Kushamiri Africa Foundation advances adolescent girls’ education, agency, leadership, menstrual health, and positive social norms in underserved communities. Our Kushamiri Agency Champions model equips adolescent girls with knowledge, confidence, decision-making skills, and peer-support networks to make informed choices, stay in school, and pursue their futures. We train selected girls as peer leaders who share knowledge, challenge harmful norms, and positively influence other adolescents, reinforced through digital learning. Our vision is a future where adolescent girls have the agency and support to avoid early and unintended pregnancy, remain in education, and thrive.
We equip adolescent girls with the knowledge, confidence, decision-making skills, and peer support to make informed choices and build healthier futures.
CHAGUA – Decision Learning for Adolescent Agency is the core learning approach. Through culturally grounded stories, interactive decision cards, and facilitated dialogue, girls explore real-life situations, consider consequences, and practice decision-making, self-advocacy, goal-setting, problem-solving, and communication.
Selected girls become Kushamiri Agency Champions—trusted peer leaders who reinforce CHAGUA learning, share knowledge, support other girls, and encourage positive choices within their peer networks.
This creates a peer-to-peer model in which learning extends beyond individual participants and can influence wider social norms.
The model addresses social and structural barriers that can contribute to early and unintended pregnancy, school dropout, limited opportunities, and reduced agency among adolescent girls.
We aim to develop a scalable, evidence-based model that strengthens girls’ agency, reduces vulnerability to teenage pregnancy, and expands their educational and life opportunities.
The MIND UP Youth Initiative is a sport‑ and play‑based mental‑health promotion program designed for adolescents aged 10 to 18 in Kenya. It responds to a serious challenge: nearly 44.3% of adolescents experience mental‑health problems, yet most lack access to youth‑friendly support. With fewer than one mental‑health professional per 100,000 people in Sub‑Saharan Africa, many young people struggle without help.
MIND UP offers a practical, accessible solution by using non‑competitive sport and interactive activities to teach essential psychological skills. Adolescents learn growth mindset, problem‑solving, gratitude, values and purpose, and emotional coping through games, teamwork challenges, and mindful exercises. These activities make mental‑health learning engaging, relatable, and free from stigma.
The program is delivered by trained near‑peer youth coaches aged 18–25, who receive over 20 hours of training in facilitation, mental‑health literacy, trauma‑informed practice, and safeguarding. Their relatable presence helps adolescents feel safe and understood. Coaches are supported by mental‑health practitioners and clinical advisors who oversee supervision and referral pathways.
We provide menstrual health education and reusable menstrual products as part of our broader commitment to helping adolescent girls manage menstruation with dignity, remain engaged in school, and build confidence and agency. We also contract local women to produce washable menstrual pads, creating local economic opportunities while strengthening sustainable community-based delivery.
We empower Kenyan students to become young environmental stewards by creating and caring for native biodiversity gardens in their schools.
Through hands-on learning, students discover native plants, pollinators, biodiversity, and ecosystem restoration while transforming unused spaces into small, living habitats.
By turning school grounds into living classrooms, the project helps students restore nature, protect biodiversity, and inspire wider community action for healthier, more resilient ecosystems.
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"Before Kushamiri, I was too shy to ask questions about my period. Now I understand my body, feel confident, and never miss school because of fear." — Student
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"Being a Peer Educator with Kushamiri has shown me that changing a girl's life takes more than giving her a menstrual kit. Through education, mentorship, and safe conversations, I've seen girls become more confident and believe in themselves." — Peer Educator
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"Kushamiri gave me the opportunity to mentor girls in my community. Seeing them gain knowledge, confidence, and hope has been the most rewarding experience." — Peer Educator
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"Every month, I feared my period because it meant missing school. Thanks to Kushamiri Africa Foundation's menstrual health education, mentorship, and reusable menstrual kits, I no longer have to choose between my education and my dignity."
Adolescent girls face interconnected barriers that can limit their education, agency, and future opportunities.
In Kenya, period poverty can contribute to school absenteeism, while limited access to accurate health information, supportive peer networks, and decision-making skills can increase girls’ vulnerability to early and unintended pregnancy. These challenges are often reinforced by harmful social norms and limited opportunities for girls to exercise agency over decisions affecting their lives.
Kushamiri Africa Foundation addresses these interconnected barriers through education, peer leadership, mentorship, and menstrual health support. Our goal is to help adolescent girls stay in school, strengthen their agency and decision-making, build positive social norms, and reduce risks associated with teenage pregnancy.
Our programs equip adolescent girls with knowledge, confidence, peer support, and practical skills to make informed decisions, remain engaged in education, and build brighter futures.
Building girls’ confidence, self-advocacy, decision-making, problem-solving, and leadership skills.
Training selected Kushamiri Agency Champions to educate, support, and positively influence other adolescent girls through trusted peer networks.
Strengthening knowledge, agency, decision-making, and supportive peer networks to reduce adolescents’ vulnerability to early and unintended pregnancy.
Engaging adolescents and communities to challenge harmful norms and create environments where girls can make informed choices and pursue their education.
Helping adolescent girls remain engaged in school, develop aspirations, and build the skills needed for healthier and more productive futures.
By scaling peer-led Agency Champions across schools and communities, Kushamiri Africa Foundation aims to help adolescent girls build the knowledge, confidence, agency, and decision-making skills needed to stay in school, avoid early and unintended pregnancy, and pursue their futures.
Building Confident and Purpose-Driven Young Leaders
Kushamiri Africa Foundation also implements youth-focused leadership and mindset transformation programs designed to prepare young Africans for education, entrepreneurship, leadership, and civic engagement.
Focus Areas
Our Goal
To raise a generation of confident, resilient, and socially responsible African youth equipped to transform their communities.
We implement evidence-based, community-centered programs designed for measurable and sustainable impact.
Mengisen Terevael Massawe (Menny Terry) is the Founder and Director of Kushamiri Africa Foundation, advancing adolescent girls’ education, agency, leadership, menstrual health, and positive social norms.
He holds a Master of Divinity in Organizational Leadership (Magna Cum Laude) from the United States and a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy, with strong professional experience in the financial sector, leadership, and organizational development.
Through Kushamiri, he is developing the Kushamiri Agency Champions model, equipping adolescent girls with knowledge, confidence, decision-making skills, and peer networks to stay in school, reduce early and unintended pregnancy risk, and thrive.
Kushamiri Africa Foundation is building scalable African-led systems rooted in:
Our Strengths
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Every girl deserves dignity, education, confidence, and opportunity.
Your partnership helps us restore learning hours, keep girls in school, create jobs for women, and build stronger African communities.
For more inquiries, information or questions about donations and to become a partner, kindly send a message.
