AWF understands that combining individual endurance and perseverance with an environment that supports achievement can profoundly improve a person’s opportunity to succeed – whether in athletics or in life. The organizations that AWF supports share that understanding and take a holistic approach to improving health, education and job growth for the communities they serve. It is through this common vision that AWF has selected the organization WISER as our inaugural charitable organization. WISER’s mission is the social empowerment of underprivileged girls in Muhuru Bay, Kenya by improving health and education. WISER opened in 2010 through the establishment of The WISER School, a secondary school for girls in Muhuru Bay, and has achieved unprecedented success in a community where 50% of sexually-active 14-year-old girls were traditionally forced into marriage or have sex for money to survive. The WISER School provides safe housing, healthy food from a sustainable school garden, extracurricular activities and free healthcare to ensure that students thrive. In five short years, The WISER School has taken in traditionally low-performing students in the community and risen to be among the top 5% of all private schools in Kenya. The result of WISER’s efforts has allowed nearly all of their students to enter post-secondary school education, and proven to the community that girls who were previously worth only a few cows in marriage can become successful leaders and academic stars.
