Living Freely In Hope
The facts:
- Every 30 minutes, a woman is raped in Kenya. (Nairobi Women’s Hospital)
- Yearly, over 13,000 Kenyan girls are kicked out of school for being pregnant. (Center for Reproductive Rights)
- In Eastern Africa, nearly 14 percent of pregnancies end inillegal abortions. (Guttmacher Institute)
- Annually, 26,000 women die from having an unsafe abortion in Kenya. (Center for Reproductive Rights)
Many women are often taken advantage of because men pretend that they intend to try to help them either with finding a job to enhance their financial situation or to help their education. However, often these women end up being rape victims. There is a social stigma towards rape victims in many parts of Kenya, especially in the rural areas, because women are often blamed. Many young girls are kicked out of their houses because they were raped, so instead of being seen as a victim, they are seen as people responsible for the crime. When these women are raped most of the men do not use protection and therefore the women end up pregnant and have to resort to illegal abortion. Also in Kenya, this gender inequality translates to education, as it is rare for women to get into college because the spots are usually given to men. Men therefore have much more power than women, so women are especially helpless in society when they are rape victims.
However, what Lim found were not women who were victims, instead these were women who took a stand for themselves and did the best they could, despite their horrific circumstances. These women inspired her and even when she was back in the US, she felt the need to help a particular woman back in Kenya. A young woman named Eunice was raped when she was 18 years old when she went to the city to get an education. To get Eunice to feel comfortable around him, a man pretended to know her sister, but in reality he did not and he raped her. She became pregnant and decided to get an illegal abortion. However, while in line for her abortion something inside her told her not to do it and to instead use this experience as an example to other girls that things can be okay even if the worst happens. As a result, her son Eugene, and decided to not let her status as a rape victim hamper her ambitions. Later, she was able to get into a college in Kenya; however, she needed some extra money to finish. Nikole Lim was contacted and after supplying Eunice with $300 she was able to finish school while rising to the top of her class.
Therefore, Lim got to thinking, how else could people help? How else could small scholarships help young girl pursuing higher education? Thus her non-profit organization Freely In Hope was born. Lim believed if women were empowered with confidence, counseling, knowledge, and education their lives could be changed for the better. Therefore, she decided to set up small scholarships for girls who were survivors or vulnerable to sexual assault and also widows. A micro-business training was also set up in the largest slum in all of eastern Africa, where many women are HIV positive.
Nikole Lim feels that empowering people through film is a big tool, as she specializes in film making. She also believes that if we all band together we can help these women and other women around the world be empowered and truly live freely in hope.
Lim’s organization has grown to now helping women in Zambia. People can help by purchasing the documentary film, “While Women Weep,” and purchasing the book series. Jewelry is also sold on the website that is made out of recycled magazines by HIV+ women in Kenya (all proceeds benefit Freely in Hope). Freely In Hope is also available for film screening events and speaking engagements at conferences. For more information on how to support Freely in Hope by sponsoring a girl, hosting an event, or screening While Women Weep, please contact: info@freelyinhope.org or visit their website and Facebook page.
Megan Emme is the New Media Coordinator at Mobilize.org and runs their blogging program, The Millennial Report. Megan is a Junior at San Francisco State University and also works as the SF Regional Coordinator for the Revolution Hunger Campaign. She hopes to pursue a career empowering young people to advocate for themselves as well as make a difference in their communities.