The Birth of Community Voices Network

31st 2021 December remains to be one of the most inspiring and foundational moments for the works of Community Voices Network in Korogocho; something beautiful came out of a painful and desperate situation. Young people came together and sought to address the menace of unsafe abortion and gender based violence.
On 23rd December, 2021, news came out that, a 23-year-old woman, lost her life in the hands of her abusive partner just after procuring an unsafe abortion that went wrong. The night before the incident, she had experienced severe bleeding and had been taken to a medical facility by the neighbors. Upon coming back home, an argument ensued between her and the partner who ended up inflicting severe physical injuries on her leading to her demise.
In response to this, a few young people from Korogocho mobilized other community members and hosted a campaign inform of a night vigil and an online campaign dabbed #SautiZetu on 31st December 2021; on this day community advocacy messages and information on SRHR referral pathways were disseminated reaching over 100 community members.
The 23rd December 2021 incident is just one the traumatic experiences that people in informal settlements have to go through and or observe. One of the greatest take aways from this experience and other preceding self-initiated initiatives; in 2020, a support group for teen mothers had been formed and an educational movie on Gender based violence dabbed ‘Amuzi’ was launched, of our founding members; is that, communities, specifically, young people want to be the change they want to see. This is our motivation for doing what we do.