Project highlight: Community Fight

Community Fight is creating a ripple effect of change in Kisumu's informal settlements, empowering girls and young women to pursue brighter, safer, more independent futures.

In Kisumu, Kenya’s third-largest city, 60% of the population live in informal settlements — the highest proportion of any city in the country. Life in these settlements is tough.

Many families struggle to cover food and basic needs. Young women are particularly vulnerable, sometimes turning to transactional sex just to survive. In addition, there is little access to sexual health services, leading to higher rates of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. In 2024, over 37% of new HIV infections in Kisumu County were among young women aged 15-24.

Egmont Partner Community Fight Against GBV & HIV Community Fight) is working to change this reality for the girls and young women of Kisumu. The organisation began in 2015 by establishing the city’s only safe house for sexual violence survivors.

Their first Egmont-funded project (2022-2023) in Manyatta and Obunga focused on increasing reporting and prevention of sexual violence. School toilets were fitted with suggestion boxes, enabling children to report abuse safely, while theatre performances helped raise awareness among pupils and parents.

The impact was staggering—reaching 400% of the target audience (5,679 teenagers, parents, and caregivers) and increasing sexual violence cases reported to the police within 72 hours from 2% to 48% at project schools.

Seeing the transformative effect of informed and empowered young people, Community Fight is being supported by Egmont to expand their work into two additional settlements — Nyalenda and Seme. A key part of this is the introduction of Peer Educators and Friendship Benches.

Friendship Benches are safe, informal spaces where girls can speak to a trained Peer Educator confidentially and access critical information and support from other young people trained in sexual health, HIV prevention, and GBV response, increasing the likelihood that they will access health services.

The impact of these Peer Educators has been transformative for girls and young women in the community. Last year, 1,594 new Peer Educators were trained, bringing the total to 2,444. Over the year, they reached 18,056 girls through Friendship Bench sessions.

More than 45% of reported abuse cases in the targeted communities now emerge during Friendship Bench sessions. Hospitals near the settlements report a surge in adolescents and young women seeking reproductive health services — one facility saw a 300% increase. Local facilities’ data show a 44% drop in unplanned pregnancies among young women since the project began in 2023.

Going further, Community Fight want to reduce the vulnerability young women face towards gender-based and sexual violence - rather than just responding to its impact. To this end, they are helping young women to build financial independence.

Community Fight offers vocational training in dressmaking and hairdressing. Training takes place in local businesses to eliminate transport barriers and allow mothers to stay close to their children. Business management training ensures that new skills translate into sustainable livelihoods.

In 2024, 95 young women completed this training, including 21-year-old Mary, who had resorted to sex work to survive. Today, she is a skilled dressmaker earning between $3.87 - $7.75 a week, supporting both her mother and child. She now dreams of opening her own shop.

For younger girls, support to stay or enrol in school is critical. Community Fight ensures that those from the most vulnerable families can stay in education, covering fees, materials, and lunch costs where needed. In 2024, 40 girls (20 primary and 20 secondary students) received this support. Despite many having been out of school for some time, 94% have improved their performance. Friendship Bench sessions continue to identify high numbers of girls in need, prompting Community Fight to engage more local organisations to help meet demand.

To secure long term change for the girls and young women that they work with, Community Fight provides business training to parents and caregivers and establishes savings groups to help parents generate stable incomes. In 2024, 132 parents took part, with household incomes rising by 50- 70%. As a result, 67% of participants can now afford school fees, 80% provide at least two meals a day, and 89% can pay their rent on time — something many previously struggled with.

From Friendship Benches to vocational training and parental support, Community Fight is creating a ripple effect of change. By equipping young people with knowledge, skills, and opportunities, the project is transforming lives—ensuring that girls and young women in Kisumu have a brighter, safer, and more independent future ahead.