Kenya: education for girls livingin poverty

In Kenya, more than a third of the population live in extreme poverty and many parents cannot afford their children’s schooling. This educational crisis leaves girls, in particular, in a precarious situation – their educational level is usually significantly lower than that of boys. Education is often their only chance to secure a better life. Our project finances high-quality education at the Starehe Girls’ Center for gifted schoolgirls from all over the country, to enable them to go on to study at university. By becoming a sponsor, you are enabling financially disadvantaged girls to go to school and giving them the chance of a future, free of poverty.

Kenya is a politically stable country with robust economic growth. Often labelled the economic powerhouse of East Africa, the country has the highest Human Development Index in the region. But wealth in the country is distributed extremely unequally: corruption – one of the biggest problems in Kenya – is widespread. Only a small clique of the super-rich is benefiting from sustained economic growth, whereas nearly 36 percent of the population is living below the poverty line, with less than 1.65 euros per day at their disposal. Not really enough to live on. Every day, up to 4.3 million people in Kenya are going hungry.

The high degree of inequality in Kenya is not only manifested in income distribution, but also in the fact that girls are one-sidedly disadvantaged: girls in Kenya often receive fewer years of schooling than boys. Although education in the East African country is highly regarded and the eight years of state primary school education are free, school materials are expensive. Yet without them, school attendance is not possible. Parents often cannot afford to send all their children to school. Boys are then given preference.

Instead, the girls have to help out at home, get married at an early age and, in many cases, become pregnant before they turn 18. Even as children, they are often forced into the role of housewife and forced into a cycle of poverty and dependency, from which they can never escape without outside help.

With your support, we are working to bring about more educational equality in Kenya and enable financially disadvantaged girls from poor families to go to school!

For women and girls, education is the key to securing a better and more powerful position in society, to self-determination and a poverty-free life. In our Starehe Girls’ Centre school for girls, we support financially disadvantaged schoolgirls from throughout the country. In the boarding school, the girls are provided with everything they need: from school materials to clothing, from food to medical care. The school has grown steadily since its foundation in 2005. The Starehe Girls’ Center currently has 760 students between the ages of 13 and 18.

Two-thirds of the students are selected on the basis of their good performance and need criteria, while the other third pay tuition fees. In the admission process, absolute priority is given to girls who come from very poor backgrounds. The students are closely accompanied in their school career by well-trained teachers and are supported in the event of personal or academic problems.

The Starehe Girls' Centre also pursues a special concept, because the schoolgirls can practically take over the management of the school themselves through a kind of parliamentary system. They learn to take responsibility, express their opinions and make decisions - and they gain the important experience of being able to make a difference themselves. After completing their school education, most of the female students will attend a state university.