早期妊娠・結婚により学校を中退。ケニアの少女達を復学させたい

 

"I never want to give up education even as a mother or wife."

This is what girls think in Kenya

 

Hello, my name is Chiharu Sasaki from Japan and I am the organizer of this project. I came to Kenya to promote women’s empowerment, by teaching classes every week at an NPO called NIGEE as well as visiting slums and villages to mentor women.

 

I am running this project to provide schooling opportunities for girls who dropped out due to major causes such as teen pregnancy and/or early marriage.

In Kenya, it costs $400 to $800 to go to secondary school every year. Although NIGEE has so far provided 347 girls opportunities to go back to school, there are many more whom are still waiting for getting back to education.

 

To provide education to Kenyan girls and slowly but surely cut the chain of poverty, please help me! 

 

 

 

3 years ago, shocking realization.

How many people sacrifice themselves to get an education...

 

3 years ago, I had an opportunity to watch a presentation of a Kenyan lady from the Masai tribe. The Masai tribe currently practice FGM (Female Genital Mutilation). She made a deal with her father, which allowed her to continue schooling after undergoing FGM. However, she realized that she did not have to make the deal with father because she has the right to have education as a human being.

 

As a Japanese who takes education for granted, this presentation was a shocking realization for me.

 

Ever since then, I have researched areas where these basic rights such as education were not available to women. After 3 years, April 2016, I decided to fly to Kenya in order to see it first-hand. 

 

 

 

A lot of smile in spite of the actual situation in kenya

 

In Kenya, I have met many teenage girls who have children. They had no choice other than dropping out from school because they had to use the time and money to take care of their family instead of education.

“Chiharu, I want to become a lawyer someday!” “I was very good at English when I was at school, so my dream is to be an English teacher”.

Unexpectedly, those girls never made me feel any hardships that they have experienced. 

 

One of the girls told me, “My father hates me. He is a heavy drinker so even when he gets a little money from somewhere, he uses it to buy alcohol immediately. My first child was by rape which led me to drop out from school. The second child was by my boyfriend but he was so irresponsible that he ran away with another woman. In my life, I have lived through such tough times, but life cannot reverse. All I can do is walk towards a better future from now on.” 

 

 

 

It's not easy to get back for education in Kenya...

 

In order to bring these girls back for education, these girls need school fees, uniforms, learning materials, sanitary pads and so on. These are not so easily acquired without proper support.

 

[The importance of sanitary pads] 

Girls have to buy sanitary pads every month for more than 30 years. However, there are some girls who don’t have enough money and they stay at home during their monthly cycle, which results in absence from school for a quarter of the year. Furthermore, there are some other poor girls who use thick clothes which do not work.

 

[The importance of school uniform]

In Kenya, students are supposed to wear school uniforms in most schools according to British style education. Also, they are not allowed to attend classes if they don’t wear a school uniform. 

 

 

 

 

The great possibilities of girls. What it is like to get an education. 

 

What I realized through experiences of several months in Kenya is how important education is for the life of a human being.

Education brings a lot to a person. If you can’t afford education at school, you would not have enough knowledge and experience to lead people in a family or local community. Also, you cannot even compete with others to get a job. Those things can lower social position and rights of people, which breeds poverty. There is such a vicious spiral.

 

If one person from a poor family could complete her/his studies, s/he is a hope to cut the chain of poverty. And if that person is a girl, another possibility comes up which is education at home while she spends a lot of time with children as a mother.

 

The more Kenyan girls are able to receive an education, the more powerful they are in playing an active role in society. Also, it leads to improvement of social position and rights of Kenyan women, and even to a steady global decrease in poverty rate.

 

Although this project's aim to take back 10 girls to school, there are possibilities for change not only in these girls’ lives but also this world. 

Please help me with the first step for change.

 

 

 

 

◇◆◇How donations will be used◇◆◇
I will use 600,000yen (=$6000) of donation for school fees, school uniform, learning materials, sanitary pads, return gifts, commission for READY FOR? and so on.

 

◇◆◇Introduction of return gifts◆◇◆
▶︎Message from a girl (with a photo)
This is a message from the girl who gets back to school because of you. 

 

▶︎Kenyan bead racelet 

This is a bead bracelet made only in Kenya. I have never seen it outside Kenya. 

 

▶︎Kenyan tea

Despite the fact Kenyan coffee is famous all over the world, Kenyan people take tea rather than coffee. You will be able to experience a real Kenyan taste.

 

▶︎Kenyan traditional dress 

This dress is made from a traditional one piece cloth called Kanga.

There are various types of colors, design and styles, so you can choose!

 

↓How to support on PC

https://readyfor.jp/projects/girl-to-girl_inkenya/announcements/43794

 

↓How to support on mobile phone

http://readyfor.jp/projects/girl-to-girl_inkenya/announcements/43807