Equip rural Kenyan girls to GET UP out of poverty

Recently our high school girls had their annual retreat. For three days the girls left their school and family obligations behind, headed off an adventure away from home, and spent time learning, sharing, and laughing together. For these girls who have had few opportunities to just relax and have some fun, this event is a highlight of the year!  We received touching notes of thanks from many of them and below are excerpts from just a few.  On behalf of all the girls, thank you for your support which makes this nurturing event possible!

Hi, I am Hellen from St. Barnabas Girls School in Form 2 [10^th grade]. I hereby want to thank Global Interfaith Partnership for supporting us by organizing for us the August retreat. We are working hard towards our goals in order to get a better future and become future leaders. I wish you well in your daily lives.  Hellen

 The programme has enabled me to be where I am now, since I used to admire the other girls in colleges when I was in high school, and this made me work hard to be like them. I am now happy since I am joining university soon. The same way the other girls in high school are learning from me and therefore this is motivation for them. I believe that the guidance we get from the facilitators is of high value to us and we live to be focused in our endeavors. Thanks for GET UP and God bless you since we are being prepared to be all round citizens in future. We appreciate you.  Maureen

 Hello, I am Helida, a student and beneficiary of Global Interfaith Partnership. I am grateful to you for having helped me through my high school studies til now that I am about to join a university for further studies.  I am happy for you having arranged the GET UP. It has helped in bringing the girls together. It makes them share their problems and as usual the problems shared are half way solved. Many girls get to know how to deal with challenges in their adolescent stage and cope with them.

We also get encouraged by the people who have made it in life. The project also strengthens the relationship among the girls as thy get to know each other better. It also makes the ladies believe in themselves and how that nothing in life is impossible. I love all the teachings in GET UP as all are encouraging.

Continue with the heart of helping the ladies through GET UP and all girls will improve in their studies due to the new things they learn. In everything that I will always do, I will live to remember GET UP for the concern they have shown to help me.

Yours faithfully,
Helida

Links:

• Visit our website

It often is a challenge to come up with objective measures of success when working on issues affecting girls' empowerment. One of the measures GET UP has focused upon is increasing the number of girls who complete their secondary education and perform well on the national exam required at the conclusion of secondary school. The grade a student earns on this comprehensive exam dictates eligibility for college or university, and in turn whether one is prepared for stable employment.

It has been difficult for our students to do as well on the nation-wide exam as the students who have not faced so many obstacles to academic success. However, through the years we have seen steady improvement in the test scores our students have achieved. Through the GET UP program (Girls Empowerment Team of the Umoja Project) the goal has been to help girls overcome the additional challenges they face as young women, such that they perform to the best of their ability on the national exam.

We are excited to say that the girls who sat for the exam this year did exceedingly well! For the first time, 6 girls earned direct admittance to the university with government support.  Congratulations to Caroline, Maurine, Helida, Emily, Carolyne, and Risper!

We are so proud of the accomplishments of these young women.  They have encountered so many challenges, yet persevered.  Your support for GET UP helped to make their success possible, and we thank you. 

Links:

• Global Interfaith Partnership website