Growing up in the Kenyan slums, Peninah Nthenya Musyimi was surrounded by drugs, prostitution and dire poverty. Her childhood was "very difficult," she tells TakePart.
"Because I was a woman, I was not taken seriously," she says. "People looked at me like any other household slave."
Peninah is the founder of Safe Spaces, a haven for girls living in extreme poverty in the Eastlands of Nairobi. The organization offers basketball, yoga, dance, life skills training and professional development.
Peninah says she started Safe Spaces "to give girls who are growing up in the same harsh conditions that I grew up in a space where they can share their challenges, learn and nurture their talents."
In her position as a mentor to the girls, Peninah says Safe Spaces "helps them look at their difficulties with hope for a better tomorrow."
Peninah has always worked for a better tomorrow, even when the future felt hopeless.
Her father doubted that his young daughter could be successful, and her family had no money to pay for school. She managed to secure grants to fund her education, but when it came time for high school, class was held nine miles away.
She says, "My parents were too poor to pay for my transport, I didn't have money for lunch, and wasn't sure about dinner either."
However, she did have one thing: "My feet."
Peninah walked the nine miles to and from school. She graduated at the top of her class and qualified for university. Again, when it came to college, money was a barrier. There was one scholarship that would pay her way, but it had a catch. The scholarship was for basketball, and Peninah didn't know the first thing about the game.
In one month, she mastered the sport, fell in love with the game and earned the scholarship.
The fact that Peninah went on to earn a law degree would be an astounding finish to this story, but the law degree was only a beginning: Peninah began advocating for girls in the slums. Since beginning Safe Spaces in 2008, she has mentored hundreds of young women.
One of the girls, 15-year-old Valentine says, "Discovering that I can play basketball gives me more self-esteem. At first, I thought only rich people could play basketball and that it was a sport for men. I hope to play in the WNBA in the future."
Irene is 14 and says, "Since I joined Safe Spaces, I can now share my difficult issues with my colleagues and get advice that leads me to make wise decisions. I no longer fall on peer pressure."
Safe Spaces has changed the way the girls look at themselves and the way men such as Peninah's father see women.
"My dad never believed I could be successful as a woman until I graduated, got a job and became independent," Peninah says.
Her success was a big surprise to her dad, and now he is a strong supporter of girls education.
Safe Spaces is a partner in CARE's Sport for Social Change Initiative. CARE is a leading humanitarian organization that fights global poverty.
During CARE's Conference and International Women's Day Celebration, Peninah will be honored with the I Am Powerful Award for her profound work in the developing world.
Peninah is one of CARE's mythbusters—female heroes who are busting old myths—lies like "Women can't lead" and "It's a man's world."
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