Support girls' education and end FGM in Kenya

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!