Empower Maasai Girls in Kenya

Dear Friends,

I have just returned from a busy trip to Kenya, where I was able to visit many students at their new schools with Lucy Ntayia, Director of our MGEF Kajiado office. I was very impressed with the new schools and their administrators, and how well our students had settled in. They are all thriving and doing well in their studies.   At present, MGEF has 125 scholars, 46 primary, 33 secondary and 39 post secondary with an additional seven pending post secondary students who are waiting for their acceptances to various technical schools, colleges and universities. It was such a pleasure to be in the office when two of our pending post-secondary students arrived to share the good news of their acceptance to universities.   It is so amazing to see these determined young women achieving their dreams of attending post secondary schools, something that, not long ago, was unheard of in the Maasai community of Kenya.

Life Skills Workshops

In mid July MGEF conducted the second half of the Life Skills Workshops (LSWs) for 2017, with seven workshops held in Magadi, which is a very remote district of Kajiado country.   The workshops were well attended with MGEF reaching 694 children, 354 boys and 340 girls.   Unfortunately, this area is very much entrenched in the traditions of FGC and early marriage. The dropout rate for girls is very high especially between primary and secondary school.   The MGEF facilitators were very happy that the students, the girls especially, were full of questions and discussion.   How can HIV and TB be prevented? How can girls avoid Female Genital Cutting (FGC)? These were some of the many questions from participants. If these workshops have given even a small number of girls the inspiration to continue to be strong, determined and stay in school, we have succeeded.

Women’s Business Training

Due to the Kenyan elections, Margaret Mereyian, our Program Director in Kenya, decided to conduct the tenth cohort of our Women’s Business Training (WBT) the third week of August instead of late July. The 30 women attended the three-day business training workshop where they learned the fundamentals of business. On the fourth day, they broke up into six groups and came up with a business plan to execute their new endeavors. After much discussion amongst all thirty women on whether the six new businesses were marketable, the groups went with the facilitator to buy their start up supplies. On my visit, I was able to see the newly opened businesses and I was very impressed with these women. There was a produce stand, a hair salon, and a jewelry store to name a few. The women who had chosen to buy and sell sheep were the most successful that morning, making a profit of $15 per sheep. They had sold six sheep in the first hour that they were open.

The Alumnae

The alumnae are powerfully motivating to younger girls and they have already prompted significant positive change in their own Maasai communities. They mentor younger girls, volunteer at the Kajiado office, advocate for women’s rights and girls’ education, and contribute to the deep sense of sisterhood shared by MGEF’s students. Leading by example, they raise the status of women in the eyes of the Maasai community. They empower others to find their voice in decisions that directly affect their lives and bodies, including those of their sisters and daughters.

This past weekend, Evelyn, who is an MGEF alumna that teaches high school in the town of Kajiado, arranged for five of the alumnae and MGEF staff to go to a local orphanage and served them lunch and give them all haircuts. It was a fun day and very inspirational for the children. Many of the little girls asked questions of the alumnae and also shared their dreams and aspirations.

During this trip I was visited by Doctor Gloria, an MGEF alumna who graduated last December from medical school. She works in a hospital that is not far from the MGEF Kajiado office. Gloria is thrilled by her new role and is very excited to be giving back to the community. Now, when one of our students becomes sick, we call Doctor Gloria. While out to dinner with Gloria, she said to me, “I am so happy now, I am able to support myself and I am even able to buy you dinner.” Her comment highlights the impact education has on someone who grew up in extreme poverty. She was very proud, as she should be, to be self sufficient while having the ability to provide for others. It was a long and hard road for Gloria but she stuck with it and is now in a place she only dreamed of.

One of the most rewarding parts of my job is watching the students grow and blossom. This past trip, I was able to visit several girls that came to me in December with hopes of getting scholarships to be able to go back to school. They had run away from the threat of FGC, early marriage, poverty or a violent father. They were hungry, unsure of their future and frightened. You could see the pain and fear in their eyes. I visited three such girls this trip. When I first met them last December, they would not look me in the eye and were too shy or frightened to speak.   Now they look me in the eye with confidence while laughing and joking with their fellow MGEF classmates. It is moments like these that make all of the work we do worthwhile. We would not be able to change so many lives without the emotional and financial support from sponsors and donors like you.

Thanks to all those who help make our work possible.