Empower Maasai Girls in Kenya

Dear Friends,

The midterm break for Term 2 has just ended and all the students are back in classes. This is a very short break, but many of the students take full advantage of the time by visiting family, helping with chores and getting ahead on their school work. 

To date, our roster continues to be very robust with 186 active students – 30 primary, 25 junior high, 59 high school, three vocational, 55 post-secondary and 14 pending students who are busy taking computer classes and applying to institutions of higher learning. All the new scholarship recipients have settled into their new schools and are doing well. It has been a very successful school year so far for everyone. 

The Women’s Business Training (WBT) workshop has been very busy this year. Cohort 10, known as the Esilanke group, has been successful in staying in business. In 2017, these 30 Maasai women attended a three-day training session during which an MGEF Maasai facilitator presented the basic business ideas and practices they would need to open and sustain their businesses. Topics covered include profit and loss, banking, record-keeping, and the importance of reinvesting.

On the fourth day, the group of 30 was divided into six teams of five, and each team formed a business of their own choosing. The MGEF facilitator, along with all the subgroups, discussed whether the businesses they chose and designed were marketable in their area. Each subgroup then named a team leader (board member) who met with the other five subgroup leaders weekly to share their progress, discuss their challenges, and to vote on decisions concerning each subgroup. When needed, the MGEF facilitator was available to cast the seventh, deciding vote at those meetings.  

Through numerous droughts and the pandemic, two of the six businesses kept their original model. The other four pivoted to better suit the demands of their local communities. The businesses are now two beadworks, two petrol, one poultry and one business that fattens and sells rams. 

This year, the group decided that they would join together and pull their resources and add 30 rams to fatten and sell as one large business. They would all continue to do their different businesses, but each group would take five of the sheep to divide up the maintenance of the animals and begin fattening them up to sale. This would add to the income of their other businesses. Sheep are a thriving investment in the Maasai community, because they are one of the main sources of meat. The ewes are primarily used for breeding purposes, and the males as a food source. 

Earlier this year, they came to MGEF for assistance with their new business proposal. The first week of February, Esther and Lucy, MGEF-Kajiado Managing Director, met with Susan, the local MGEF board member, to discuss the logistics of acquiring the sheep and getting them to the 30 women to divide and take home. They discovered that the price of rams varied and fluctuated, but they finally found a farm that sold sheep at a good price and proceeded to the farm to check on the health of the animals. They had decided that Doper sheep were the best for their purposes. The farmer usually sold sheep in a larger number than 30, but he agreed to give them the same price. 

On February 16, Esther, Lucy and two women from the Elisanke cohort (the chairlady and the treasurer) went to the farm to pick out their sheep. MGEF decided to fund 32 sheep instead of 30 in case of possible loss of livestock in the transportation, or a sick sheep.

When the sheep arrived, the 30 women divided the 32 sheep into 5 groups. The women were very happy and eager to start the fattening process. Judging from their ability to adapt and survive as small businesswomen for 9 years through droughts and COVID, we have faith that they will succeed. 

Another success story is from WBT Cohort 4, which was initially held in 2014. The Namelok subgroup, with a membership of five women, has been saving money from their business of bead work and clothing. With some of the seed money from MGEF, they also bought five male goats. Over the years, they sold and bought new goats. This year, they were able to buy 14 female goats to sell the milk and to also reproduce. They gave one goat to the man who had been allowing them to keep the male goats on his land, and gave each of the five members two goats for milk for their families; with any luck, they will also reproduce. The three remaining goats were to be kept as a group to sell the milk and also try to reproduce.  We were so happy to see that this group was still using the skills they learned in our workshop to expand their business, and have maintained financial independence as businesswomen for 12 years now. 

A very successful year for the MGEF’s scholarship program, and an exciting year for the Women’s Business Training alumnae!

Thanks to your support, we are able to help these young girls and women reach their goals of an education and to break the cycle of poverty.

Dear friends,

I have just returned from Kenya, where I was able to visit all students, new and old, on their way to start Term 1 of 2026.  This year we will have a very full roster of 180 active students – 54 primary/junior high students, 55 secondary, 3 vocational, 54 post-secondary and 14 pending post-secondary students applying to various institutions of higher learning.

This year, MGEF has decided to award 16 new scholarships. Two to each of the seven Kajiado county divisions, and two to the office. Unfortunately, there are far more applications than we are able to award scholarships to, but the local board members pick those applicants who they feel are most needy or in danger of being married off to an elderly man. They then bring their recommended applications to the MGEF-Kajiado office. The staff will then do a home visit to make sure the applicant is indeed needy. Once the students have been picked, then comes the process of finding good schools for them to attend. 

I was very fortunate to be able to be at the office to meet all of these new eager scholars. Often they are very shy and quiet, but once they open up, it is so exciting to hear their academic dreams. There was quite a variety of professional aspirations his year — teachers, doctors, lawyers, journalists, nurses and one pilot. 

Often at this time of year, there are family members, advocates and chiefs coming to the office in search for scholarships for Maasai girls in need. This year was no different though I was there to receive them. One chief showed up with a very sweet little girl of eleven years of age named Silvia. Silvia comes from a single-parent home of four children. Her father died in 2020. Her father’s family had seven boys. Each son was to inherit seven acres. Silvia’s grandfather passed away, adding 100 more acres to be divided amongst the brothers. Due to the illiteracy of the brothers and their wives, the eldest son, who could read and write, was given the deed. Unbeknownst to the brothers, he began to sell off the land, keeping the money for himself. He is an alcoholic and has squandered the money. He sold off all the land except for two acres. The local chief was contacted by the brothers in fear of losing their home and all of their land. The chief now has control of the deed of the two acres, which have been subdivided into .2 acres per brother. This is not enough land for the families to survive. Silvia’s mother struggles just to feed her four children. Silvia’s uncle decided to marry her off to an elderly man for a dowry. She is only 11 years old. The chief was told about the marriage and intervened. He had heard of MGEF so he brought Silvia to the office to apply for a scholarship. Silvia joined the MGEF family that day. 

Another girl was brought to the office by an advocate for early pregnancy caused by a wondering band of morans. Maasai Morans are young, initiated Maasai warriors (typically aged 14–30) traditionally responsible for protecting their community, livestock, and land. it is a common occurrence for these groups to come into a village and rape young girls. The girls are told not to complain or to report the attack. Seleyian, a girl of 15, had been a victim of this and had a one-month-old baby with her. Her father decided to have her undergo female genital cutting (FGC) and to marry her off to an elderly man as a second wife. Seleyian ran away and found a rescue center and an advocate for her cause. This advocate had heard of MGEF, so she brought her to the office in search of help. Seleyian is a very bright girl and does well in school. Her mother offered to take care of the baby if she found a scholarship. Seleyian was offered a scholarship that day. 

These are just a couple of the stories that are the very reason MGEF was founded and continues to work with the Maasai in Kajiado County, Kenya.  Thank you for all of your support that enables us to help girls like Silvia and Seleyian work towards a better life through an education.