A Girl's Entry to The Kukhoma Project

When a girl experiences gender-based violence or sexual abuse in Chongwe or Lusaka, The Kukhoma Project is often the very first call. Upon receiving a call, our team goes to the field to meet with the girl and her family. We help her access medical care, and we push the police to pursue justice.

Here's a glimpse of what happens next...

Through conversation, we determine if the girl meets the criteria for admission into the TKP house. Some girls aren't the right fit, so we refer them to other partners or help them take their own independent steps to file reports, meet with doctors, and find ongoing care.

If she does meet our requirements, we begin an assessment to move her in, including a home visit and a series of questions to determine 1. if participating in TKP's two-year residential program is something the girl and her family want, and 2. what needs to happen for the girl to reintegrate safely two years later.

Before a girl ever steps foot in our house, we are evaluating what life will look like once she graduates. How can her home and family be a safe place for her and her baby? What are her (and, consequently, our) long-term goals?

As quickly as possible, our staff brings her to the TKP house, which can be an extremely overwhelming transition. Girls are greeted at the door by enthusiastic words of welcome, but even amidst this encouragement, they show up uncertain, scared, and hurt. They are arriving at a place they've never seen and introduced to a community they've never met—all while suffering from intense trauma.

In addition, because one of our criteria for admission is the risk of harm, all of our new girls are placed on suicide watch for the first 48 hours of their stay. As a girl settles into her room, meets her carefully and intentionally selected roommates, and picks out clothes, she also has 24-hour adult supervision to ensure that she and her baby are safe.

The first few days at the house also include a comprehensive doctor's appointment—usually the first time a pregnant girl receives an ultrasound—and a detailed intake session with a therapist. The girls we serve have experienced severe abuse, yet have never received mental health support. This first conversation with a therapist can be intense, but it starts a relationship and healing that will continue for the duration of their stay at the TKP house and beyond.

Within the first week, girls have received medical care, counseling, and a supportive community of adults and peers. They're still scared and overwhelmed, but they're also experiencing something new: Hope. At the TKP house, for the next two years, they're safe, they're loved, and they're home.