Support girls' education and end FGM in Kenya

Earlier in January, the Kenyan government released scores for their mandated national exams. These exams—the Kenya Certificate for Primary Education (KCPE) and the Kenya Certificate for Secondary Education (KCSE)—are critical for the high school and university placement of our eighth and 12th graders, respectively. We are extremely proud of both our KCE I and KCE II students for their outstanding scores this year! On the KCPE, our eighth graders scored comparably to the class of 2021, who achieved the highest exam scores in Kakenya’s Dream history! On the KCSE, 25 of our 12th graders scored high enough to earn automatic admission to university.

Over the December holidays, our community partner, an organization called I’m Worth Defending, put on a week-long self-defense workshop at our KCE I campus. The workshop had a total of 160 participants, which included our students as well as students from other schools in the community. Extracurricular programs like these are especially important over the holidays; research shows that girls in Kenya are at the highest risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) during this time, since the long break from school lets them heal from the illegal procedure without drawing attention. This highlights the need for a comprehensive approach to education that goes beyond mere class attendance. We strive for holistic learning and growth for our girls, which they achieve through life-skills training, health education, and community service.

Finally, let us recognize the outstanding achievement of two of our students: on November 30, two KCE II students attended the National Science & Technology Exhibition of Young Scientists Kenya in Nairobi, where they took home second place in the biology and ecology category. We have a variety of STEM offerings at our schools to help students discover their career interests, which is why our KCE II campus comes equipped with a dedicated science lab—a facility that is rare for rural schools. Congratulations to Ann-Clare and Leah! 

This was the result of their hard work and talent, but they would never have had the opportunity to prove themselves without supporters like you. Thank you for your continued partnership; we look forward to sharing more updates with you in a few months!

Earlier this month on October 11, our program team celebrated the International Day of the Girl with a community-wide informational and advocacy event. The occasion was held in partnership with six neighboring schools at the Nkakaro Primary School as part of our ongoing efforts to promote girls’ education and reaffirm the necessity of engaging diverse stakeholders in this work with 1,124 attendees. Last year, we held a ceremony at the Masurura Primary School, which is located in a region where we do not currently operate programs. 646 participants attended in total, including students, community members, and our guest speakers from the Kenyan High Court and Compassion International. Each occasion to commemorate the International Day of the Girl was a unique opportunity to raise the visibility of our organization and solidify community buy-in for our programs. These events, along with other outreach interventions, are helping shift societal attitudes towards the benefits of investing in girls and away from traditional practices like FGM and early marriage.

One way we see this change is from the high demand for enrollment at our boarding schools. Before the 2022 school year began this April, we received over 230 applicants for 40 spaces in the newest Kakenya Center for Excellence I (KCE I) Class 4 cohort and 88 applicants for our Kakenya Center for Excellence II (KCE II) Form 1 cohort. The majority of these girls, including our new students, have parents or guardians who have not completed primary school, which means that we are reaching the most vulnerable student populations in our area. 

Alongside their regular school subjects, students enjoyed the resumption of extracurricular activities this academic year. The journalism club at KCE II began a student-led magazine to showcase their experiences at KCE II using poems, essays, and other original compositions. Through the club, students are developing strong critical thinking and communication skills to become empowered to speak out on challenges they face and intellectually stimulated to engage with the creative process. 

Throughout July and August, our volleyball and handball teams at both schools participated in local interschool competitions. We are grateful for the opportunity our students have to partake in sports, which helps build team work, goal setting, and confidence for many of them, as well as providing an outlet for their mental and emotional health. Despite only having a short time to get back into practice, our KCE II volleyball team made it all the way to the county level! In addition to their physical excellence, several KCE II students also came in second place in a chemistry contest with other schools earlier in June as part of preparations for upcoming national exams. The girls’ resilience over the past two years, exemplified by their achievements inside and outside the classroom, continue to amaze and inspire us.

As our schools get ready to finish the 2022 school year, we want to say thank you to supporters like you, who are making sure that our students remain holistically supported and protected from harmful practices. Your dedication to their physical, academic, and emotional wellbeing is helping form the next leaders of Kenya and transforming communities for every girl to thrive. We can’t wait to share the newest updates with you in our next report!

Between March and April, our eighth and twelfth grade students took their Kenyan Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams. These important national tests determine students’ high school and university or college placements respectively. They also marked a series of firsts for Kakenya’s Dream. Our eighth graders made organizational history by hitting our highest ever average scores in their KCPE exams with a mean of 348 out of 500 marks! Likewise, the twelfth graders’ results scored in the top five of our sub-county of 36 schools. We are tremendously proud of their hard work and perseverance, which was all the more impressive given the 2021 condensed academic year that reduced their time to prepare and study. 

After KCPE exams finished in March, our latest cohort of fourth grade students enrolled at the Kakenya Center for Excellence I (KCE I), where we received 237 applicants to fill 40 spots. These new students come from distinctly marginalized backgrounds, with a majority having parents or guardians that did not complete any formal education. 

Working in a heavily rural area, we have many students with similar backgrounds, including Mercy, a current seventh grader. Before coming to KCE I in 2018, Mercy crossed a river every day barefoot in order to go to school. Besides often missing school whenever the river’s water levels rose during heavy rains, Mercy doubted she would be able to finish her education at all as she watched her older siblings drop out due to lack of fees. Thankfully, she heard about how KCE I offered scholarships to students in similar situations and persuaded older relatives to take her to our enrollment interviews. Being accepted into our school gave her a huge sense of relief: “I was so happy. I knew the struggle of crossing the river would end." 

Now a confident, driven student, Mercy dreams of becoming a doctor: "My favorite subjects are mathematics and science. I want to be a physician to help my community in treating the sick." Her determination to continue learning inspires us to ensure that every girl, no matter her family’s background or financial situation, can access a quality education and pursue her career goals. 

At our boarding high school campus, the Kakenya Center for Excellence II (KCE II), we enrolled our new ninth graders, interviewing 88 applicants for 37 openings. The total current enrollment for KCE I is 195 students and for KCE II, 129 students. The 2022 school year began in late April with our team hitting the ground running for students, who will once again be under immense pressure to concentrate on their exams and complete the government-mandated school curriculum within seven months before the 2023 school year begins next January.

With the new school year underway, we are deeply grateful for supporters like you who ensure that our students have everything they need to succeed academically, emotionally, and physically. Thank you for your continued dedication; we look forward to sharing more updates with you in a few months!

In December, students at our Kakenya Center for Excellence I campus (KCE I) sat for practice exams with four other primary schools in the area. We are happy to share that their performance ranked first, demonstrating their preparedness for the end-of-term exams they took later. After a brief holiday, our girls returned to school on January 3 and 4. Class 8 students are currently engaged in intensive study for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), which is a national exam that determines their secondary school placement. These students will take the KCPE in early March; to commemorate this momentous undertaking of theirs, we recently held a ceremony to wish them good luck and congratulate them for all of the hard work they have put into their studies over the past five years.

One of our most recent additions to the KCE II campus, which is our secondary school, is a two-level library, which was completed last August. Since December, we have been furnishing it with textbooks, storybooks, desks, chairs, and other furniture. The library will be a hub of intellectual curiosity and learning for our girls, with regular activities planned to promote a culture of reading and improve literacy outcomes for incoming students. We anticipate opening the library in the next couple of weeks.

A solar panel system was also installed on the grounds of the KCE II campus in October to provide consistent electricity for the whole school. Because KCE II is located in a rural location, connectivity was often unreliable and our students experienced regular blackouts. The addition of 60 solar panels, amounting to 30KWH and powered by seven solar charged batteries, ensures our girls, teachers, and staff have continuous uninterrupted access to electricity. 

The KCE II campus continues to grow with ongoing construction of a new dormitory and two classrooms. Construction began on the dormitory and first classroom in September and we expect both buildings to be finished within the quarter, with the dormitory capable of housing 48 girls and the classrooms to include a teachers’ office. Construction on the second classroom will begin sometime this spring and is slated to be completed by late summer/early fall. With this campus expansion, we look forward to providing more girls from the surrounding area with our holistic education and reducing their likelihood of early marriage, FGM, and teen pregnancy.

Thank you so much for your support, which continues to create immense impact for our students. Keep checking in with us for further updates throughout the year!

In February, we began building a Library on our Kakenya Center for Excellence II (KCE II) campus. The need for this Library arose to supplement the school curriculum and to create a culture of reading and intellectual exploration for our girls. Construction was completed in August and now, we have been acquiring furniture, books, and other materials to create welcoming gathering and learning spaces in the Library.

To foster an atmosphere of curiosity and expose our girls to a variety of perspectives, our Library, which will be available to all surrounding schools in the community, will be equipped with learning resources that have a special focus on literature by African authors. To date, we have already acquired over 650 storybooks with literature by African authors and storytellers.

Once the Library is fully stocked, we look forward to instating a Read-A-Thon for our students. The Read-A-Thon will encourage students to read for leisure and provide a fun opportunity to challenge students to read at least two books each week.

Besides expanding our range of educational services through the Library campus expansion, we encourage our students to participate in extracurricular activities that expand their understanding of the world and develop leadership skills. In early October, two KCE II students, Vivian and Violet, won prizes at the annual Young Scientists Kenya (YSK) National Science & Technology Exhibition. The Exhibition, which is an initiative of the Ministry of Education and the Government of Ireland, showcases innovative STEM projects developed by high school students all over Kenya. Out of a total of 64 projects presented by 120 students at the Exhibition, they placed second in the nation in the Chemical, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences category with their project, “The Sabash Formula”. Our girls’ achievement is made all the more remarkable given the traditionally male-dominated field of STEM and the lack of encouragement for girls to pursue these topics. Through the example of Vivian and Violet, we hope to instill a sense of curiosity for a variety of experiences in all our students that leads to more diverse career paths and economic opportunities.

As 2021 comes to an end, we look forward to providing updates of our comprehensive approach to girls’ education and the Library’s positive impact on our girls for 2022 and beyond!