Our Programs

We are dedicated to creating safe spaces, providing support, and empowering women in vulnerable situations. Through comprehensive services, we aim to foster resilience, healing, and lasting positive change in our communities.

With a 42% spike in domestic violence and rape cases, we decided to set up an emergency safe house called Haven, which takes in women and children for a maximum of 2 weeks with some exemptions for women staying for a month (if injured). The safe house can accommodate 16 women and 4 children, with the flexibility to hold more children if they sleep with their moms.

Calls Per Day

Over 150 calls in a day are received by Usikimye including calls from other GBV stakeholders for referrals, rescues, and the need for safe houses

Rescued Women & Girls

Usikimye has rescued 4385 women and girls, 361 children, and 14 infants in 2020. We have also rescued 71 young men (teenagers) and 9 men.

Number of children fed per week

we feed 600-1000 girls every Wednesday and Friday and provide about 100 children with Uji and bread on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Soweto Slums

GBV Response Helpline

We set up on 08/06/2021 and in two months, we received over 1000 calls on GBV
We have set up a toll-free GBV hotline to help the existing one (1195 government partners)so that GBV response will be swift, and easy and ensure a progressive change in ending gender-based violence. This program has been supported by ForumCIV’s Swedish Embassy Wajibu wetu program. Over 150 calls in a day are received by Usikimye including calls from other GBV stakeholders for referrals, rescues, and the need for safe houses and on top of needing resources.

GBV Rescues and Response

In the past 7 months, we have rescued 353 survivors
Usikimye runs 3 safe houses/shelters for survivors (2 shelters for women and children and one shelter for men) and ensures that once the survivor is physically and psychologically healthy and stable, she is economically empowered and reintegrated back into society. This is done through their skills transfer programs, entrepreneurship boot camps job placements for shelter residents, and any referrals we have coordinated with other shelters.

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Inua Mama

A program aiming towards cushioning the teen moms and mothers of teens in our society and improving their livelihood.
Usikimye has launched ‘’Inua Jamii Bora’’, a new program aimed at boosting teen moms and mothers of teen mum’s productivity and earnings and accelerating their economic recovery as a prevention measure to curb teenage pregnancies as mothers will afford sanitary towels, others will make them as well. This program also curbs the prevalence of domestic abuse as financial independence and authority is central to reducing gender-based violence. The new program will help families save, lend, and start businesses. Inua Jamii Bora has identified 1,000 families to begin with and will provide entrepreneurship training and expert guidance on financial management and savings.

Usikimye just opened an office in Soweto this month as well to aid in implementing the Internal Lending, Savings, and Business Initiative for women.

Safehouse

From 2020, Usikimye runs 3 Safe Houses
Usikimye runs 3 safe houses/shelters for survivors (2 shelters for women and children and one shelter for men) and ensures that once the survivor is physically and psychologically healthy and stable, she is economically empowered and reintegrated back into society. This is done through their skill transfer programs, entrepreneurship boot camps, and job placements for shelter residents, and any referrals we have coordinated with other shelters.

Feeding Program

We invest in feeding the vulnerable to reduce their susceptibility to abuse and oppression.
Usikimye has a feeding program supported by the Gujarati community in Nairobi, where we feed 600-1000 girls every Wednesday and Friday and provide about 100 children with Uji and bread on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Soweto Slums.

Binti SRHR Program

In 2020, the Media reported teen pregnancy as a shadow pandemic of Covid-19
In 2020, the Guardian among other media reported teen pregnancy as a shadow pandemic of Covid-19. We are curbing the issue of sex for sanitary pads by involving the Kenyan public in donating sanitary pads. Last year, we gave 72,000 girls sanitary pads and this year we have given 4,500 girls access to sanitary towels so far. We just started a program for the girl’s parents that involves teaching children issues on sexual reproductive health and rights and GBV for awareness so that they understand what abuse is and how it presents itself.

Post Rescue Support

Medical care and Placement
Medical emergency care
Our standard procedure after rescues is always gender violence and recovery medical care. We work with GVRC centers, government social workers, and the police (except in high-risk cases that involve police sexual and physical violence).
Placement (safe house or relocation)
After a full medical examination and care especially for rape survivors, we take them to our home, or an alternative home, in cases of special care, or children shelters for children.

COVID-19 GBV Response Psycho-Social Support Program

It offers therapy sessions to survivors of sexual andgender-based violence remotely during this pandemic
From 19th April 2020, we started a psycho-social support program. The COVID-19 GBV therapy support offers therapy sessions to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence remotely during this pandemic. In the last 11 weeks, we have been able to offer therapy services to 382 survivors. We have 34 volunteer therapists.
We use;
LiveChat (chats)
WhatsApp (texts)
Google Hangouts (videos)
The program is in partnership with AfroIDEA with the support of LiveChat, and OAPPS for WhatsApp. We have also been able to offer 53 referrals to hospitals and safe houses.

Library & Arts Programs

Providing literacy and artistic programs for children
We started a mobile library in Soweto for children. We wanted children  to read for fun, interact with books, and help raise their literacy levels. We meet every Saturday afternoon at Soweto Social Hall. The children also get to draw, colour and paint, we have art lessons as well as dance and music.