My first Publication Mojatu Nottingham Magazine M030 | Page 4

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News & Sports
mojatu .com
Trees Against FGM: Nottingham 2 nd Anniversary for Zero Tolerance to FGM
By Valentine Nkoyo
of women and their bodies, as well as the protection
of their physical health- which can be tremendously
affected later in life. These efforts are to benefit actions
fighting violence against women and girls as a whole.
Nottingham was the first city in UK and Europe to officially
make a declaration and agree to the set of commitments.
Mojatu Foundation’s ground-breaking work
and lobbying on tackling Female Genital
Mutilation(FGM) over the years led to Nottingham
City declaring Zero Tolerance to FGM and agreed to
a set of commitments in ending FGM.
International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital
Mutilation is a United Nations-sponsored annual
awareness day that takes place on February 6 as part of
the UN’s efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation.
It was first introduced in 2003. One of the beliefs in
support for this day acknowledges that culture is in
“constant flux,” and with the concerns begetting FGM
being so high-risk, the abolition of such practices
must be prompt. This is a movement for the rights
Mojatu Foundation has been using different approaches
and partnerships in tackling FGM. This includes working
with a local farmer, David Rose, to end FGM and to
facilitate community cohesion and integration of people
from the city and the county. The farmer allocated us a
piece of land for planting trees to raise awareness. The
farm sees thousands of people visit every year and has
become a fantastic venue for our support work, therapy,
annual cultural festivals and other community events.
Our approach of celebrating diversity of cultures and
“Bringing the city to the farm and the farm to the city”
has gained popularity and we now attract over 1,500
people every year where we use the opportunity to raise
awareness of FGM and other forms of extremism. 
This year, we will mark the International Day of
Zero Tolerance in a special way on 6th February
by planting trees which will include plaques with
personalised messages from faith and community
leaders, individuals, families, groups and organisations
committed to Ending FGM in a generation. Messages
can be in loving memory of a loved one, a group, an
organisation etc in support of the End FGM campaign.
Faith and community leaders play a very vital role in
supporting social change in the society. Not much can
be achieved without their support and we are therefore
calling upon them to be involve in the campaign to
keep girls and women safe! If you are a faith leader/
community leader or know one, please get in touch!
We are recruiting Global Ambassadors of Change.
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