Zaccheus Okoth is a 23-year-old in Seme, one of the sub-counties in Kenya\u2019s Kisumu County. When the opportunity to take part in the Make Way programme\u2019s sensitization drive at a local school presented itself, a curious and active Okoth jumped at it. It is here that he learned about a social accountability tool that would expand his knowledge of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). Today, the student of Computer Science is an SRHR advocate for fellow youth in the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBefore the programme came to our community, I knew so little about SRHR. Through following the program\u2019s intersectional tool step by step, I have learned a lot about SRH services. In most learning sessions, they bring a nurse who talks to us about them (services), and demonstrates to us how to use some (contraception) methods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Okoth adds that he and others have also been able to directly share feedback with some of the health authorities in his community. \u201cThrough this programme, I have met some \u2018big people\u2019 like the director of the hospital in Seme county and shared with him the problems that youths are facing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>The Intersectional Community Scorecard (ICSC) is the Make Way programme\u2019s social accountability tool that helps youth with compounded vulnerabilities to promote and claim their sexual and reproductive health and rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The six-step tool stipulates that processes explicitly prioritize addressing the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of minoritized youths, by improving the Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability, and Quality (AAAQ) of SRH services. In implementing this, the processes must also engage the active participation of minority youth in all activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Kisumu’s Muhoroni sub-county, girls and youths with disabilities are the most disproportionately affected. \u201cThese have been identified as the most vulnerable groups in this community,\u201d Consolata Otieno, a Reproductive Health Coordinator in Kisumu\u2019s Muhoroni sub-county says. For girls, she attributes this to abject poverty that leaves them susceptible to dropping out of school, and consequently, early marriages and domestic violence. While youths with disabilities lack critical learning resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She adds: \u201cHigh teenage pregnancies have also been a challenge that comes with dropping out of school. On the other hand, most of the services are not disability friendly. There are few service providers trained in sign language.\u201d For youths with especially learning disabilities, economic barriers are exacerbated by a shortage of personnel equipped with special training, and spaces for safe expression to facilitate access to SRH information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>Intersectional theory, as coined by civil rights scholar Kimberl\u00e9 Crenshaw, is an understanding that different sets of social identities like race, class, sexuality, etc overlap to impact access to rights and opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of the Make Way programme\u2019s comprehensive intersectional approach to promoting equitable access to SRHR, Cheshire Disability Services, Kenya<\/a> (CDSK) opened a \u2018Safe Space\u2019 for young women with disabilities in Kisumu. The space provides a prejudice-free environment for the vulnerable group to commune and share their lived experiences through SRHR.<\/ins> It also creates an avenue for peer-to-peer advocacy using the ICSC tool. Safe spaces also boost one’s psycho-social wellness, self-esteem, and dignity for marginalized people who typically experience discrimination and abuse within communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n