Dear Friends of MGEF, MGEF’s goals are to get girls in school and to keep them there until they have the knowledge and skills to get a job in Kenya, and we are succeeding. Through scholarships, life skills workshops, and community education programs, MGEF is realizing its vision of a better life for Maasai women through education. Getting Girls in School
This year, MGEF has added nine students to its roster, including five who would otherwise have been married, one recently orphaned. We are currently funding scholarships for 60 students at 21 schools throughout Kenya’s Kajiado District. Keeping Girls in School Riton Miriam Sian Senja was fifteen and in seventh grade when she became pregnant. Her baby girl was born in February 2005. When Miriam realized she was pregnant, she believed her dream for an education had ended, but Janet and Stephen Andersen, Miriam’s crisis emphasizes the need for MGEF’s Lifeskills Workshops to counsel this population of under-informed young women whose culture traditionally mandates deference to the demands of men. This Program expands the benefits of MGEF scholarships through workshops that teach life skills to prevent teen pregnancy, female genital mutilation, and early marriage, to defend against pressures for casual sex, and reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS—all significant factors contributing to girls’ dropping out of school. Workshops are held at schools and are open to all students from age 10 up, not just those receiving MGEF scholarships. Over 800 girls have attended these workshops. Providing the Opportunity for Economic Independence
Simantoi has demonstrated to her family and her community that educating girls will bring greater economic rewards than a bride price. Her financial support to her family totals more each year than the one-time dowry that Yiamoi’s father would have received from his daughter’s marriage. In the words of Yiamoi’s uncle, spoken to her father to convince him to allow Yiamoi to accept the MGEF scholarship, “Yiamoi would still be your daughter, . . . and future fruits would be brought back unto your boma and your community. You can bear witness a big support from educated ladies nowadays. MGEF’s measure of success is the number of students who complete their education and are able to get a job in Kenya. No other accomplishment can have a greater impact on reducing poverty, and improving the lives of Maasai women and their families. On behalf of Maasai girls and women in Kenya (and their fathers and husbands), I would like to thank the Bauman Foundation, the Green Park Foundation, the Kenya Community Development Foundation, Stiftung Kinder-Hilfe, The Summit Fund of Washington, The Tides Foundation, and the many individuals whose generous support and commitment to Maasai girls’ education have made all of this possible. I hope you will continue your support in the future. With appreciation, Barbara Lee Shaw |
Yiamoi Ene Lasiti was pledged in marriage when she was two years old. She was to have been married on March 10, 2007, two days before her 13 th birthday, to the now 37-year-old man she was promised to 11 years ago. Yiamoi’s father was receiving dowry payments for Yiamoi from her future family for all eleven years, a debt he would never have been able to repay. Yiamoi’s situation was hopeless until MGEF offered a scholarship and her uncle, neighbors, and friends agreed to raise the money to pay back the dowry. On March 8, two days before her scheduled wedding, Yiamoi was enrolled in school for the first time. As of this date, the dowry debt is one cow short of being repaid. 
her MGEF sponsors since January 2002, remained committed to her education, and Miriam’s mother agreed to take care of her baby. She has since completed the last two years of primary school, and in February 2007 began her first year of secondary school. Miriam will realize her dream. 
Simantoi Kilama, sponsored by MGEF from 2000 – 2006, is our first college graduate and our first student to get a job. She is now living on her own in Nairobi and working as a public health nurse for the Fatima Clinic. Simantoi sends part of her salary home every month to her mother, and also helps with the cost of school uniforms and medical bills for family members. Simantoi’s father was adamantly opposed to educating girls, as were all other members of her family, except her mother. Her defiance, determination, and ultimate success have now won them over and paved the way for younger girls in her family.
Washington Office: 5800 MacArthur Blvd., NW, Washington, DC 20016-2512 · Kenya Office: P.O. Box 299, 001100, Kajiado, Kenya |