Empower and Educate WISER girls in rural Kenya

WISER is expanding. Come grow with us!

A generous partnership with The Social Initiative of Sweden is allowing WISER to expand our campus and double the number of girls we serve. Campus construction will begin this winter and in January 2017 WISER will enroll twice the usual number of girls, eventually getting us up to 240 students! This is a remarkable change from before WISER opened when there were only 40 girls total in high school in the community.

And what happens when WISER opens doors? Girls charge through.

Two days before Thanksgiving I received the most wonderful message from Floviance, one of the first girls to enroll at WISER. When I first met Floviance she was 15 and already in love with learning, though it had been a tremendous struggle to stay in school. Floviance’s father left when she was five years old, taking her brother with him, but leaving behind Floviance and her little sister. Her mother died when she was ten leaving Floviance in charge of the family. Floviance told me she had to work at night helping fishermen in order to support her sister and herself, while still going to school all day. Floviance remembers the struggle to get enough food for just one meal a day. Despite these conditions, she excelled in primary school. After her final exams Floviance qualified for a good high school, but her father refused to pay her school fees and told her to get married instead. She was 14. However, Floviance says that “I knew I would keep learning and not get married” so she repeated her final year of primary school and in 2010 WISER opened and gave her a full scholarship. Floviance graduated in the top of our class and was one of the first girls from Muhuru Bay to go to university. Remembering how hungry she was as a child Floviance is studying how to improve agriculture in her community. In our conversation just before Thanksgiving Floviance proudly told me that she was one of the three top girls at Moi University and that she had been elected as class representative. To hear such good news said so joyfully a few days before Thanksgiving was such a gift and reminded me to be thankful for the amazing community of students, teachers, friends, and supporters WISER has built.

And now WISER is building more dormitories and classrooms. Floviance has graduated, but her little sister is now at WISER and soon another 240 girls will join us. Girls with passion, intellect, and drive who just need us to open doors for them. We are spending this year expanding our campus and building those doors. Will you help us open them? We are doubling our school. Giving Tuesday is tomorrow December 1, can you double your gift? 

Many thanks and best wishes.

Sherryl