KMG Ethiopia

Description

KMG Ethiopia, also known as Kembatti Mentti Gezzima-Tope, is an indigenous non-governmental organization based in Kembata, Ethiopia. It works to protect women’s rights, foster women’s health and support the environment. Sisters Bogaletch and Fikirte Gebre founded it in 1997 to help end female genital mutilation and bridal abduction.

The organization uses community conversations, a technique adapted from AIDS education, to bring people together to discuss traditional practices and social change. Through these conversations it has worked to reduce female genital mutilation and bridal abduction, and it assisted the Ethiopian government with HIV prevention training nationwide. It also presses local police to enforce laws against bridal abduction.

Beyond its work on women’s rights, KMG Ethiopia provides health care, including a mother and child health center in Durame, and builds schools and sports programs for girls. It also runs environmental projects, planting millions of trees and providing potable water and sustainable electricity. Its activities have grown from two kebele to many districts across southern Ethiopia.

KMG Ethiopia envisions a society where women are free from discrimination and violence, and where their rights and talents are recognized.