Over 1000 girls in Kajiado empowered through “Awkward Conversations”

Thousands of students are set to be empowered with life skills, financial literacy, health awareness among others, following the launch of That Awkward Conversation – TAC, at Baraka Oontoyie Secondary School in Kajiado County.

TAC is an initiative that empowers high school students with the essential knowledge they need about reproductive health, self-care, and making positive lifestyle choices.

According to TAC Co-Founder, Wathanu Warui, the program will inspire informed choices, one conversation at a time, among adolescents and youth in the country.

“We are creating awareness and being a catalyst to these conversations that need to happen but somewhat deemed awkward which in essence they should not be. These kids should be able to be open and have conversations and get to learn how they can make better choices,” said Wathanu.

During the visit at Baraka Oontoyie Secondary School, the TAC team focused on menstrual health, educating the girls on what is normal and what symptoms require medical attention. “

In my school, I have over 1000 girls and it’s a privilege to have That Awkward Conversation – TAC’s visit to discuss menstrual health, financial literacy and empower the girls through mentorship. I believe this initiative will change mindsets in our adolescents and empower them as they have done today here and create impact change in schools across the country,” said Baraka Oontoyie Secondary School Principal, Jeminah Mutia.

“It’s an amazing experience. It’s a mix of emotions. Happy moments, sad moments. Angry moments. Horrifying moments. The things we have seen that these girls are going through, the kind of misinformation, the kind of myths, its just horrifying. We need to spread more and more of this,” added Dr. Yamal Patel, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at 3rd Park Hospital.

Through providing health checks and one on one conversation, the team aims for early detection of various illness including endometriosis that continues to affect girls and women, depreciating their quality of life.

According to Dr. Patel, when you interact with girls in this age group, and you correct things from this age group, they will not have issues when they grow up.

“When we are delaying our diagnosis, most of these girls when they are picked up, their cases are already complicated. In a bid to do so, twice a year, we run the endometriosis marathon, an ultrasound marathon in the first quarter and a surgical marathon in the second quarter.

This year, we have planned it in October, and we will be operating on specific advanced endometriosis cases with friends and colleagues from around the world who will come here and for three days operate on this women at a concessional price with no professional fee at all.

“Going forward, for us to be able to have the impact that we want, we welcome partnerships be it from health, finance and other sectors. Ultimately, our goal is to inspire informed choices, one conversation at a time,” said Wathanu.

Through partnership with 3rd Park Hospital and Kuramo Capital Management, TAC provided sanitary towels and undergarments to all the girls.