2025 CONFERENCE MISSION PROJECT
The Jerri Savuto Girls Center
Our 2025 Mission Project has been carefully selected by your Leadership Team. Located far beyond the borders of our large new conference, our support can make a big impact and change lives.
The Jerri Savuto Girls Center is a safe haven for girls between the ages of 7 and 18 escaping forced marriage and genital mutilation in western Kenya. The mission began in 2020 as a partnership of women in Kenya, United Women in Faith in what is now the Horizon Texas Conference, and the family and friends of Jerri Savuto. There are now 72 "Jerri Savuto girls" with a loving place to live, go to school, and thrive.
The shelter was named for Jerri Savuto, a long-time missionary and a passionate, love-filled woman of God. She was an active member of United Methodist Women who encouraged and mentored women around the world and retired to North Texas. While serving in Kenya she supported the Alternative Rite of Passage Programs that helped save girls from early marriages and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
In less than four years the Jerri Savuto Girls Center was constructed with bedrooms, bathrooms and a kitchen. The girls attend primary and secondary schools. They are healthy with good school reports. They are learning life skills by doing chores, helping in the kitchen, and simple gardening. Local traditions continue the common practice of taking girls through FGM rituals and forced child marriages to old men, so girls continue to escape and find their way to the Jerri Savuto Girls Center for refuge.
HOW TO SUPPORT THIS MISSION PROJECT:
Now that the girls have a safe center to call home, the priority is to build a security fence to keep them safe from those who could come and force them to return to unsafe situations.
2025 Mission Project Goal
$20,000
for Security Fence
Click to make your donation here.
Once we've met the goal to build the Security Fence, donated funds given will go to the ongoing needs of the girls for food, clothing, health care, school tuition, utilities, and staff salaries.
If you would like to donate items to the Jerri Savuto Girls Center, we will be able to send requested items with mission teams going to Kenya this summer. See the list below for the specific items requested.
Use the form to the right to inform us what items you are donating. Bring a copy of the form and the items to the next Conference event (Annual Conference at SMU in early June).
- Simple dresses for girls ages 7 - 17
- T-shirts for girls ages 7 - 17
- Simple skirts for girls ages 7 - 17
- Undies/panties for girls ages 7 - 17
- Reusable sanitary pads - now available ready-made and low cost
- Twin Sheets
- Towels (standard bath size)
Note: please click to inform us if your group would like to gather many items in one category so that collections can be monitored and we don't collect more of one item than is needed.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Request an in-person or virtual program about the Jerri Savuto Girls Center. Contact Cynthia to schedule a program for your group.
Read some of the stories of how this mission has develloped and been built in less than four years. JSCenter.org
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