Global Kids’ Human Rights Activist Project (HRAP) International summer travel program provides highly motivated NYC public high school students with the opportunity to develop the knowledge, skills, and international experience needed to take action on critical human rights issues in the U.S. and abroad.

Five Global Kids Leaders traveled to Kenya from July 18 to August 2, 2009, to learn about and contribute to the critical participation of youth in human rights campaigns, both in Kenya and in the U.S. Working with a number of partner organizations, students explored such topics as women’s and girls’ rights and empowerment, youth activism, access to education and healthcare, and environmental sustainability, among others. Highlights from the trip included:

Cultural Exchange at the School for Field Studies. The Kenyan branch of the School for Field Studies, an environmental sustainability study abroad program, graciously provided lodging and meals for GK students and staff during their trip. Fully immersed in Kenyan culture, students interacted and ate with SFS staff daily, and even learned some basic Masaai from them.

Two-day community homestay in collaboration with the Green Belt Movement, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai's organization. Students and staff stayed with host  families in Kandara, Central Kenya. They worked in the community with their host families, milking cows and goats, cutting vegetables, making chapatis, farming and so on. Students also met with GBM staff to learn about the organization's work in tree planting, promoting women's empowerment and economic independence, food security and water harvesting, and took part in a tree planting session (a key GBM activity) with the women of the community. Since returning, GK Leader Lindsay Tejada has decided to write and facilitate a workshop about the GBM and the importance of environmental conservation for her peers. During the workshop she will screen clips of Wangari Maathai's documentary Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai, and also plans to integrate an action component she has yet to decide.

Work with CARE International’s Sport for Social Change partner Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA). MYSA works in the Mathare slum of Nairobi, and uses sports, music, art and reading programs as vehicles for addressing the myriad issues facing the community. GK Leaders played games and read with students at the MYSA library. Some of the MYSA youth also presented poetry on issues facing their community, including prostitution, rape, police impunity and HIV/AIDS. One of the GK Leaders, Nurys Laureano, has decided to spread awareness about MYSA when she returns to the U.S., and collect books for donation to their library.

Collaboration with Youth Alive! Kenya, at Kibera Glory Secondary School. In partnership with a Kenyan youth development organization, Youth Alive! Kenya, GK Leaders worked with students at a High School in the Kibera slum, an area hit hard by post-election violence in 2008. Over two days, GK Leaders facilitated workshops for high school students on human rights, education, and youth activism. Together they discussed ways in which marginalized youth can advocate for change in their communities. Global Kids Youth Leaders plan to continue collaborating with Kibera Glory Secondary School Students as they implement the blueprints for social change activism that they created together. Global Kids will also continue to exchange resources and learning with Youth Alive! Kenya.

Learning session at ADRA Kenya.The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) center in Kajiado, Kenya, is for young Maasai girls who have been victims of, or have run away to escape, female genital mutilation (FGM) and early marriage. GK Leaders met with staff and two young girls at the center, to hear about the devastating effects of FGM, and their experiences as victims/escapees. This was an immensely moving meeting. GK Leader Gabriel Wahab has identified FGM as a project he will continue to work on, and GK will stay in touch with ADRA Kenya.

Workshop at Saint Mary's School. GK Leaders facilitated a workshop on the dynamics of bias and inclusion for 11th grade students at Saint Mary's School in Nairobi. The workshop segued into a discussion on the pursuit of justice in the aftermath of post election violence in Kenya, in early 2008.

Safari and Sightseeing. GK students had a chance to see some of Kenya's wonders, including touring downtown Nairobi; shopping and learn to haggle at the local markets; visiting the cultural center Bomas of Kenya; visiting the Giraffe Center; and perhaps most exciting, going on a game drive "safari" and visiting a wildlife orphanage.

To read about the students on the trip, please click here.
To read more about HRAP Kenya, from students on the trip, please visit the HRAP Kenya blog.
To support Global Kids in its efforts to create programs like this one, please click here.