Introducing myself and my journal: Healing the Unseen Wounds

About Me:
My name is Martha Mghendi. I was born, raised and grew up in Kenya. I moved to The Netherlands in 2008, where I currently live. I work in the Financial Industry for a multi- national company, which provides me a platform to work with people from different cultures and backgrounds.

Whenever I have an opportunity, I travel back home to see my family and friends. Spending time with my family especially mum is always refreshing. But with time, our chats left me very heart broken. She always narrated what was happening on the ground in Taita. The rate of child/ minor abuse was alarmingly high. Even though some cases were reported, and the abusers prosecuted, many of such cases went unreported. There is a lot of shame attached to abuse and families would rather keep it silent than shame the family. In some situations, the economic status of these families is so bad, that some families opt to settling ( financially) outside court rather than have abusers prosecuted. The reason being that with the settlement, the family can have some small money to fend for the family. There are many different scenarios.
But what is even more heart breaking is what happens when families decide to report the abuse. Currently, because of the urgency to have these minors removed from abusive environment, they are placed in prison remands or over crowded children's homes. There is no treatment given to the minors or the families. They carry the wounds the rest of their lives.

That is the reason Beyond Innocence Foundation(BIF) was founded.

My Passions:
Make a difference in this world, and leave it better than I found it.

My Challenges:
Fund Raising

My Vision for the Future:
To see the home up and running.

My Areas of Expertise:
Finance, Networking