Welcoming You to the Tharaka Women Welfare Programme
Tharaka Women Welfare Programme (TWWP) is a grassroots nonprofit organization based in Gatunga, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya transforming lives in one of the country’s most remote, semi-arid regions.
Our Story
It began in 1996 as Ntanira Na Mugambo “Circumcision with Words.” Founder Aniceta Kiriga, a mother of three daughters, refused to accept that Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) was the only path to womanhood in her community. She asked a radical question: could the rite of passage remain, without the cut?
That question became the Alternative Rite of Passage (ARP) Kenya’s first program of its kind. Thirty girls stepped forward in August 1996 to take part. It wasn’t easy; families, elders, and even churches resisted. But the movement held.
In 2005, the work formalized into the Tharaka Women Welfare Programme (TWWP), expanding beyond ARP into education, literacy, health, and digital access. What started as a small, contested idea is now a recognized model for community-driven development, replicated in other regions of Kenya.
We empower women and girls to participate in development and decision-making
Our Mission
To eradicate Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting through the Alternative Rite of Passage (ARP) and empower women and girls through access to education, literacy, life skills, and leadership development.
Our Vision
TWWP envisages a society where women and girls are empowered to actively participate in development and decision-making.