Empower Maasai Girls in Kenya

Dear Friends,

We are excited to update you with news of MGEF’s activities over the past several months in Kajiado, Kenya.

Scholarship Program

In Kenya, the school year starts in January and ends the last week of October, with early November being the time to study for end-of-year exams for those graduating from primary or secondary school.   Term 1 begins the second week of January and ends at the beginning of April with Term 2 starting the next week.  

MGEF was thrilled to be able to add five needy Maasai students in January to our Scholarship roster, and five more for Term 2, thanks to many supporters and sponsors.  This brings our roster up to 131 active students with 45 primary, 46 secondary, 35 post-secondary students and five pending students awaiting acceptance into institutions of higher learning.  

With Term 2 having just begun, the MGEF-Kajiado office was bustling these past few weeks with students coming by to pick up their Term 2 school supplies and school fees.

Staff Update 

Early this year, long-time MGEF Program Director, Margaret, informed us that she had been offered and accepted a job closer to where her husband works.  For the past several years, Margaret’s husband has worked far from Kajiado, the town where the MGEF-Kajiado office is located.  He was only able to return home to Kajiado occasionally.  We have appreciated Margaret’s dedicated service to MGEF and were saddened to see her go, but we completely understand her desire to move her family to be with her husband.  

MGEF was very excited, however, to bring aboard one of our own alumnae, Abigael, as the new Program Director.  Abigael graduated in 2016 from Costa Rica’s EARTH University with a degree in Agricultural Science and Natural Resource Management. She attended EARTH University as a recipient of theMastercard Foundation Scholarship program.  Abigael is very knowledgeable about MGEF’s programs, having been a Scholarship recipient herself, an organizer of MGEF’s alumnae network, and a facilitator in our Life Skills Workshops and our student Mentoring Workshops.  We are delighted to have Abigael return to her home in Kajiado to work for MGEF.  

Life Skills Workshops

MGEF received a grant to conduct 26 Life Skills Workshops (LSWs) in 2019.   The workshops will be held in the Namanga Division of Kajiado County.  The LSWs are conducted for boys and girls, and men and women, throughout Maasai communities in Kajiado County to address the social customs and cultural beliefs that prevent Maasai girls from getting an education.  They present information and teach participants about barriers to education among the Maasai (e.g., traditional cultural practices such as female genital cutting (FGC), forced marriage and early pregnancy) and help improve attitudes about and support for girls’ education, which will enable girls to financially contribute to the family far more than a dowry of a few cows.  To date, 13,794 Maasai girls, boys, women and men have attended MGEF’s LSWs. 

By the end of April, we had conducted 10 LSWs for adults.  In each of these workshops, the men and women were separated into two groups. Each group was presented with information about six topics, either directly or indirectly related to barriers to education, after which there was a question and answer session.  This was followed by an open discussion with both men and women present.  The six topics were: importance of education, school dropout rates, cultural practices (such as FGC and early marriage), HIV, nutrition, and water and sanitation.  In every workshop, the participants asked questions and engaged in group discussions.  Most of the participants were illiterate with very little or no formal education.  The Maasai are a very proud people and having an opportunity to learn and discuss these topics in a nonjudgmental environment, despite their lack of education, is important. 

In each of the 10 workshops conducted, the first topic covered was the importance of education. We were pleased to see much progress in terms of the participants’ attitudes towards education.  In almost every workshop, the men and women felt that education was critical for helping the next generation and improving life in the Maasai community.  With this as a base belief, the conversations turned to the problem of dropout rates. After the facilitator’s presentation, the participants agreed that enrollment in primary school has improved but once the students move to higher primary grades, there is an increase in dropouts, especially among girls.  

The facilitator then encouraged the groups to brainstorm about the dropout problem, both men and woman, and asked each group to present their conclusions and possible solutions. A common theme was presented at all of the workshops.  Among many in the Maasai culture, it is believed that once a girl is circumcised or has reached puberty, she is considered to be an adult and thus should no longer be given advice or directions about life by her mother or father. This results in little communication or guidance from her parents, especially from a girl’s father.  The participants explained that even a 15-minute conversation between a father and his teenage daughter can raise suspicions in the community.  Mothers also feel they cannot give advice to their daughters, especially about sexual behavior.  Since these girls are young teenagers, they may not make wise decisions, often resulting in unplanned pregnancies, which cause girls to drop out of school.  It was also pointed out that dropout rates increase for boys with age because they too were treated like adults and thus given many family responsibilities (e.g., tending to livestock), conveying an impression that boys do not need to continue with school.  The facilitators spoke to the men and women about how these traditions can be barriers to education and encouraged the participants to speak to their daughters to help them realize the importance of staying in school and making good decisions about their personal behaviors.  To see this kind of discussion even five years ago, especially from Maasai men, would have been unheard of.  To hear fathers agree that their children, both boys and girls, should go to school and then agree to try to change their attitudes and traditions to help keep them in school is a huge step forward.  

The topic of water and sanitation led to a discussion of government policies and rights to land and water among the Maasai.  The participants said they are starting to realize that the education of their sons and daughters is necessary to survive in the 21^stcentury, right down to having water.  Because most of the adult participants are illiterate, they realize they do not understand government policies and often are taken advantage of when it comes to land rights and legal issues.  They recognize they are at a disadvantage when advocating for their rights, and that their advocates could in fact be their educated sons and daughters.

We also have seen progress in attitudes towards FGC.  Both men and women participants understood that FGC is illegal, and that the numbers of girls circumcised is falling each year, but they also acknowledged that it is still practiced.  Both men and women also understood health risks associated with FGC as reasons the practice should stop, including bleeding (which can lead to death), spread of HIV, infections and problems during pregnancy.  Eliminating FGC from the Maasai culture is still a challenge, because the old beliefs are still strong among some, especially older women who feel the tradition should continue.  MGEF has seen huge steps forward in attitudes about FGC, but long-held superstitions are still strong.   

Women’s Business Training

MGEF also conducts Women’s Business Training (WBT) workshops to help rural Maasai women with little to no education start and sustain small businesses and become self-sufficient.  Since we started the WBT program in April 2013,300 women have attended 10 WBT Workshops.    Each WBT Workshop has 30 Maasai women participants.  This year, Abigael will visit the WBT groups to follow-up on their progress, and to hear their suggestions and ideas for the future.  Our workshops increase the confidence of these Maasai women, and the businesses they start benefit not only their extended families but also the broader Maasai community.

It is with your help and support that our 131 Scholarship students are able to reach their goals one step at a time and that the Maasai community is continuing to increase its commitment to education.

Thank you 

Heather McKay

Hello Everyone,

It has been almost two decades since Barbara Lee Shaw, MGEF’s Founder, met little Ntanin in a very remote rural area of Kenya.  That chance encounter became the spark that ignited a now flourishing MGEF.  At MGEF’s Annual Mentoring Workshop this year, Barbara would have been overwhelmed with pride as she saw her vision for her beloved Maasai girls coming true in the lives of the more than 100 MGEF Workshop participants. Indeed, MGEF has much to celebrate in 2018!

Celebrations

December is a time of celebration in Kenya, and not only because of the holidays.  For MGEF’s record 131 scholarship students, December marks the end of another successful year in school, an important milestone toward reaching their dreams.  In 2018, 21 of our students graduated and started a new and exciting chapter in their lives, whether it be entering secondary school, enrolling in a post-secondary program, or graduating from a university and joining the workforce.  This December, we honor nine primary, four secondary and eight post-secondary scholars for their graduations.  The newly graduated post-secondary students will be welcomed into the ranks of their 65 MGEF alumnae sisters and become an ongoing inspiration for our younger students and, more broadly, girls in their villages and communities.

Paying It Forward

The Annual Mentoring Workshop is a two-day event for MGEF Scholars held at the end of the school year before students return home for a month-long school break.  The workshop addressescultural barriers and social customs that prevent Maasai girls from getting an education, including the harmful effects of early marriage, teen pregnancy and female genital cutting (FGC).  Such mentoring is critical because students who are home for an extended period face unwanted sexual advances and significant pressures from peers and family to undergo FGC, marry and have children. 

With your help and the determination of our growing alumnae community, MGEF has enabled educated Maasai women to pay it forward for the benefit of others.  This year, for the first time, MGEF’s Annual Mentoring Workshop was facilitated entirely by our own alumnae and post-secondary school Scholars. These young women took it upon themselves to inspire and educate their younger peers.  When MGEF began almost 20 years ago, these young women could have never imagined themselves becoming educated and reaching this once unobtainable dream.  

MGEF’s Mentoring Workshop

The lineup of speakers at the Annual Mentoring Workshop was a showcase of MGEF’s accomplished alumnae and an inspiration to every young participant.  

Evelyn

The Workshop’s first speaker was Evelyn, who became an MGEF scholarship recipient her first year of high school and earned a Degree in Secondary Educationin 2012. She has been teaching secondary school since 2013 in Kajiado County.  Evelyn is actively involved in MGEF’s alumnae group, running their Facebook alumnae page, “The Vision of A Maasai Woman,” and organizing charity work such as visiting orphanages and distributing sanitary pads.  Evelyn’s presentation focused on how MGEF’s younger Scholars can achieve their goals by concentrating on academic performance and setting realistic targets for themselves along the way.  She encouraged all the girls to not lose sight of their goals even in the face of the challenges they all know and share, and she provided practical tactics for staying the course.  

Nancy

The Scholars then heard from Nancy, who started as an MGEF scholar in the 3^rdgrade in 2003 and earned her Law Degree in 2018.She has just been accepted into Kenya School of Law’s 12-month program and internship, which will allow her to practice law in Kenya.  She plans to return to her community and advocate for Maasai women. As part of the Mentoring Workshop, Nancy taught the participants about their rights to an education, health and well-being and shared valuable insights about who to speak to if their rights were being violated.  She then broke the students up into groups and gave them each assignments to create skits illustrating problems they face in their culture and how the law can help. The students’ role-playing addressed head-on many different challenges they have experienced themselves or witnessed, such as FGC, being removed from school, forced marriage, and violence against women, girls and children.  

Abigael

The first day ended on a high note with Abigael, who became an MGEF scholar in her 6^thgrade in 2006 and in 2016 earned a Degree in Agricultural Science and Natural Resource ManagementfromEARTH University in Costa Rica. Abigael now works for a nonprofit in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, and her presentation focused on the qualities that help make a leader effective and inspiring, such as firmness, fairness, honesty and confidence.  She then divided the students into four groups, each of which chose a leader.  The leaders then helped the groups quickly put together and perform role-playing skits displaying examples of good and bad bosses.  The results were clever and instructive for all involved. 

Catherine

Day 2 of the Workshop began with Catherine, who became an MGEF scholar in 2003 and graduated in 2015 with a Degree in Nutrition.  Catherine now works as a nutrition officer at the Neighbors Initiative Alliance, a local nonprofit in Kajiado, Kenya. Catherine spoke about the female reproductive system, healthy personal hygiene, and addressed practical issues such as how to use sanitary napkins, and how best to get through menstrual cramps. Catherine’s presentation spurred many important questions and addressed tradionally culturally difficult subjects, including the health hazards of FGC .

Dr. Gloria

The next speaker, Dr. Gloria Mumeita, provided more in-depth information about women’s health, including FGC.  Gloria began her journey with MGEF in the 10^thgrade and in 2016 became MGEF’s first Medical Doctorwhen she graduated from the University of Nairobi School of Medicine. Dr. Gloria has just finished her internship at the Kajiado District Hospital.  Her riveting presentation provided a very detailed explanation of the anatomy of female reproductive organs--a traditionally taboo subject in Maasai culture--and how FGC negatively affects a woman throughout her life.   

Valerie

The final day of the Workshop ended with Valerie, who started with MGEF in the 9^thgrade and just earned her Degree in Business in December 2018.  Valerie discussed choosing a career path, a topic of much interest and great importance to secondary students. She encouraged the MGEF students to think about their interests and best academic subjects and then to explore professions consistent with their analysis. It was reassuring to the students to hear her first-hand account of finding her way to studying and doing what she loves. Although the MGEF-Kajiado staff had helped Valerie immensely in choosing a post-secondary school and degree program, Valerie’s presentation also recognized and embodied the value of having an older Maasai peer stand before younger students and help them address their future plans—something not available years ago to her as one of MGEF’s pioneers. But today Valerie stands tall at the MGEF Mentoring Workshop as one of many alumnae able to inspire and help guide her younger Maasai sisters.   

After the Workshop, all attending alumnae and current post-secondary students met to discuss creating a “Big-Sister Program” for MGEF’s younger students. These educated MGEF women understand first-hand the benefits of mentoring young students, helping them overcome struggles, and sharing in celebrations of their successes. Led by alumna Evelyn, the group decided that they would start this program in January 2019.  This is what paying-it-forward looks like!

Annual Parent Meeting 2018

Following the Mentoring Workshop, MGEF held its Annual Parent meeting, a well-attended and heart-warming event for all MGEF students and their families.  Awards for the best academic performance and greatest improvement in school were given out, and special honors were given to each of MGEF’s new graduates for their successes. In many cases the students’ parents joined the awardees on stage to accept their honors, bearing huge smiles of pride for their daughters. As part of the ceremony, a local female chief was invited to speak, and, strongly emphasized to all the parents and attendees the importance of educating girls, all while noting that continuing vigilance and increasing commitment to girls’ education is still much needed in the Maasai community.

It was truly moving to hear her strong encouragement, witness the community dedication and support for girls’ education, and to see in attendance among the more than 100 MGEF scholars at the Workshop the first 3 girls to receive scholarships from the Maasai Girls Education Fund back in 1999—Ntanin, Sempeyo and Leah. They were asked to stand for all to recognize—3 pioneer scholars who in 1999 were alone, but who now have a sisterhood of more than 210 educated Maasai women and girls MGEF has sent to school in the almost 20 years since our founding

Your support is the reason that MGEF and our scholars have been so successful. Evelyn, Nancy, Abigael, Catherine, Gloria and Valerie—are just a few among a growing many—are now educated and able to pay their education and your investment forward by inspiring, mentoring and advocating for their younger MGEF sisters and all girls in the Maasai community.  

With much gratitude, 

Heather McKay