Empower Maasai Girls in Kenya

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.