Future Africa without FGM

Waking up in the deep Masingu County in Kenya, life is peaceful. The life of the locals has completely transformed. Stories of the past no longer haunt my home. There is peace, love and growth among the community. Young girls peacefully attend school like any other girls around the world. After school, they tend to the house hold chores and help around the house before they finally sit for their school works. I sit down and look at the young generation smiling. Indeed, so much has changed. However, life was not always blissful as it seems.
I grew up in a totally different world. On most occasions, I compare the two worlds. Things have never been the same. The story of FGM has become a past, left for old grandmothers like I to tell to the young ones, perhaps as a duty to the Masingu community. At eight four am still bewildered by the success of the past constant and continuous anti-FGM campaigns. I had never expected that FGM, a culture deeply entrenched into the roots of our people would be totally forgotten, with only slight memories remaining.
As an old member of my community, I find it trite to tell the young generation of our past struggles. This is not an attempt to instill fear or bad memories. However, it is the realization of my intrinsic role to educate the youth of the past and the hurdles undertaken. Notably, this is so that they may be strong enough not to allow history repeat itself. It is a reminder of the journey taken to come to the place that we have reached.
This evening, as I prepare my thoughts to narrate the past to my group of grandchildren, I am awed and happy. I am happy that I am a survivor of the FGM regime. I am happy that my fight was not in vain. As much as the painful experience is still deeply entrenched in my mind, I am happy of the progress. I am happy that my children and grandchildren are living a different life. My dream life. This is the future our generation dreamt. I am happy I got to see it. For my colleagues who succumbed to FGM, their fight was never wasted. As the sun set in my Masingu home, I cannot hope but smile at the success of the future.