Kenyan activists are on a mission to end gender-based violence as attacks on women surge
Njeri Migwi is the co-founder of a community-based organization called Usikimye, which means “Don't be silent” in Swahili
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Njeri Migwi’s phone buzzes incessantly. Phone calls and messages keep coming in from women seeking help to escape life-threatening situations. A mother and her remaining child are looking for a place to stay after her partner allegedly raped and killed her two other children, including a 6-month old.
Moments later, someone calls looking to help a woman who has been nearly beaten to death.
“Sometimes I feel like I am the government, because I'm doing the work that they should be doing,” says Migwi, 43, the co-founder of a community-based organization called Usikimye, which means “Don't be silent” in Swahili. The organization helps women escape violent relationships, puts them up in safe houses and counsels them on how to rebuild their lives.
Migwi is on the front lines of a war against a silent epidemic of gender-based violence in Kenya, where almost 60 women have been killed since the beginning of the year, according to the government.
