Five schoolgirls from Kisumu High School in Kenya’s western city of Kisumu will be representing Africa in Google’s Technovation challenge after they developed an app, iCcut, to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
The five teenagers, aged 15 to 17, Stacy Owino, Purity Achieng, Ivy Akinyi, Synthia Otieno and Macrine Atieno are competing to win $15,000 in this year’s international Technovation competition, where girls develop mobile apps to end problems in their communities.
“FGM is a big problem affecting girls worldwide and it is a problem we want to solve,” Stacy Owino told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“This whole experience will change our lives. Whether we win or not, our perspective of the world and the possibilities it has will change for the better.”
We are called “The Restorers” because we want to “restore hope to hopeless girls”, said Synthia Otieno.
iCut is an android app that helps fight Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) by providing a platform to report FGM cases and support FGM victims. Its simple interface has five buttons – help, rescue, report, information on FGM, donate and feedback – offering users different services.
FGM violates girls’ right to security and physical integrity, and their right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
The Technovation Challenge is sponsored by Google, Verizon and the United Nations. It aims to teach girls the skills they need to become tech entrepreneurs and leaders. It was launched the 2017 season in partnership with Google’s Made with Code and UN Women.
The final pitch will take place from August 7 -11, 2017 in San Francisco Bay Area, CA
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This whole experience will change our lives. Whether we win or not, our perspective of the world and the possibilities it has will change for the better.”
We are called “The Restorers” because we want to “restore hope to hopeless girls”, said Synthia Otieno. I so much love this quote by Synthia Otieno. That’s the spirit and God will help you all in achieving this aim. Go girls. Africa is proud of you.
This is brilliant! Good one there, coming from these young geniuses. Well done guys. I wish them success in their quest to win the $15,000 prize.
This App would surely be useful in sensitising the people, African people. FGM has to stop!
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