Pokot

However, when they reach this stage, their only options are returning to their families in one of the least-developed districts of Kenya, namely Pokot, or pacing the streets of a larger city. the International Humanity Foundation (IHF)

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In 2009, Lopus and Lodio got more than 60 traditional birth attendants from across Pokot together to spread the word about the dangers of FGM.

The midwife on a mission to stop female genital mutilation 2011

In 2005, when they had collected enough money, she persuaded Miriam Lopus and Rhoda Lodio, two Kenyan midwives she knew from Pokot, to travel to Kendal and meet specialists who campaign against FGM.

The midwife on a mission to stop female genital mutilation 2011

"Pokot is only one area of one country," she says.

The midwife on a mission to stop female genital mutilation 2011

In communities like Pokot it's regarded as a prerequisite for marriage.

The midwife on a mission to stop female genital mutilation 2011

She returned to Pokot once or twice a year and kept in touch with Nellie, now a mother of two.

The midwife on a mission to stop female genital mutilation 2011

With rainfall in the Sahel never abundant, in Turkana it has become even less common, and the traditional pastoralists of the Turkana and Pokot have increasingly been forced into conflict over the remaining grazing ground.

Winds of Change Peter Guest 2011

She was sent to be a midwifery tutor at a nursing school in the Cherangani Hills in Pokot, an area of Kenya that the Lonely Planet Guide describes as "East Africa's best-kept secret".

The midwife on a mission to stop female genital mutilation 2011

But when Holland arrived, she discovered Pokot had another secret – and it wasn't one travel books boasted about.

The midwife on a mission to stop female genital mutilation 2011

Holland's plan is to hold an annual rite of passage ceremony in Pokot, and fundraise for its costs.

The midwife on a mission to stop female genital mutilation 2011