We are proud to announce a new partnership between Freely in Hope and Together Women Rise, a global community of women and allies advancing gender equality worldwide in the Global South.
Through this partnership, Together Women Rise is investing $50,000 over two years to support the expansion of Pendo’s Power, Freely in Hope’s trauma-informed, play-based program designed to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse in under-resourced communities.
This funding marks a significant milestone in our journey to create safer schools and stronger protection systems for children, led by those who understand the realities of violence most deeply: survivors themselves.
Child sexual violence remains a deeply pervasive yet often hidden crisis in Kenya. For many children, abuse is normalized, unreported, or met with silence due to stigma, fear, and lack of trusted reporting pathways. While policies and safeguarding frameworks exist, many school-based interventions are top-down, failing to center the lived experiences of survivors or reflect the cultural realities of the communities they serve. As a result, children may receive information but not empowerment, confidence, or a sense of safety.
At Freely in Hope, we believe that prevention must be survivor-informed, culturally grounded, and community-owned to create lasting change. That is why we created Pendo’s Power, a survivor-led child protection program that equips children, educators, and caregivers with the tools to recognize, prevent, and respond to sexual violence in age-appropriate and emotionally safe ways.
Over a 24-month period, this project will be implemented in six public primary schools across two counties in Kenya, reaching 6,000 children (3,000 of whom are girls), 90 educators trained in trauma-informed safeguarding, and thousands more caregivers and community members through ripple effects.
Using storytelling, music, role-play, and play-based learning, children aged 4–12 learn about body autonomy, consent, and safe disclosure, not through fear, but through empowerment. In parallel, educators, parents, and caregivers receive practical training on trauma-informed care, safe disclosure handling, and school-based safeguarding systems.
What sets Pendo’s Power apart is who leads it and how it is delivered.
- Survivor-Led Design and Facilitation: The program is co-created and facilitated by survivors of sexual violence, ensuring it is rooted in lived experience, trust, and cultural relevance.
- Ecosystem Approach: We train not only children, but also educators and caregivers — creating safer environments that extend beyond the classroom.
- Trauma-Informed and Play-Based: Lessons are developmentally appropriate, emotionally safe, and designed to engage children without retraumatization.
- Institutional Integration: The program aligns with Kenya’s national child protection systems, enabling schools to formally adopt and sustain safeguarding practices.
- Community Ownership: Schools form peer learning circles and safeguarding focal points to ensure continuity long after the project period ends.
This approach shifts survivors from being viewed as passive recipients of support to architects of prevention and change.
By the end of the grant period, we anticipate measurable and lasting change, including:
- 80% of children demonstrating increased knowledge of body safety, consent, and disclosure pathways
- 70% of educators showing improved confidence and ability to respond to protection concerns
- 30% increase in disclosures and referrals from participating schools
- 80% of schools formally adopting the safeguarding model beyond the pilot phase
- Improved psychosocial well-being for both children and educators
Beyond the numbers, the impact is deeply human…
Children are finding words to describe their experiences.
Teachers are responding with confidence rather than fear.
Schools are becoming places of safety rather than silence.
Sustainability is embedded at every level of this project.
- Educator peer learning circles ensure continued skill-building and mentorship
- Survivor-leaders remain embedded within their communities, carrying trauma-informed practices forward
- Teaching guides, books, and safeguarding materials enable schools to continue independently
- A replication-ready Pendo’s Power toolkit will support scale-up across Kenya and the region
- Earned-income strategies, including child protection consultancy and training, will support long-term financial sustainability
This investment not only enables us to implement a program, but also to strengthen systems that protect children for years to come.
We are deeply grateful to Together Women Rise for believing in survivor leadership, community-driven solutions, and the power of prevention. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to gender equality, dignity, and the right of every child to grow up in a safe environment. Together, we are building a future where no child’s safety depends on chance, and no survivor’s voice goes unheard.
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Together Women Rise is a powerful community of women and allies dedicated to global gender equality. It has hundreds of local chapters across the U.S. where members come together to learn about and advocate for gender equality issues, give grants to organizations that empower women and girls in low-income communities in the Global South, and build community to forge meaningful connections with each other and with women around the world.
Learn more: https://togetherwomenrise.org/
