Rayla Melchor Santos with Bisi Adebayo

Dr. BISI ADEBAYO has been appointed as I AM SAM Director for AFRICA and EUROPE.  I met Bisi at a talk organised at the UN in Geneva last Oct 2013 where I spoke about the I AM SAM Prevent-to-Empower Protocol (PEP), its flagship program. BISI, one of the attendees from the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices, has sInce stayed in close contact with I AM SAM embracing PEP as a solution to the traditional harmful practices in her beloved Africa.

On May 21, 2014, after the unspeakable and horrific kidnapping of the 270 girls in Nigeria, I received an email from Bisi inviting me to share the I AM SAM PEP as a “solution” to the many challenges besetting children, girls and women,  in 2 UN Panels during the 26th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The 1st UN Panel: “Protecting and Safeguarding the Human Rights of Children was held on June 11 and the 2nd UN Panel: “Harmful Traditional Practices Based on Religion, Superstition, Tradition and Culture was held on June 17.
The partnership between BISI and SAM is built on mutual love, respect,  gratitude and the deepest desire to Shake And Move the world to END FGM and Child Marriage, among others. BISI brings into I AM SAM her expertise and forte par excellence in advocacy work. ​

 

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Rayla Melchor Santos with Bisi Adebayo (middle)  with the IAMSAM African Mentor banners of Archbishop Desmond Tutu & Nelson Mandela at The Serpentine,  Palais des Nations, UN Geneva on June 10, 2014.

The partnership has addressed two pressing issues for women and children in Africa: Child Marriage and FGM.