Educate a Girl. Change the World

“Educate a girl and she will change the world.” –Girl Rising

I’ve always loved learning. Access to school and education was a given for me here in Canada. That’s not the case for many children around the world. In Kenya, even though education is free, there are many barriers to education, particularly for girls: early marriage, poverty, poor health, traditional domestic roles for females, gender-based biases.

On my first visit to Kenya in 2010 as a co-leader of a Me to We trip, our group helped build a new classroom at a WE primary school. As the local kids advanced through primary school the next obvious question was what next? Many students wanted to further their education but there were no local high schools.

In response to this need WE opened Kisaruni high school for girls from both the Maasai and Kipsigi communities. Kisaruni graduates are transforming their futures and consequently their communities. These girls are ambitious, eager learners committed to bringing dreams of a new future into reality. Their enthusiasm and dedication to their studies is inspiring. When my co-leader David Baum asked an auditorium of Kisaruni students where the next Wangarai Maathai, renowned Kenyan social, environmental and political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Prize, would come from, without hesitation they yelled “KISARUNI!!”

I’ve witnessed how these girls are transformed by their high school experience. By the end of their first year they are confident, speaking English in public to international visitors, sharing stories about their education and their dreams. Most of these girls are the first person in their family to graduate from high school. With only 40 places per year, admission is very competitive. When I asked some of the students what they planned to do with their education they all expressed a desire to go further and to give back to their communities: “I want to be a pilot, I want to be a doctor, I want to be a teacher.”

My husband and I recognized that one of the best ways we can impact the future for girls and their communities in Kenya is to support a girl in high school. In December 2017 when I returned to Kenya I looked forward to attending graduation and meeting Mercy, a girl we sponsored at Kisaruni. I was pretty emotional when Mercy and I met. She was no longer a name on a form. She was right there, asking questions about my family and telling me about her dream to be a surgeon.

Graduation day parents, relatives, and guests came together to celebrate and acknowledge the achievements of the graduates. The students danced onto the playing field to joyful music and jubilant cheers from the crowd. Kenyans know how to celebrate!

As the grads lined up to get their certificates a young girl inched onto the field in front of me. I was stuck by the contrast of this preschooler backed by the group of graduates who represented a future for girls that could not have even been imagined a few years earlier.

The girls of Kisaruni are establishing a new reality for young women in Kenya. If you want to be part of positive change in action support a student! Listen to Tiffany, a determined Kisaruni student working toward a future career in tourism. You can also read more in the latest Kisaruni newsletter from WE.

Introducing Heartfelt Endeavors

This post is the launch of a new initiative—Heartfelt Endeavours. For the holiday season of 2019, I will be giving 100% of all profits of the sale of my photo cards and prints in my store to support education for girls at Kisaruni High School in Kenya. Your support helps cover items such as: tuition, room and board, textbooks, school supplies and classroom resources, uniforms, field trips and extracurricular opportunities, mentorship and counselling, leadership programming and teacher training. My goal is to raise $1000 for the holiday season of 2019. This fundraiser is made possible by a collaboration with WE Charity.

You can shop my store here. Also check out the bonus gifts for donations at the $50 and $75 level, including a rafiki bracelet, shown below. These special gifts are only available through December 6, 2019.

Prefer to donate directly to WE without making a store purchase? You can make a donation on my WE campaign page here.

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Important Note

The first Heartfelt Endeavours fundraising campaign for the Kisaruni High School in Kenya has ended. Thanks to you, we raised a total of $6079 in December 2019 and January 2020! Your contribution will have a ripple effect in the lives of these students and their communities. A big thank you to all of the readers who purchased cards and prints from my online store in support of the project and also contributed directly to WE Charity. Please follow me on social media and sign up for my newsletter to be notified of the next campaign.

Prints by Kathy