Empower Maasai Girls in Kenya

Dear Friends, 

Student Update

During the past few months, the Maasai Girls Education Fund has been busy supporting our roster of 52 primary, 44 secondary and 37 post-secondary students. 

For primary and secondary students, Kenya is still playing catch-up with schedules due to COVID lockdowns dating back to 2020.  These students started Term 3 of the 2021 academic year in the first week of January 2022.  By January 2023, the students will be back on schedule.  As in the rest of world, our students are maneuvering in a world with COVID-19 as they attempt to return to normalcy.   

Term 1 of the 2022 academic year will begin at the end of April.  At that time, thanks to our wonderful supporters, we plan to award 16 new scholarships -- two students from each of Kajiado County’s seven divisions and two more from the dozens of applications received in our office.  For MGEF, the severe financial repercussions of the pandemic are reflected in the increased volume of applications and visits from desperate parents and girls to our MGEF-Kajiado Board Members and our MFEG-Kajiado office.  We usually add eight students each academic year, but doubled this number due to the greater need in the Maasai community.   

MGEF’s 37 Scholarship students at the post-secondary level are pursuing widely diverse degrees that reflect their different interests and professional aspirations.  Eleven are pursuing careers in business, six in health and human resources, five in education, four in nursing, two in medicine , two in nutrition, and one each in communications, cosmetology, accounting, agricultural science, orthopedic trauma, international relations major and secretarial and office skills.

Graduations

Graduations are important milestones and we have much to celebrate in this area despite lockdowns and other logistics caused by the pandemic.  We are so proud of each and every one of our graduates as they reach for their dreams. 

In April 2022, 12 of our scholarship students will graduate from secondary school and nine from primary school.  

We are particularly proud of two of our students who graduated secondary school last summer at the top of their classes.  Branice was accepted to the top-notch Daystar University to pursue a Degree in International Relations and Mercy was accepted to the University of Nairobi to pursue a Medical Degree in Surgery.  

Nine of our scholarship recipients also graduated from post-secondary institutions in 2021.  Two women received Bachelor’s Degrees -- Florence in Education and Charity in Business Administration and Management.  Three more received their Diplomas -- one in Business Management/Hospitality, one in Tourism Management, and one in Cosmetology.  Four students received their Certificates -- two in Business Management and two in Nutrition and Dietetics.  The three students who received Diplomas have decided to continue their education to pursue Degrees, and the four students who received Certificates are continuing their studies to earn Diplomas. 

Post-secondary education is crucial for helping Maasai women to achieve economic independence and the ability to support their families.  Maasai women armed with Degrees, Diplomas or Certificates, will be able to enter the workforce with the skills needed to be competitive in the very tight Kenyan job market.  Their lives have been forever changed.  They now can envision for themselves a future they could as young girls only dream of.

MGEF’s Alumnae in Health Professions Pay It Forward

In 2021, an MGEF student had been having stomach pain for quite some time, but was too embarrassed to tell anyone.  By the time it was finally discovered by her teacher, she was starting to lose weight and was very sick.  Our very own MGEF alumna, Doctor Gloria, took charge making sure that the girl went to a good hospital and received the correct tests and treatment, including directions for a new diet.  She is now doing much better and her school, informed by MGEF of her new dietary restrictions, is helping ensure she stays healthy.  

After this incident, Doctor Gloria reached out to MGEF’s President, who is an Emergency Room physician in the US.  She recommended that MGEF set up a health workshop and if possible, wellness checkups for MGEF’s Scholarship students.  She explained that in Kenya, children have a physical only the 1^st year that they join a school.  Doctor Gloria felt this workshop could be run by MGEF alumnae.  Since MGEF alumnae include one doctor, a 4^th year medical student and several nurses, including one who is head nurse at the local hospital, we decided this was something to pursue.  Our students will be much more open with their older MGEF sisters, which will help us avoid medical issues due to embarrassment, fear or ignorance.  We also have many MGEF alumnae who are nutritionists who could help educate our students about a healthy diet.  We are hoping to extend our Mentoring Workshop, held once each year, by an extra day to include this new and important workshop.

It is with such pride that we watch these girls pursue and reach their dreams, one goal at a time.  It is your support that makes this possible.

Thank you so much