Seleyian Partoip
Founder/Executive Director, Murua Girl Child Education Program
Bold Question: What if women led climate change resilience and adaptation among pastoralist communities in Kenya?
Pathway to Metis: Seleyian Partoip is a passionate girl and women's rights advocate with over 15 years of experience working on gender issues and empowering girls and women from low-income households in urban slums. She advocates for protecting girls' rights encouraging the abandonment of harmful practices and increasing access to education among indigenous pastoralist communities.
Seleyian noticed the literacy gap between men and women from her family, village, and entire community. At first, it did not bother her when she was young. As she kept moving up the education ladder from primary to secondary to college, there was a clear pattern, and sadly the numbers of boys and girls transitioning significantly reduced. Boys dropped out of primary/secondary school to work on the farms while girls were married off.
The turning point for her leadership journey was when a girl from her village dropped out of school due to teen pregnancy. She visited the school to follow up on the case. After talking to the teacher, the girl was allowed back to school to complete her studies. She then started visiting schools to share on SRH (Sexual Reproductive health) and distributing sanitary towels.
She then founded Murua Girl Child Education Programs NGO in 2018 to expand her reach to other indigenous pastoralist communities in Kenya. The organization has reached over 15,000 girls with mentorship programs, SRHR education, ending FGM Advocacy, and community-led climate action for adaptation and resilience.
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