Child marriage, poverty, illiteracy and oppression have for too long been a Maasai woman’s cultural norm.
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“A woman needs two things to rise out of poverty—self-esteem and self-reliance. Education will give her both.”
Barbara Lee Shaw, Founder, MGEF
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Leah is one of twelve children in her family and one of MGEF’s youngest scholarship recipients. Her father, a farmer, cultivates the land for a living, and her mother sells milk and harvests sand, but still they struggle to meet their family’s most basic needs. Much of their limited income is spent on life-sustaining treatment for Leah’s brother, who has epilepsy. A bright little girl who could never afford boarding school fees nor safely walk to the closest day school 13 kilometers away, Leah was nominated for an MGEF scholarship in early 2016. She now attends the Adams Academy, whose motto is “Education Liberates,” and MGEF will provide her with all she needs to complete school, from PreK through secondary and beyond, wherever her dreams and ambitions take her. Date of Birth: 05/03/2010 Started Program: May 2014 Start Grade: Preschool Current Grade: Preschool School: Adams Academy Sponsored: Yes
Read MoreNtanin is the first girl sponsored by MGEF. She is the sixth child of her father's third wife, the 22nd born of all of his children. Both parents are illiterate, and she is the first girl in her family to enroll in school. Her father calls it "God's work." Read more about Ntanin and her story under MGEF History. Date of Birth: 06/12/1993 Started Program: September 1999 Start Grade: Preschool Current Grade: 11th Grade (Form 3) School: Oloyiankalani Girls High School Sponsored: Yes
Read MoreReson had already been married off when she was nine-years-old by her father, who believes that educating a girl is valueless compared to a dowry. Reson and three of her sisters were all forced to drop out of school to be circumcised and married to men much older than them. With the intervention of female local Maasai activists and the Chief of her village, Reson was removed from her husband’s home early in 2012 and brought to the rescue center at Kajiado Adventist School to join her step-sister, Nashipae, who had just been rescued before her marriage at age 10. Reson is happy to be with her sister and in the company of other rescue girls, who unfortunately share similar life experiences. Having dropped out of preschool in order to be wed, Reson resumed her studies as a preschooler in January 2012 and is making amazing progress. Date of Birth: 01/01/2002 Started Program: January 2012 Start Grade: Preschool Current Grade: 3rd Grade (Class 3) School: Kajiado Adventist School Sponsored: Yes
Read MoreIn 2003, Sopilal was a smart, quiet, well-spoken girl who came to MGEF from a very poor, drought-prone area of Kajiado. Not only did her family lack the means to send her to school, but, as a girl, she was not permitted an education. In her family, only her brothers attended school. Her sister was married off at the age of 14, a fate Sopilal was destined to repeat without the support of MGEF. Instead, with a scholarship since the 3rd grade, Sopilal is now a rising star in her Maasai community—studying Law at the University of Nairobi, and realizing her dream of becoming an independent, empowered Maasai woman. Nancy Sopilal is proud and grateful to be MGEF’s first Law Student. Date of Birth: 05/11/1993 Started Program: January 2003 Start Grade: 3rd Grade (Class 3) Current Grade: University School: University of Nairobi Sponsored: Yes
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