School Scholarships for 10 Young Kenyan Women

• In May 2010, Akili Dada won the coveted Marketplace of Ideas competition from the United Nations emerging as one of “the world’s most exciting and innovative but lesser known civil society projects.” The award by the UN Alliance of Civilizations was aimed at showcasing “projects which do not already have firmly established links with the UN system, or have yet to be truly ‘discovered’ by the international community."

• Since our inception in 2005 we have raised over $100,000 to support Kenya's brightest young women. We have achieved all this with a venerable force comprised entirely of volunteers. 

• As of 2010, we have graduated 9 alumnae who have ALL earned full scholarships to universities around the world!

• We are transforming the way our partner high schools do business by demonstrating the beneficial impact of combining rigorous academics with personalized mentoring and leadership training.  Some of our partner schools have began to adopt the Akili Dada model.

Here's How We Did It:

• Through our vibrant mentoring program we are mobilizing a venerable cohort of professional African women to make personal connections and investments in the next generation of African women leaders.  Participating in the Akili Dada community further provides invaluable resources for our mentors including professional networking and lifelong learning through regular mentor-only events.

• We are MUCH more than a scholarship organization. We not only provide brilliant girls from impoverished families with access to the top quality high school education, ours integrated approach addresses the diversity of challenges that adolescent girls face on the journey to adulthood.  

• The Akili Dada community of scholars, mentors, and alumnae is a diverse inter-generational, and inter-ethnic sisterhood of women who represent Africa's exciting future.  

• We are committed to fiscal responsibility and only offer a new scholarship after we have raised 100% of the funds needed to support the student for the entire duration of their secondary school education!  Our lean operations on two continents rely heavily on the support of our enthusiastic volunteers and our embrace of technology.

• Our integrated yet decentralized operations on the ground in two continents is redefining the concepts of 'local' and 'grassroots' for the 21st century. Rather than bemoaning globalization, we are embracing technology and transforming the nature of transnational activism for social change.

Please visit Akili Dada's website to learn more.