The Kakenya Center for Excellence
By Kakenya Ntaiya on 04/26/2010 @ 02:00 PM
Empowering the Next Generation of African Women Leaders, One Girl at a Time
The Kakenya Center for Excellence is a girls’ primary school located in rural Maasai Kenya. I founded this school to help Maasai girls realize their full potential.
I grew up and attended primary school in the same community. I held fast to my desire to be educated despite constant struggles. My day generally started at 5 AM with domestic chores - including milking the cows - before running two miles to school. I frequently arrived late to find my teacher waiting to beat me with sticks. Although I learned core subjects, as a girl my education was deemed unnecessary. It was generally assumed that after the traditional rite of passage of female cutting, a girl's destiny as wife and mother would be realized. Therefore, in primary school, it was the girls who were sent out of the classroom to collect firewood, fetch water, and even cook for the teachers. Today the outcome remains the same: Girls in my community grow up subservient and with low self-esteem that continues into adulthood.
I was able to resist the life that was predestined for me. I was betrothed at age 5 and expected to marry at puberty. Read more about my story.
It is because of the challenges I faced growing up that I started the Kakenya Center for Excellence. The school is a place where girls can dare to dream, become motivated through the power of education, and where they are told there are no limits to what they can achieve in life.
We are in the process of completing construction on four classrooms, thanks to all our supporters. Our goal in the next year is to raise funds to build our dormitory. This boarding facility is a vital part of our school. The girls have been walking to school for up to 7 miles a day. This is dangerous on a number of levels, including possible encounters with wild animals as well as with sexual predators.
We are optimistic and hopeful about the future of our girls, but to fully support them, we need to offer the safety of a secure dormitory. Please join us by donating to us online, hosting an event to introduce our center to your friends, or recommending us for a grant. Thanks for making a critical difference in these girls' lives.
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