As I stepped into one of the safe spaces created by Lean on Me Foundation for Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Kisumu, Kenya, I was instantly wrapped in warmth – not just from the sun streaming through the windows and the smiles of beautiful babies, but the strength and resilience that the young mothers carried into that room. It was a beautiful, unexpected contrast; such joy and laughter in a room full of girls who, despite their young age, had already faced unimaginable challenges.
I am one of AJWS’s human rights experts in East Africa — and while I cannot share my name due to security concerns, I do want to share about a recent visit with Lean on Me Foundation. I believe this AJWS partner is doing such powerful work. But that work is at risk of disappearing. After President Trump’s abrupt cuts to USAID and foreign assistance funding, much of Lean on Me Foundation’s work, including a tuberculosis prevention and treatment program, has halted. AJWS continues to fund this, and many other organizations, but we cannot make up the gap in funding alone. I write you today to put stories behind these headlines.
Lean on Me supports over 1000 girls; most are between 15 and 19-years-old, and living with HIV. During my visit, they shared their stories not with bitterness, but with bravery. Their voices, steady and sincere, spoke of teenage pregnancy, abandonment, and social exclusion; including the double stigma from being a young mother who is living with HIV. Yet, they also spoke of survival.
“I am considered a bad girl in my community, and I cannot freely mingle with girls my age because of the pregnancy,” said one teen. “The father of this baby abandoned me the moment he found out I am pregnant. My parents see me as a disappointment. If I don’t stay strong, the pressure could kill me.”
Her words hung heavy in the room, but no one looked away. These girls understood each other. They had lived versions of the same story; rejection from family, humiliation and being forced to grow up too quickly. Some shared how they have been denied the chance to go back to school, and those who did faced daily stigma from classmates and teachers alike. Others were pressured to marry early, not for love, but to ‘cover the shame’ of their pregnancy.
Despite a policy in Kenya enshrining the right of a teenage mother to return to school after giving birth, many of these girls never get the chance.
And yet, in this hardship, Lean on Me Foundation has created an island of safety – a space where these girls can simply breathe. Here, they are not judged or labeled. They are simply heard and seen. Lean on Me Foundation provides reproductive health information that empowers them to take control of their future, and even nutritious porridge for their babies — ensuring that both mother and child are healthy.
Lean on Me Foundation also offers support for girls to take vocational training courses — a symbol that financial independence is possible, even after an unplanned birth. Still, challenges abound. In the eyes of Kenyan society, there are some things girls just don’t do.
One of the girls, full of quiet determination, shared how she had chosen to learn plumbing.
“I wanted to do plumbing. When I went to the course, I was told plumbing was just for men. When I insisted, I was sent to a class full of boys who mocked me every day. I completed the course but whenever I look for a job, they say that I am not able to do work that is very specific to men,” she said. “I am wondering what I lack to be able to do this work. I can do it better than most of those boys.”
The room erupted in support. Her peers clapped and cheered, urging her not to give up — a moment that revealed how much these girls have become each other’s sisters, advocates and healers.
Despite the organization’s challenges, Lean on Me Foundation stands as a quiet but unshakeable force. Especially now, with critical support from USAID temporarily halted, the organization is trying to step in to fill these painful gaps. With services from Lean on Me Foundation and other organizations diminished, many girls have no choice but to rely on public clinics. And for young girls, already terrified and stigmatized, this experience can be traumatizing.
Still, Lean on Me Foundation carries on – thanks to unwavering support from their partners such as AJWS who believe in advancing the rights of these girls.
As I left the room, I carried their stories with me. Their voices, their pain, and their fierce resilience. But I also carried something else; a deep pride in the work that Lean on Me Foundation is doing, and a renewed sense of commitment to this work.
These girls are not statistics or sob stories, they are leaders, mothers, daughters and fighters. And they deserve not just our compassion, but our action.