Maasai Girls Education Fund - From the Director

The Maasai Girls Education Fund has made great progress this year toward achieving its mission to educate a generation of Maasai girls in Kenya. During the first six months of 2006, MGEF:

In addition, two of our students have achieved their own successes: Nenkai Meitiaki, who has been sponsored by MGEF since 2001 and is now in her second year at Alliance Girls High School in Kikuyu, was selected by the Forum for African Women Educationalists to give a cultural presentation at the Girls International Forum Summit in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in July; and Simantoi Kilama, sponsored by MGEF since 2000, has become a registered public health nurse in Kenya, as of March.

In January, MGEF launched its Life Skills Program to teach girls ages 10 and older skills that will prevent teen pregnancy, reduce early marriages and female circumcision, as well as the spread of HIV—all significant factors contributing to girls’ dropping out of school. The three-day workshops, facilitated by the Kenya Red Cross Society, explicitly address otherwise taboo subjects in the Maasai culture. Open discussion of these topics will empower girls to take control of their bodies, and ultimately their destiny.

The first workshop was held at Isinya Primary School for 107 students. In May, a second workshop was held at Inkito Primary School for 100 students. Four more workshops are planned for 2006 at various locations in the Kajiado District, the approximately 13,000 square-mile-area where two-thirds of Kenya’s Maasai population lives. By the end of the year, a minimum of 700 girls will have learned what circumcision is and how they can prevent it, how to say “No” to pressures for casual sex, how to prevent pregnancy, how HIV is spread and how to prevent its spread, and why it is important for them to complete their education. And they will pass the information on to their sisters, cousins, and friends.

To increase the impact of the Life Skills Workshops, MGEF is offering a one-day version to Maasai Chiefs and Elders, focusing on the social and economic impact of AIDS and the cultural practices that contribute to the spread of HIV, including female circumcision, polygamy, and promiscuity. The Program also includes discussion of the benefits of educating girls—better health, reduced infant mortality, greater economic stability, and a higher living standard. In the Maasai culture, the Chiefs are the ultimate arbiter of Maasai law: they hold the power and authority. They also are responsible for the well-being of the tribe. The rapid spread of HIV in recent years throughout the Kajiado District is threatening the well-being of the tribe, and maybe its survival. We have their attention.

Together, these two Programs have tremendous potential for changing cultural practices that prevent girls from getting an education, including the tradition of female circumcision and early marriage.

The eight new students receiving MGEF scholarships this year were near-casualties of the worst drought in decades. With an unprecedented loss of cattle and resulting increased poverty, their families could no longer afford school fees. All had been enrolled in secondary school or college until the drought forced them to drop out of school. Three would have been married in February against their wishes. As of February, all had returned to school. None were married.

It will take years to recover from the recent drought, and recovery will come at the sacrifice of girls. Traditionally, Maasai girls are married off at puberty in exchange for payment in cash and cattle to increase their father’s wealth. Today, because of the drought, more and more girls are being married at younger and younger ages—as young as ten. Record numbers of girls are running away from home to escape unwanted marriages, and record numbers of Maasai girls are dropping out of school because their families can no longer afford school fees. Ironically, the most effective strategy for reducing poverty is to educate women, and that requires keeping girls in school. This is MGEF’s mission.

In April, MGEF had the honor of hosting a reception in Santa Barbara, California, for Wangari Maathai, the first woman in Africa to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Ms. Maathai has dedicated her life to empowering rural women. Founder of the Greenbelt Movement in Kenya (now Greenbelt International), she has led the reforestation of Kenya by enabling poor Kenyan women to plant 30 million trees. There is a powerful connection between environment and peace, as Ms. Maathai so eloquently explains: There can be no peace when there is a world shortage of natural resources.

The New Maasai Warriors is a short film about MGEF, which is now on our Web site. It was filmed in Kenya in 2005, and features the new Maasai “Warriors” -- the new generation of educated Maasai girls. As MGEF Board member Meitamei Ole Dapash states, “. . . They can save the tribe.” We have also upgraded our Web site to include articles relevant to MGEF’s mission.

In closing, I would like to thank the Bauman Foundation, the Green Park Foundation, the Kenya Community Development Foundation, Stiftung-Kinderhilfe, The Summit Fund of Washington, The Tides Foundation, and the many individuals whose generous support and commitment to Maasai girls’ education has made all of this possible.