Catherine Timanoi Koyiah

Timanoi's father has been trying to marry her off since she graduated from primary school, but an MGEF scholarship kept her in school. She is the first of five children living in extreme poverty, dependent on relief food during the droughts. Timanoi was accepted to the Faculty of Veterninary Medicine at the University of Nairobi in September 2009, and we believe the first Maasai woman to be accepted to this program.  Her father still wants to marry her off, but in Timanoi's words, "I am not ready to be someone's wife. I would like to achieve my academic goals and change the living standard of our family."