Support girls' education and end FGM in Kenya

Strengthening Local Schools and Expanding Access

In line with our five-year strategic plan, this quarter's education work centered on reaching girls beyond our own campuses — investing in the schools, systems, and infrastructure that already serve them in their home communities.

• Growing our scholarship reach: Our Education Access program provides scholarships, mentorship, and holistic support for girls to finish their secondary education at schools across Kenya. Since last quarter, 32 new scholarship recipients have joined, a 14% increase in total beneficiaries this year.
• Raising standards across 35 schools: We partnered with the Ministry of Education to conduct quality and standards assessments for 35 local public schools in two counties, identifying where interventions like in-school feeding programs, new washrooms and classrooms, and teacher training can remove barriers like food insecurity, period poverty, and discriminatory teaching practices.
• Shaping national policy: In a historic first, Kakenya's Dream was one of the nonprofits chosen by the Ministry of Education to help design a data collection tool the Kenyan government will use to measure re-entry, retention, and transition rates in real time — recognition of our expertise and of the growing national priority placed on girls' education.
• Closing the digital divide: Many neighboring rural schools lack the internet access and computers now required under Kenya's national curriculum. We facilitated donations of satellite internet and computers to 34 local schools this quarter, helping close disparities in education for girls and boys alike.

Meanwhile, at our own flagship boarding schools, the Kakenya Centers for Excellence (KCE I and II), students continued to thrive: average academic performance after the first term landed at “Meeting Expectations,” the second-highest level under Kenya's national curriculum, and students progressed from local to sub-county and county competitions in drama, sports, and a KCE II podcast-club documentary that reached the regional stage. We also held a child protection and safeguarding training for staff, and parent engagement efforts reached a 52% participation rate so far this year.

“As a young girl, I believe in my voice, and I'm among the students in the podcasting program at our school. Podcasting gives me the freedom to speak openly without fear. It's a space where girls like me can raise our voices, laugh, and be girls.”

— Caroline, KCE II tenth grader