and help the Samburu and Maasai tribes to evolve
to be communities where
everyone, regardless of gender, is valued, treated with
respect and allowed to succeed.
The foundation is based in Archer’s Post,
Waso Division in Samburu County, Kenya. Pastoralist Child
Foundation is a registered community based organization (CBO)
in Kenya, and a registered 501C3 tax-exempt public charity
in the United States.
Contact Pastoralist Child Foundation at info@pastoralist-child-foundation.org
Website: www.pastoralist-child-foundation.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pastoralistchildfoundation
Twitter: www.twitter.com/KenyaChildFund
About Female Genital Mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes
procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the
female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The procedure
often results in debilitating chronic illnesses, infertility
and complications in childbirth for both mother and child.
About 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently
living with the consequences of FGM and approximately 6,000
girls undergo FGM every day.
According to a report released by the United
Nations children's agency UNICEF, in July 2013, over 125
million women and girls have undergone the practice, and
there are 30 million women and girls at risk of the
procedure in the next decade. The report is a culmination of
20 years of research from 29 countries across Africa and
Asia, using national surveys. UNICEF began to look closely
at FGM/C 10 years ago.
FGM is mostly carried out on young girls
sometime between infancy and age 15. In Africa an estimated
92 million girls 10 years old and above have undergone FGM.
FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the
human rights of girls and women.
About Samuel Siriria Leadismo
Samuel Siriria Leadismo, Founder & Director of Samburu
Circuit is originally from Samburu County, Kenya and is a
member of the semi-nomadic pastoralist tribe, Black Cattle
clan. He is a respected sought-after advisor and counselor
to both peers and the elder leaders of his village, and
actively promotes cultural change through education. His
goal is to eradicate early marriage and female genital
mutilation, and increase education opportunities for girls.
Leadismo is fluent in English, Maa, Samburu language,
Swahili and speaks French and Spanish.
About Sayydah Garrett
Sayydah Garrett, Founder & President of Pastoralist Child
Foundation is the wife of GRAMMY-Award winning jazz
saxophonist and composer Kenny Garrett and resides in New
Jersey, originally from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She became
involved with FGM and founded the Pastoralist Child
Foundation while on a safari trip to Kenya in August 2012.
Garrett has 10+ years of experience in the corporate sector
and nine years in the non-profit sector, where she served as
Development Assistant and Grant Writer for an agency that
assists the homeless population in New Jersey. Garrett is
fluent in English, French and Russian, and speaks
conversational Spanish. She loves learning languages and
meeting people from all over the world.
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