A young woman crossing the touch line!

All this started for Mercy Anne on a football field at a Moving The Goalposts (MTG) league field in Kilifi County, Kenya. MTG is a community-based organisation that uses football to empower girls in the rural and urban areas of Kilifi County.

Born in a village in Siaya County in the west of Kenya, Mercy Anne only received a primary education. At fifteen years old she got pregnant and was forced to get married to the father of her child. She now has three children aged 8, 6 and 4.

She joined MTG, was trained as a field leader, coach peer educator and a peer health provider. Despite coming from a different culture, the Luo community, Mercy is now integrated and speaks the local language “Jibana”, understands the community well and has reached out to over one thousand girls and young women and peers both younger and older with a message of hope, promoting access to reproductive health and rights and positioning women in leadership positions.

A role model for many
I am not only a service provider, I inspire fellow girls, I am a coach in my field, a peer educator and a leader of the savings group. I am an elected leader.  Every week in my league field I reach out to one hundred girls, said Mercy Anne.

She has inspired the whole Vuga Community through health sessions, intervening in cases of girl’s violations and voicing issues of girls and women. She is now a role model for many; girls in the community would like to be like her. Most women and parents visit her home to ask for advice.

[This article has been edited by the Operating Team]