Five Kenyan girls have been invited to take part in the 2017 Google Technovation after they impressed with their mobile app, which aims to put a stop to female genital mutilation in the East African country.
The girls, aged between 15 and 17 years old, are the only Africans selected to be part of this year’s event at Google’s headquarters in California, according to ITNewsAfrica.
The young Kenyans attracted the interest of Google thanks to the development of their app, I-Cut, which aims to address the problem of female genital mutilation, which is still widespread in the country despite the fact that it is illegal.
The partial or entire removal of the external genitalia has personally affected 25 percent of Kenyan females, reports Konbini, and the app is designed to offer legal and medical assistance to those at risk of being cut, as well as those who are already victims.
The five girls, Stacy Owino, Cynthia Otieno, Purity Achieng, Macrine Atieno and Ivy Akinyi, will travel to the U.S. in August, where their app will be in contention to win a $15,000 prize at the Technovation event.
Stacy Owino discussed the app in conversation with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, as well as the potential to win the prize-money.
“Female genital mutilation is a big problem affecting girls worldwide and it is a problem we want to solve,” Owino said, according to AfricaNews.
“This whole experience will change our lives. Whether we win or not, our perspective of the world and the possibilities it has will change for the better.”
I-Cut allows those affected by genital mutilation to be connected with rescue centers that work to help victims of the illegal act, with five buttons used on the app featuring services related to assistance, reporting, information sharing and donations, according to BusinessLive.
The event, which is sponsored by Google, Verizon and the United Nations, aims to teach girls the business and leadership skills necessary for them to become the tech entrepreneurs of the future.
