Five Kenyan teenage girls have landed a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit the Google Headquarters in the United States.
Stacy Owino, Cynthia Otieno, Purity Achieng, Macrine Atieno and Ivy Akinyi were selected to participate in this year's Google-sponsored, International Technovation Competition after inventing I-cut, an app to end female genital mutilation (FGM).
The five teenagers aged between 15-17 were the only Africans selected to take part in the competition and they stand to win Sh1.5 Million if their project emerges top in the world.
Their application provides teenage girls who are in danger of FGM with a platform to access rescue centers as well as giving legal and medical attention to those who have been violated.
"FGM is a big problem affecting girls worldwide and it is a problem we want to solve," Stacy told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
They decided to take part in the competition because they wanted to help their friends from other communities who had undergone FGM.
"I had a classmate who underwent FGM, we were very close but after she was cut she never came back to school and yet she was among the smartest girls I knew," Purity Achieng stated.
“We call ourselves the ‘Restorers’ because we want to restore hope to hopeless girls,” Cynthia explained.
Even though FGM is illegal in Kenya, statistics estimate that 1 in every four girls have undergone the act.
The competition, which aims to teach girls the skills they need to become tech entrepreneurs and leaders, is also sponsored by Verizon and the United Nations.
The five will be flying to the United States on August 6th.
On Friday, President Uhuru Kenyatta hosted the teenagers at State House.
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta with the Kenyan Girls"]
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