Leadership Training for Girls in Maasai Kenya

Thank you for supporting our Health and Leadership Training program! With your help, we are transforming communities by giving youth the information and skills they need to live healthy, empowered lives. 

Last year, we opened our doors to our new high school, known as KCE II. We currently have 51 girls in grades 9 and 10, and each year we will welcome another class until we reach full capacity. As we expand our educational program, we are also adapting our training curriculum to address the needs of these older girls. At Kakenya’s Dream, our goal is to identify the barriers that keep girls from attending and succeeding in school and then to work with the students, parents, and community to remove these barriers. For girls at our high school – and across the county – teen pregnancy is one of the greatest of these barriers.

Our first training for the high schoolers was held in early April. This training session was tailored especially for the 18 girls in our 10^th grade class. The small number of participants gave the students a personalized learning experience and allowed them to share more intimate thoughts and experiences with our trainers. The students also felt more comfortable to engage and participate in the training’s activities and discussions.

The girls learned self-defense to prepare them in case they find themselves in danger of sexual or gender-based violence. Our trainers taught them several physical and verbal techniques to help them avert this form of violence. They also engaged in discussions about adolescent sexual reproductive rights, puberty, boy-girl relationships, hygiene, sexuality, and sexual and gender-based violence. By the end of the training, the girls were sharing their experiences and opinions openly with the trainers and with one another. The level of trust the girls developed in the trainers led to meaningful conversations and questions.

We are thrilled to share these success stories not only from schools throughout the region, but also at our own high school. Thank you for being a part of this transformational work! We truly appreciate your support.

Links:

• Our Website