Nigeria ,
Founder, Calabar Youth Council for Women’s Rights
Founder of Calabar Youth Council for Women's Rights (CYCWR), a non-profit that promotes the rights and access to healthcare for Nigeria women in the areas of female genital mutilation, menstrual health and health education. CYCWR targets rural community members to provide them with healthcare products and change their cultural perspectives about FGM through intervention programs. They also educate to eradicate the menstrual stigma girls on their periods experience in schools and communities. They make and distribute menstrual products to women in prisons who are not provided tampons and are at risk of contracting life-threatening infections when they are menstruating.
Cumulatively they have positively impacted 12,000 people. They have addressed over 8,000 girls in rural communities across six states in Nigeria. In 2016, Kennedy collected 10,000 signatures from women around Calabar, and drafted a bill which was a partial requirement to compel the state government to build a safehouse for victims of gender-based violence. Currently, they have 3 safe houses hosting 589 victims of female genital mutilation, where they provide education for the women and they receive medical care. They have also provided STEM education for 387 victims of FGM.
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