Overview

Girl Effect is a non-profit creative social enterprise focused on adolescent girls and young women. Their mission in Kenya is to improve girls’ health, education, and livelihoods by connecting them to information, networks, and services that help them thrive.

Focus in Kenya

Girl Effect’s work in Kenya centers around:

Youth participation — involving girls directly through youth advisory panels, young professionals, and youth creator networks.

Challenging gender norms — addressing harmful social norms that limit girls’ choices.

Integrated support — tackling health, education, economic empowerment, and social change together.

They aim to help girls finish secondary education, pursue dignified work or entrepreneurship, and access essential health services such as sexual and reproductive health, immunization, mental health, and nutrition.

Key Programs & Campaigns

Tukisonga Campaign / Tuki Series
A national campaign that reduces barriers to reproductive health services for adolescent girls and young women. It includes a drama series called Tuki, aired on Kenyan television, to spark conversations and awareness.

Digital Engagement
Reaching girls through digital media platforms, chatbots, radio, and social media to provide health information, educational content, and empowerment tools.

Community “Champions” Model
Working with girls and community influencers to hold dialogues that challenge restrictive gender norms and promote positive behavior change.

Creative Media & Storytelling
Using relatable media — TV dramas, radio, online content — to deliver messages and encourage conversations that resonate with young people.

Strengths

Creative, media-driven strategies that reach girls in relatable ways.

Youth co-creation — girls are engaged as creators, not just recipients.

Holistic approach — integrating health, education, livelihoods, and norm change.

Challenges

Access gaps — not all girls, especially in rural or low-income areas, have access to digital tools.

Resistance to change — shifting long-standing gender norms can face community pushback.

Measuring impact — proving direct outcomes from media and norm-change work is complex.

Sustainability — creative campaigns require ongoing investment and content refresh.

Digital divide — literacy and connectivity barriers may exclude some girls.