CORE PROGRAMS
We work in a region of Kenya that has been labeled as “not wanting education”. Our experience shows us the opposite: that many Maasai parents recognize the value of education and desire it for their children. We work with them to address barriers of access to affordable education, especially those experienced by girls. Our core programs leverage latent community knowledge and assets to enroll and keep children in school through secondary, an approach that ensures our work is low-cost, scalable, and sustainable long after we’re gone.
We focus on the four key interventions described below.
OPENING SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN REMOTE KENYAN VILLAGES
Research shows the greatest predictor of whether a girl will attend secondary school is a nearby affordable school. But in many rural areas such as the Loita Hills where we work, they simply don’t exist: there may not be a school within tens of miles of terrain, leaving few options for children to transition on to secondary school. We identify key central primary schools that can be expanded into secondary schools to increase access to education.
SUPPORTING SCHOOLS WITH CRITICAL LEARNING RESOURCES
Schools in the rural region we work have very few resources; historically teachers have only a handful of tattered textbooks for support . We support them with critical items like solar panels and Rachels - Remote Area Community Hotspots for Education and Learning: Portable, battery-powered devices that contain hundreds of free lessons from educational websites in offline format that they can wirelessly transfer to nearby tablets, laptops, in regions where little internet exists.
ACTIVATING LOCAL LEADERSHIP IN MAASAI COMMUNITIES
Parents are more likely to send their children in school if people they respect support education. We work with local political, cultural and religious leaders to explore the connections between education and culture so they may use their influence to encourage parents to send all their children, including their girls, to school. We then support them once they’re there through enhanced classroom resources, mentors and encouraging the hiring of female teachers.
ENROLLING OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN INTO PRIMARY SCHOOL
We target rural regions where school enrollment is low and then identify out-of-school children, sensitize their parents to the value of education, and make it easier for them to enroll their children in school. We do this work through an intern program which also creates opportunity for local young women. Our interns have enrolled over 1000 children into classrooms since schools reopened from COVID-closures in 2021, with retention of these enrollments ranging between 72-75%, a very high rate for this region.
Pilot Programs
We are continually evaluating our impact and the most pressing needs of the communities we serve – and creatively responding. Below are initiatives we are currently or have previously piloted to increase our support of Maasai childrens’ abilities to go to, and stay in, school.
GRANT SUPPORT FOR NEW SECONDARY CHOOLS
New secondary schools in Kenya experience significant economic vulnerabilities in their first years of operations. The Kenyan Government only kicks in major support once they are built out and officially registered. Our grant program supports our partner secondary schools with a funding grant to cover teachers’ salaries during their first year of operation and additional second-year grants, if needed, to ensure their sustainability.
COMMUNITY SEEDLING PLANTINGS TO INCREASE SUSTAINABILITY
In 2023 we began partnering with students, teachers and families in communities where we are building new schools to offset the impact of trees harvested for classroom construction by planting native tree seedlings. As of August, 2023 we have planted 200 seedlings each near new schools in the villages of Mausa and Olmesutie and plan to continue this program in all communities where we are building new schools.
EMERGENCY SUPPORT FUND FOR GIRLS AND FAMILIES
To have the greatest impact, our programs focus on supporting entire schools and communities rather than individual students. Occasionally, however, we come across a situation in which an immediate hardship might result in a girl dropping out of school. We maintain a small pool of funds available to intercede in these situations. Distributions have an immediate impact and offer bridge support that has kept many girls in school.