Five Kenyan Teenagers Develop an App to End Female Genital Mutilation

By Dr. Sinclair N. Grey III

Kenya, East Africa--Technology has taken over the world. With so many people living their lives through a smartphone and/or tablet, it’s easy to find an app to handle everything. Never mind the popular social media apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn, just to name a few. Other apps that help people gather information quickly and effectively are on the rise.

Because kids are learning how to code on a regular basis, the sky is the limit in what can be created. In addition to that, the need for many of our kids to think outside of the box in creating apps will only help people in the future.

In Kenya, there is some breaking news that every girl should be celebrating. It’s been reported that five teenage girls have developed an app to help end Female Genital Mutilation. That’s right; you read it correctly – a group of powerful girls came up with an app to help end FGM.

According to a story published in Madamenoire, “These five teens, Stacy Owino, Cynthia Otieno, Purity Achieng, Mascrine Atieno, and Ivy Akinyi, who call themselves ‘The Restorers’ had a dream to end female genital mutilation (FGM) in their country. FGM is a non-medical procedure that involves the partial or total removal of a woman’s external genitalia. The practice is seen as one of cultural significance, a rite of passage and, in some cases, a prerequisite for marriage.”

The goal of the app is to ‘restore hope to the hopeless.’

The name of the app is called i-Cut. It will provide legal and medical assistance to young girls before and after FGM.

The idea was conceived after a friend of one of the designers went through FGM and never came back to school. It hit close to home.

“In recognition for their creation, The Restorers were the only African team selected to participate in this year’s Technovation Challenge, sponsored by Google, Verizon, and The United Nations. Winners will receive $15,000 to help with the app’s continued development.”

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Dr. Sinclair N. Grey III is a speaker, author, and success coach. Contact him at www.sinclairgrey.org drgrey@sinclairgrey.org or on Twitter @drsinclairgrey.org