In 2008, the Transformed International team responded to the need of a high risk
population of girls, know as street girls. Street girls are a high risk population due to the
fact that they engage in prostitution in order to earn money for food, many of them
earning about 25 cents a day. This dangerous lifestyle is one that can lead to
contraction of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Many of the girls also end
up having children, leading to a crisis of second generation street children. Each week
this crisis grows as more girls turn to the streets for work and survival. At the time, there
was no specific program in the Kitale area meeting the needs of this population, and so
began the Neema (grace) Project.
The purpose of the Neema Project is to:
• rehabilitate (through counseling and care)
• educate (through general education, life skills, and learning a trade)
• reintegrate (setting each girl up with a business, or apprenticeship and assisting them
in finding a home)
Since 2008, the program has undergone numerous changes as it piloted this new
program. In December 2010 the first two girls graduated from the program followed by
5 more in June 2010. Six of those girls are currently either working as an apprentice at
a tailoring shop or doing work for Mosaic Designs while they prepare to open a shop. TI
is pleased with the progress of the program and will continue to walk through the
reintegration of these girls while meeting the needs of the girls currently in the program.
