List of Students

Mercy Tomonik Nkai

Mercy is the tenth-born in a family of eleven children. Her parents are illiterate and unemployed, having sold all their cattle to pay for family necessities. Mercy's two older sisters have never enrolled in school and were both married off at 12 and 15 years old. All of Mercy's older brothers have their own families, leaving Mercy and her younger brother to live with their elderly parents and one sister who finished secondary school with a scholarship. The children rely entirely on money generated from their mother's traditional Maasai "shukas" (a garment) to eat and live. Realizing that she could not afford secondary school fees, Mercy's mother asked MGEF for help. Awarded a scholarship in 2013, Mercy is able to continue her education.

Date of Birth: 07/02/1998
Started Program: 19 weeks 4 hours ago
Start Grade: 9th Grade (Form 1)
Current Grade: 9th Grade (Form 1)
School: Baraka Oontoyie Secondary School
Sponsored: Yes

Miriam Naserian Nkiminis

Miriam was born to a single mother who died of AIDS when Miriam was 9 years old. At first, Miriam stayed with her brother and his wife, but was mistreated there. For two years she went from relative to relative, none of whom wanted the burden of supporting another child. Miriam finally went to live with the mother of an MGEF Board member, who brought her to our attention. Miriam is now enrolled in boarding school and lives with the Kajiado Director's family during school breaks, where she is loved and happy.

Date of Birth: 01/01/1994
Started Program: 8 years 24 weeks ago
Start Grade: 2nd Grade (Class 2)
Current Grade: 9th Grade (Form 1)
School: Oloosuyian Girls Secondary School
Sponsored: Yes

Lonah Pilale Pakire Nkumama

Pilale is one of 15 children born to one of her father's three wives. Her mother has no education. Pilale is the fifth child in her birth mother's house. Her father does not believe in educating girls and has already married off his eldest daughter at age 16. The family is extremely poor, and the prospect of a dowry of cows, goats and cash in such a family places Pilale at high risk to be married as soon as she reaches puberty. Pilale is able to go to school and avoid forced marriage with a scholarship from MGEF.

Date of Birth: 01/01/2000
Started Program: 4 years 41 weeks ago
Start Grade: 1st Grade (Class 1)
Current Grade: 6th Grade (Class 6)
School: Kajiado Adventist Primary School
Sponsored: Yes

Alice Simaloi Ntoyian

Alice's father died of tuberculosis when she was in the second grade, and her mother abandoned her and her five siblings, leaving them to be raised by an uncle. But Alice wasn't allowed to go to school. Instead, she had to stay home to take care of her younger siblings and help with housework and herding goats. Her uncle had made plans to marry her when she was 11 years old to an older man who already had four wives. With an MGEF scholarship, Alice was able to return to school and avoid the marriage.

Date of Birth: 12/31/1998
Started Program: 3 years 7 weeks ago
Start Grade: 1st Grade (Class 1)
Current Grade: 4th Grade (Class 4)
School: Kajiado Adventist Primary School
Sponsored: Yes

Kuka Ntoyo

Kuka Ntoyo was born in 1995 and is one of thirty children born to her father and his four wives. Kuka's parents are illiterate and unemployed, and the family relies entirely on one mother to sell firewood and earn an income. Though one of Kuka's sisters enrolled in grade one, three of her older sisters never had the chance to go to school. Instead, they were married off between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. As the only breadwinner in the family, Kuka's mother struggles to pay for school fees, while raising children and caring for a husband who suffers from epilepsy. With an MGEF scholarship, Kuka is guaranteed an education; one that can change her life and the lives of her family members.

Date of Birth: 01/01/1995
Started Program: 19 weeks 6 days ago
Start Grade: 9th Grade (Form 1)
Current Grade: 9th Grade (Form 1)
School: Karamugi Girls Secondary School
Sponsored: Yes