Kennewick woman combats genital mutilation of Kenyan girls

As a teacher in Kenya, Rachael Tengbom couldn't stop the genital mutilation of her female students.

Now she does, one girl at a time.

After moving to Kennewick, Tengbom started Voices of Hope, a nonprofit that aims to stop female genital mutilation by funding education for Kenyan girls and offering them a safe house.

Her mission is particularly pertinent today, which is International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.

Once Kenyan girls finish boarding school, there are few job options and most return to the villages where they were born, Tengbom said.

There many are forced to go through the cultural circumcision practice that marks a girl's entry into adulthood in the Maasai culture. Then they are considered ready for marriage.

"It is an abuse of women, and it should stop," said Tengbom, a member of the Maasai tribe.

The World Health Organization defines female genital mutilation as the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or injuring the female genitalia for nonmedical purposes.

WHO estimates 3 million African girls are at risk of mutilation each year. The procedures can cause lasting problems, including increased risk of childbirth complications, infertility and recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections.

Tengbom said some girls bleed to death from the cutting, which is traditionally, not medically, done, and does not involve anesthetics.

Tengbom was in Kenya last month, checking on the 17 women the nonprofit supports who are now attending college. They will graduate in September.

Of the 11 women who graduated from college in 2008, eight have jobs and the other three work with Voices of Hope, she said.

Education translates to empowerment, Tengbom said. Once a girl is educated and has a job, she is safe.

Tengbom said she has received support in the Tri-Cities for her mission. People can help sponsor girls through college, which costs $100 per month for school and housing.

Tengbom hopes to expand the organization's safe house, in the Kajiado district of Kenya where Tengbom grew up. She said more girls came to the group this year than it could help. It has property but needs to build a building, she said.

For more information or to help, call Tengbom at 586-8475 or Theo Dobie at 438-7898, or go to voicesofhope-kenya.blogspot.com . Donations can be sent to Voices of Hope at P.O. Box 6563 in Kennewick. Tengbom is also available for public speaking.