New University Master's Student Works With Dolphin

Golzar Selbe, a master's candidate at the Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy, worked with Dolphin in July, and experienced first-hand the importance of the anti-rape workshops. Below is an excerpt of an e-mail she sent to family and friends:

So as you know I am in Kenya working with an amazing organization called Dolphin Anti-Rape and AIDS Awareness Outreach. Being here I have grown to love not only the organization, but the people who work for it. Especially the founders, Winnie and Duncan. It has been around, and struggling, since 1998. It travels to elementary, middle and high schools teaching AIDS awareness, teaching boys to respect women and NOT to rape, and mostly working with the girls and teaching them self-defense against rape.

There are many girls who have used these defenses and saved themselves from rape, some who I have even met. The youngest was 8 years old, and the oldest is 65. When school is out, then travel to women's centers, churches, and orphanages to teach other women.

Despite their long standing NGO status and their great work, they struggle financially. I walked up the steps of the building their office is in, down a dark hall in to the office. I was amazed to see one empty room with some plastic chairs, a desk, and brochures and flyers on the desk. There was only one light bulb, but two light fixtures. When I wanted to get a video of the walk into the office through the hallway they had to remove the light bulb from the office and put it in the hallway just for me be able to record. This is how little money they have. There are posters on the wall from different organizations like V-Day or UNICEF. But that is all. Still they are able to do such amazing work. Every penny they get goes directly to gas and cost of transportation to the schools.

It was like out of a movie. I couldn't believe it. It breaks my heart how little they have, but inspires me to see how much they can do with so little. I have never seen an organization run so efficiently.

When I first arrived in Kenya, Dolphin was operating with no computer, printer, internet, or file cabinets. Their accounting book was full and they needed a new one. Not to mention the light bulbs. With the amazing help and support of my wonderful friends, family, and their friends and family we were able to raise $1,894! The best part is that number is still growing. I am still getting checks and new pledges. This was able to furnish the office with a computer, 3 in 1 printer to minimize their external costs, a file cabinet that locks (which is necessary), light bulbs, a Katarsi Analysis book, 2 tanks of gas, and some stipends for the local volunteers. These valuable people need and deserve the financial incentive to keep them around and fulfill their needs. Their patience when it comes to stipends amazes me; how many full time jobs do you work for without a paycheck?

So, after a nice long pat on our backs, it’s time to realize that our work is not done. Their car is still barley functional, and being a mobile organization that travels to the schools directly, it is a crucial component that needs to be updated. The car is so old and beaten up that when they picked me up from the airport the police pulled them over to tell them that they aren't allowed to drive it to the airport, as they do not want foreigners seeing such an old and ugly vehicle. With a better functioning vehicle they can maximize the amount of schools they can reach in a week, and they can venture into the outskirts of Nairobi. Now we are working to raise money for a new vehicle. If everyone donates a little then a lot can be done. Our suggested donations are $20 each, but give as much or as little as you can; be it $5 or $100.

Thanks for being a part of the team!

Dolphin Celebrates V-Day's 10th Anniversary in New Orleans

Winnie and Duncan celebrated the 10th anniversary of V-Day, an international movement to stop violence against women and girls, in New Orleans with activists and from around the world. This incredible event connected women and men from around the world in celebration of the past 10 years of V-Day and the next 10 to come.

The Superdome harnessed the energy of each and every person that walked through its doors and transformed that energy into solidarity.

This was Winnie and Duncan's first visit to the United States, and when asked what what they thought about the US, they replied in an e-mail:

"Your question about how we think of the USA is that it was a wonderful experience visiting a superpower country where many have tried to visit but not succeeded. The people are very friendly including the whites and the African Americans. Take an example in the hotel we were staying and the one we were taking our meals,the people were so friendly and ready to listen to any small detail you needed. During the V IO it was so exciting that Duncan was mobbed and hugged by so many women and girls especially the white ones."

This event connected Dolphin to the thousands of individuals, who before that weekend, had never heard of them or the work that they do. It was instrumental in building a global coalition to end violence against women and girls.

Read more testimonies, watch videos, and view photos at V-Day's website.

Pantyline Productions...Saving the World Through Panties

Pantyline Productions donates 20% of all sales to Dolphin Anti-Rape & AIDS Outreach Control.

Founded in 2003, Pantyline has been the official organizer of V-Day South Lake Tahoe, and in March of 2006, Jennifer Gurecki, panty extroidanier, worked with Dolphin in Kenya, teaching anti-rape workshops.

If you are interested in hosting a Panty Party as a fund raiser for Dolphin and a local organization/group you support (including V-Day events), please e-mail Jennifer at pantyline_productions@yahoo.com.

Interested in the panties? Visit her website.

Dolphin Salutes V-Day

Dolphin and V-Day have been working together to end violence against women and girls since 1992. Below is a short clip of primary school girls chanting "V-Day" after participating in a Dolphin workshop.

Dolphin Reaches All Corners of the Globe

Visit this site from China to read more about Dolphin.

The ABCs of Rape Prevention

Dolphin uses techniques that empower young girls and boys, changing the communities they live in. Learn more about their approach here.

Dolphin In Action

Winnie, Duncan, Penninah and Steven teach a workshop at Arya Girls School.

BBC News Reports World "losing fight against AIDS"

The BBC reported today that a top US advisor for the disease proclaimed that the world is losing the fight against Aids.

"For every one person that you put in therapy, six new people get infected. So we're losing that game, the numbers game," Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

According to the BBC, more than 60% of all people with HIV live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite falls in adult HIV prevalence apparently under way in Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe, there is little evidence of declining epidemics in this region as a whole. In fact, prevalence levels remain "exceptionally" high and might not yet have reached their peak in several countries.

There is also particular concern at the way the virus affects women in this region, who are disproportionately affected by HIV while remaining poorly informed.

South Lake Tahoe Middle School Donates $500 to Dolphin

Dolphin would like to thank Kathy Brown’s 7th grade classes at the South Lake Tahoe Middle School for raising much needed funding for HIV/AIDS prevention in Kenya.

During an African Unit in her classes, she challenged her classes to raise money for African causes. Each class had a jar to fill full of change and bills, and the class that raised the most money won a party. One girl brought in $55 worth of pennies, and the students saw the jars fill up quickly. Overall, Brown and her students raised $728.

With the $500 funding from Brown’s class, a team of volunteers from Dolphin will be able to reach between 10,000 and 15,000 students in a one-month period.

Kenyan Newspaper "The Nation" Reports on Dolphin

This story was published in the daily paper, The Nation, on July 28, 2004.

The Nation
Nairobi, Kenya
Lessons for Lambs to Fight Off Wolves
By Grace Kithaka

The young girls are seated on the parade ground, keenly repeating what the four visitors - who had interrupted their afternoon session - are teaching.

The lesson at New Kihumbuini Primary School in Kangemi, is a girls only affair, since the subject is how to avoid being a rape victim and how to react in case you are attacked. The instructors, a group of volunteers from Dolphin Anti-Rape and Aids Control Outreach, begin with the "dos" and "don'ts".

"Msichana aliyechanuka, hampatii mwanaume hamjui mkono ya..." reads Peninah Benga from a pamphlet, stopping mid-word to allow girls to complete it for her, which they do and in unison, "yakeee!" (a street-smart girl does not shake hands with a stranger). Meanwhile, Winnie Onyango, her colleague keeps watch over the children to ensure maximum attention.

Then follows a demonstration, with a man from Dolphin representing a would-be attacker and one of the girls playing the role of the victim. Stephen Kilonzo approaches the young girl and as he talks to her, offers his hand in greeting. The girl, who seems to have forgotten what they have just been taught, offers her hand, and he quickly pulls her towards him. The audience squeals with laughter. Startled by the incident, a little girl seated near the two actors, draws a quick breath then slowly relaxes and joins the rest in laughter.

Realising her mistake, the girl in the demonstration smiles sheepishly. Not to worry she's told, because they will repeat the demonstration.

This time she refuses to take the stranger's hand. "Akinipa mkono, nini itanizuia kumfuta na kwenda naye? "(If she gives me her hand, what will stop me from grabbing her and taking off with her?) Kilonzo directs the question at the audience.

And so the lesson continues, with each theory being followed by a demonstration. The Dolphin group has designed the lessons to cover different age groups, but due to the pressure of time today, they could not divide the girls into groups.

Usually, talks for lower classes involve tips about declining lifts and sweets from strangers, who should and should not watch them dressing or undressing, why nobody should touch their bodies, and why they should go straight home from school.

"Because of their age, such tips are more relevant to the lower classes," explains the group's leader, Duncan Bomba.

When the preventive tips on the pamphlet are over, Benga and Onyango take a back seat. It is now time for reactive demonstrations. This time, Bomba plays the victim and Kilonzo the assailant.

Through their demonstrations, the girls and their attentive female teachers learn that they can use their teeth or fingers to attack an assailant.

"Use your index and middle fingers to poke your assailant's eyes like this," the two men demonstrate and then call one of the girls and ask her to do the same to Kilonzo when he grabs her from the front and pretends to drag her away.

"If someone grabs and lifts you, bite his ears and as soon as he sets you down, run," they are told. "If he has you on a bench or bed, fold your knees close to your chest and as he steps close to get on top of you, jerk your knees straight to push him away with the impact, or poke him in the eye."

There is also a demonstration for those who go home alone to show how easily a would-be rapist could grab them. "If the girl was accompanied by two or three colleagues, they would help save her, or at least alert passers-by."

Other techniques to fend off an assailant included spitting or throwing soil into an assailant's eyes, or kicking his groin or his knee cap.

Through it all the girls giggle, but they are aware of the seriousness of the matter at hand. Their teachers, sitting nearby, watch and listen keenly, sometimes trying out some of demonstrations on each another.

"Practical knowledge is one of the best life skills," Bomba says. "We want the girls to know what can happen. The demonstrations ensure that everything sinks in and remains there for a long time."

Peninah Benga and Winnie Onyango ensure that the pupils pay attention to the show.

"Not all assailants use force; some will act very nice and the girls need to know that behind these friendly gestures lie devious intentions," says Bomba.

The Dolphin quartet use day-to-day situations, for example, a man sending a girl to the shop. "If the man has ulterior motives," the girls are told,"he will try to lure you into the house, which you musn't do.

"It is all right to leave the items at the door, inform him and go."

Dolphin Anti-Rape and Aids Control Outreach, a volunter group, started in 1998 with 25 members, who have since reduced to 10. "Since we are a volunteers, some in the group felt that they couldn't go on without pay," explains Winnie.

Nevertheless, they have reached over 200,000 students and teachers in several towns, including Nakuru, Eldoret, Nairobi, Kiambu and Kakamega. In May, this year alone, they visited 98 schools.

"We saw that rape cases were on the increase and nothing was being done about it. The law is not enough because it is applied after the damage has been done," Bomba says. "We focus on young girls and boys, who are the high risk victims. We visit schools, colleges, women's groups and churches and rely on private funding to travel to these institutions and accomplish our goal."

The programme is free. The organisers of V-Day in Kenya have been funding the group since 2002, which has enabled them to visit all these institutions, including training female staff at Safaricom's Headquarters.

And their efforts are bearing fruit: among the letters of appreciation from the beneficiaries of their talks is one from Helen, a student at Nyahururu Primary School, who describes her response when attacked by a would-be rapist: I poked his eyes and hit his kneecap very hard. He lost control of me and I ran..."

"The aim is not to teach girls to fight men, but to disable or immobolise an assailant. The skills are a last resort," Bomba says. More proof of the effectiveness of the campaign came from the Kibera slum two months ago, when a little Chelsea Feli, a pupil in class two, bit her assailant, and thus avoided being raped. The Dolphin group had visited Kibera in 2002.