Empower Maasai Girls in Kenya

Dear Friends,

In the middle of August this year, Chief Felix was driving along a very dusty rural dirt road, when he saw a little girl tending to a few goats on the side of the road.  His first thought was, “it’s a school day, she should be in school.” He decided to stop the car and speak with her.  Her name was Blessing, and she was 10 years old.   She came from a family of six children, of which only two had attended school (and only the first grade).  Chief Felix decided to visit Blessing’s home to find out why the children were not attending school, and found that both of her parents were illiterate and did not see the value of an education.  The family struggled to put food on the table, and the job of attending the goats had been given to Blessing. Blessing told Chief Felix that she wanted to attend school like all the other children in their small village.  

The chief is a friend of MGEF and, in fact, his family has donated 3 acres of land to us.  He informed Lucy, Managing Director of the MGEF-Kajiado office in Kenya, about Blessing’s plight.  After performing a home visit (which is standard for all of our applicants to ensure all our scholarships go to girls in real need of assistance), MGEF decided to award Blessing a scholarship for Term 3, which started just a couple of weeks later.  At the end of August 2025, Blessing walked into a classroom for the first time in her life and began her academic journey.  It will not be an easy one, as she only speaks Maa (the traditional language of the Maasai) and the school will be speaking in Swahili and English.  Blessing is so excited to start learning and happy to be like the other children.  

Blessing is an example of exactly why MGEF was started 25 years ago by our founder, Barbara Lee Shaw: to give a young Maasai girl the opportunity to take control of her life, for her own well-being and for the benefit of her local community, all made possible through education.  

Scholarship Program 

MGEF was busy in August; in addition to getting Blessing enrolled in school, MGEF has a total of 173 active students – 25 primary, 26 junior secondary, 59 secondary, 3 vocational, an unprecedented 57 post-secondary and 3 pending post-secondary applying to schools, who were all returning for Term 3.  

At the end of Term 3, we will be celebrating 15 new high school graduates and 11 students graduating from Junior secondary and heading into high school.  We are very proud of the accomplishments of each student; whether they are graduating first grade or receiving their degree, all are setting a trail for other girls in their communities.

Women’s Business Training (WBT)

Last February, MGEF helped one of our WBT cohorts to construct a platform and purchase two water tanks to start a new business.  This was a much-needed commodity for the area, as it suffers from severe drought.  They were donated a third tank last May by the governor of Kajiado, though they needed to build the platform for the tank.  MGEF helped them with the cost of the platform, and they are now in full operation and thriving. 

Life Skills Workshop (LSW)

MGEF was fortunate to be able to hold seven LSWs for adults since our last update.  The workshops were well attended.  The women and men are split up in order to discuss topics they might not otherwise feel comfortable talking about.  On the women’s side, there was much discussion about being involved with their daughters when adolescence begins.  This is not the custom in their culture: in Maasailand, once the girl has her period, she is considered a woman and no longer a child in need of guidance.  The mothers were encouraged to help their daughters navigate both the physical and mental changes they are going through.  The discussion also included the topics of preventing teen pregnancy, female genital cutting, HIV and early marriage.  They were also encouraged to be involved with their children’s education and school.  The importance of protecting their land was also discussed.  Since 2013, wives are required to sign deeds of sale of the property, now they must become more involved in the decision.

On the men’s side, particular emphasis was placed on the importance of an education.  This included topics of available assistance as well as the traditions that prevent children – and especially girls – from attending school.  The facilitator also went through the rights of a child including education, health, and the right to be protected from violence and child abuse.  There has been progress in all of these areas, but still there is much work to do. 

At the end of the separate sessions, the men and women get together to further discuss topics.  These discussions can often become a little lively.  The issue of the rights of children – such as early marriage and education – were discussed at length.  At one workshop, the facilitator used the example of one of our students, who was from the area.  She was about to graduate high school, and her father married her off against her will.  MGEF was asked to get involved so she could return to school.  Going through the correct law enforcement channels, she was able to leave the unwanted marriage and return to school.  Now that she has a degree, she has become a productive and important part of her community.  With their independence, these young women are changing oppressive old traditions.  Their families and communities see that with an education, their value is immeasurable, and certainly far surpasses that of a dowry.  

The discussions at all seven workshops ended with how to move forward and change the traditions and issues that will help the Maasai community thrive.  One of the answers is the education of all of their children.  

We could not do what we do without the support of all of you.  Thank you for helping these girls and young women reach their dreams. 

Dear Friends,

MGEF has had a very busy and productive spring.  At the end of April, all of our students stopped by the office to pick up supplies for Term 2.  At this time, we have 170 active students – 49 primary, 59 secondary, three vocational, 54 post-secondary and five pending post-secondary students waiting for acceptance into their chosen schools.

MGEF is very proud of the accomplishments of our students.  It is a joy to be a part of each one of their journeys.  We guide them by monitoring their grades and listening to their passions in order to help them choose the best academic paths for each one of them as individuals.  All professions are important to a community.  Here are three success stories:

Apophia

Apophia is a 26-year-old woman who is the youngest of five children.  Her family lost all of their livestock due to drought.  They struggled to put food on the table, and though her parents were supportive of girls’ education, they could not afford the school fees to send her to high school.  In 2015, Apophia came to MGEF and was awarded a scholarship.  

Apophia did well in school and in 2018 she was accepted to KCA University to pursue a Degree in Procurement and Supply.  In the fall of 2023, she graduated and began her search for employment.  In January of 2025 her determination paid off, and she is now working for the Ministry of Defense in Nairobi as a supply chain officer.  She loves her job and is happy that she can now help her family financially.     

Janet

Janet is a 16-year-old young girl who comes from a family of four children.  Her mother is deceased and her father is an alcoholic.  She and her other siblings lived with her grandmother, who could barely provide the bare necessities; unfortunately, there was no money to send Janet to school.  In 2022, her grandmother brought Janet to MGEF’s office, and she was awarded a scholarship.

Janet struggled academically, but was determined to reach her goal of financial independence.  She loved working with hair and makeup, and in 2024 she decided she would attend a beauty vocational school.  Janet chose the Maasai Technical Training Institute and received a Level 4 Certificate in Beauty Therapy.  She now works full-time in a salon and not only supports herself, but is also able to send money to her grandmother every month.

Florence

This last success story comes directly from Florence herself.  Below is her experience in her own words:

“I am a proud alumnae of the Maasai Girls Education Fund that made me who I am today. It’s an honor and my pleasure to be part of it, I do appreciate MGEF organization for the sincere support to my education since I joined in 2013 while in form one at high school level, to 2022 when I graduated from Mount Kenya university with a bachelor degree in education. I’m grateful for the mentorship program that we always attended during our school holidays as they were of great help to me as I was inspired and motivated to work to my best and God helped me through as I accomplished my dream. It took resilience and hard work for me to achieve my best no matter the struggles and challenges faced; I was brave enough to overcome them as a person because my past never defined me. I am now a proud teacher at Ilkiremisho secondary school where I am helping each learner to also achieve their best and to become great people in the future. I always empower them and show them that nothing is impossible to an enterprising learner who wishes to be the best person in her/his life.

Thank you MGEF family and may God bless in abundance for the great support you gave me.” 

Community Education Programs

Life Skills Workshops (LSWs)

MGEF was fortunate to be able to conduct seven Life Skills Workshops for children this spring.  These seven workshops were conducted at different primary schools in the Namanga Division of Kajiado County, Kenya.  The workshops were very well-attended, with over 750 children participating.  The staff, facilitators and schools were very happy with the workshops and the schools asked us to return when or if possible.

The boys and girls are separated into two groups, with both a male facilitator and nurse for the boys and a female facilitator and nurse for the girls.  This is done so that the children can speak more freely about sensitive subjects.  The nurses address such topics as puberty, teenage pregnancies, early marriage, HIV/AIDS, good hygiene and the negative effects of Female Genital Cutting (FGC).  The facilitators tackle the subjects of poverty, staying in school, the effects of environmental changes on their community, children’s right to an education, and that violence against children is against the law.  Questionnaires are given at the beginning and the end of each workshop to evaluate the success of each workshop.  

This week, the MGEF staff and facilitators are conducting the seven LSWs for adults in the same villages where the primary school workshops were held.  MGEF feels it is important that all generations must work together to ensure progressive change.  

In the adults’ workshops, men and women are similarly separated for the beginning.  Both groups discuss the roles of each parent, the benefits of education, becoming more involved in their children’s school, how traditional customs such as FGC and early marriage contribute to poverty in the community, the value of their land and how not to be swindled. The men and women then join together for what is usually a lively discussion of the issues they are facing and what they can do to address them.

We hope to have as good of a turnout for this week’s adult LSWs as we did with the children’s workshop.

Women’s Business Training (WBT)

In February of this year, MGEF helped the Women’s Business Cohort #9 from 2016 expand their business.  In 2016, this group of 30 women from Ngong was originally divided into six different businesses of five women.  The businesses ranged from selling plastic shoes, to beadwork, to housewares, to fabric and other assorted goods.  In 2019, all six businesses fell on hard times due to COVID, so the 30 women grouped together and began one large goat farming business.  The business has thrived, and with our help, they recently acquired and installed two water towers to provide ready access to clean water for their goats as well as for their local community.  Next to the two water towers, they built a kiosk that would not only provide a shelter for whomever was tending to the selling of water, but also served as a place to sell their beadwork.  The group is doing quite well and received another water tank donated by the Kajiado Governor.   

Thanks to you, we have been able to change so many lives in the Maasai community.  We are grateful for your continued support so that we may continue to help many more Maasai women achieve their dreams.