NGO SETS AGENDA FOR SEXUALITY DISCUSSIONS

By Nanjala Majala (BTM Correspondent)

KENYA – 26 May 2009: A Non Governmental Organization in Kenya's Nyanza province is set to launch a sexual identity and human rights debate project on Tuesday.Kenya Female Advisory Organization (KEFEADO)’s executive director Dolphin Oketch says the debate will open space for dialogue on sexuality.

Oketch says there has been silence on homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality and transsexual practices in Kenyan schools, families and the society that must be addressed.

“The organisation has received reports from students learning in schools where same sex relations, have been met with violent reactions and resistance from school administrators”, she said.

She says reports about students injuring each other in schools simply because they suspect their ‘fellows’ to be cheating on them are quite common in several schools in the province.
Addressing the press in Kisumu on Monday ahead of the launch, Oketch said that they would work with guidance and counseling teachers to break the silence.

The project will target ten districts in the province during the first phase of the project and she is optimistic that academic standards in the region will improve.

Oketch urged parents to shed certain myths surrounding sex and open up for dialogue with their sons and daughters.