By Muskan Singh | Reporting Team
A Warm Hello from Team RKF!
Thank you for your continued support of our projects. In our last report, we shared exciting updates from our Girls Empowerment Workshops for International Women’s Day and how we have upgraded our school meals program at Alendu Primary School. To read the detailed report, click here: Alendu Primary: Empowered Women, Empower Women
In this report, we are excited to share details from our special workshop with the bright young girls who are recipients of scholarships for their high school education through RKF’s Scholarship Fund.
Team Scholars
Mary, a beneficiary of the Scholarship Fund has completed her first year of secondary school and is on to the second one! During a recent conversation with Mary, we learnt that she is determined to become a judge; she expressed that she wants to help others who suffer by ensuring they get the justice they deserve.
However, after completing her KCPE (Year 8), her educational journey was paused due to her aunt’s retirement and financial distress back home. She was about to join a local day school despite receiving a calling letter from a well-known national school. Her story and determination to continue studying motivated us and a donor like you to support her through secondary school.
Like Mary, we met Iddah, who was abandoned by her mother at age three and has since lived with her aunt and uncle. Despite her uncle's illness and the family's financial struggles, Iddah remains determined to continue her education. Her responsibilities at home limited her study time, but she was willing to attend a day-school to keep learning. Fortunately, we found a generous donor to support her education at a boarding school, allowing her to focus solely on her studies.
Every year, especially after the national examination KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education), parents/guardians from financially disadvantaged backgrounds struggle to help their child transition to secondary school. Students with incredible potential and great dreams are left behind and have to compromise by settling down for environments and schools where the quality of education does not help them flourish.
Mary and Iddah’s story mirrors that of many students we assist through our Scholarship Fund and like them, we are now supporting 18 other students through our Scholarship Fund, including 3 who started with us last year and 17 new scholars who joined us this year. Out of these, 11 are girls!
Girls’ Empowerment Workshops with Scholars!
Lack of finances leads to a lack of necessities. For many young school-going girls, access to menstrual products remains limited. Many rely on teachers or friends for pads during their periods, while some resort to makeshift pads made from old clothes and mattresses.
This project's goal remains to ensure every menstruating schoolgirl has access to menstrual hygiene products. Additionally, we empower them with menstrual education to help break barriers such as social stigmas and taboos, lack of confidence and absenteeism, ultimately supporting their academic journey to completion. To read an older report that elaborates further on this, you can click here: Turning Novelties into Norms
In honour of Menstrual Hygiene Day in May, we held a special Girls Empowerment Workshop with our girl scholars. A total of ten girls attended, each accompanied by their mother or guardian. We had a conversation about our bodies, the ‘why’s and how’s’ of menstruation, how to manage periods, and the importance of completing education and achieving our goals. Watch this snippet from our ice-breaker game: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Cups
After the workshop, each girl received a sanitary pad kit containing reusable pads (lasting 12-18 months), soap, 2 panties, toilet paper, a girl talk booklet, and a bucket. Each mother/guardian also received a packet of uji (porridge) flour and tea leaves.
Iddah, who attended the workshop, shared, “I really enjoyed the training and learned so much, especially about my body and how to look after myself and my hygiene. This kit will also help my aunt save money because she doesn’t need to buy pads for me every month.”
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By Muskan Singh | Reporting Intern
By Muskan Singh | Reporting Team
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