Polycom Development Project (Polycom) is a women’s empowerment and girl child welfare organisation, which started in response to the sexual violence and exploitation faced by young girls in the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi.
Polycom aims to empower young women in Kibera through access to education, sports activities and sanitation so they are able to manage their lives positively and develop a voice to influence policy and decision makers on issues that affect the lives of girls.
Working with 15 schools to reach out to adolescent girls and 5 organised groups to reach out to girls who are not in school. Polycom’s work is summarised under one word “G-PENDE” (which means to love yourself). It is about promoting self-worthiness and appreciation among girls. The programmes have recently been extended to include out of school girls and young women aged 16 to 25 years. Every year, Polycom recruits fresh school leavers as volunteers who are trained on psycho-social support to carry out school counselling sessions and to oversee the G-Pende safe space sessions.
