“Being a teen mother is not the end of the opportunities I can pursue.” – Hanifa, project participant.

Wairimu with fellow trainers

When COVID-19 locked down the world, something extraordinary opened up for Wairimu Mwangi.

“I met Eva by chance in our neighborhood during the pandemic,” Wairimu recalls. “We had never spoken before. She admired the work I was doing in education, and just like that, we connected.”

That unexpected friendship introduced Wairimu to Global Peace Women (GPW) and forever changed the trajectory of her life and leadership.

Through Eva, Wairimu joined the Global Peace Women Leadership Academy (GPWLA), a transformative program that equips women to become peacebuilders starting from the home and expanding to their communities. “I was looking for leadership sharpening and personal clarity,” she shares. “But what I gained was far more: confidence, practical project skills, and a deeper sense of purpose.”

It was through a Global Women Dream (GWD) grant, funded by generous donors, that Wairimu brought her project vision to life: “My Body, My Health, My Life” is a mentorship and menstrual health education initiative for teen mothers in Dandora, Kenya.

Teen pregnancy is a crisis that often cuts short girls’ dreams. It comes with devastating social stigma and lifelong health risks, often locking girls into cycles of poverty and isolation. But Wairimu saw more than a statistic. She saw a spark waiting to be reignited.

With the GWD grant, Wairimu organized a six-part training for 30 teen mothers, equipping them with practical knowledge on menstrual hygiene, self-awareness, emotional health, and leadership; and perhaps most importantly, reminding them of their dignity.

“The GWD grant not only funded my project, but it also rebuilt confidence in me as a leader and in every young mother we reached,” says Wairimu.

Each girl received sanitary supplies, mental health support, and mentorship. At the end of the program, they were proudly commissioned as Ambassadors of Change, committed to reaching 300 other high school girls with messages of self-respect, education, and health.

Wairimu conducting a mentorship session for teen mothers in Dandora, Kenya

The ripple effects are just beginning.

“This project gave me the confidence to present my work,” Wairimu adds. “I now understand how to build a budget, monitor impact, and communicate outcomes; skills I didn’t have before GPWLA.”

Did you know? Every $1,000 GWD grant equips a woman like Wairimu to lead sustainable change in her community, reaching hundreds more.

Today, Wairimu continues her work through Literature Africa Foundation, mentoring youth, building partnerships, and expanding her impact in Nairobi and beyond.

“GPW believed in me as a woman leader. The Academy reminded me that peacebuilding begins in the home, with values, respect, and shared responsibility and that, women can lead that change.”

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