Mission to Rescue Victims of FGM, and Early forced Marriages
In some communities in Baringo County, female circumcision is seen as a girl’s transition to womanhood. After undergoing the cut, they are married off and exchanged for livestock.
However, some girls from the Pokot community have been given a second lease of life, thanks to a retired Anglican priest who has rescued hundreds from the archaic practices and provided them a home.
Reverend Canon Christopher Chochoi has established a home to host girls who flee forced marriages as well as outcasts who are ostracised by their families for resisting FGM.
The home, known as Cana girls’ centre, is the only one of its kind in Baringo County. It provides refuge to victims of abuse and defilement. Some come from as far as Samburu, Turkana, Ilchamus and the Tugen communities.
Speaking to the Nation, Canon Chochoi narrates how he was prompted to start the centre nearly two decades ago. He had been called to pray with a young girl who had ingested poison to end the misery of her abusive marriage.
