Maasai Girls, Kenya

Every tourist who thinks about Kenya, thinks about the Maasai, one of the many tribes in Kenya. With their beautiful colorful clothing, proud character and extraordinary culture, they have become the image of Kenya. The (lesser known) side of the Maasai culture is the very poor position of young girls and women. Circumcision and arranged marriage at a very young age is still common, as well as polygamy. Immediately after marriage, they are forced to quit school. Many of them will never get beyond a life of having many children, and working very hard within the husband’s family.
Some girls manage to escape this oppression by running away from home, sometimes with the help of teachers. Local organizations, like AMLI (Olakira Le Maa Trust) in Kajiado and Tepesua in Maji Moto, provide shelter, counseling and education. For girls that have the greatest chance of success at school, they seek sponsors for placement at a high school (boarding school, after all, they cannot go back home to risk an arranged marriage) or university.

More information about the backgrounds of the position of Maasai women:

• Article by Ezekiel Ole Katato, chairman Olakira Le Maa Trust
• A call from Faith, one of our students, for better chances for girls to have a better life: “DO MY LIFE WORTH A COW”

We are currently sponsoring 8 Maasai girls: Caroline, Grace, Faith, Agnes, Esther Naini, Teckler, Purity and Jecinta.

Purity (1993) refused the marriage arranged by her father after primary school and joined high school with the help of her primary school teacher. Although her teachers helped her to raise money, lack of school fees was a big problem during her school career. Despite these difficulties, she finally managed to finish high school with very good grades and then joined a teachers training college.
It was Purity’s dream to continue her studies in university. She wishes to teach other Maasai girls and show them that, despite the difficulties they face in their education, they can still achieve their dreams.

Thanks to the support of StandUp4Talent she was able to start at Kenyatta University Nairobi, Bachelor of Education, Early Childhood Studies in September 2016. She worked very hard, but had to interrupt her studies from time to time. Because of beautiful events like the birth of her son Lorenzo. But also because of teacher strikes and the lockdowns due to the corona pandemic. During her internship in 2022, she will teach in selected schools, both in the rural and urban areas. Purity hopes to graduate in 2022.

Click here if you want to read about our visit to Purity in February 2017.

Teckler (1999) has been provided shelter at a rescue center in Kajiado for 2 years, after she ran away from home to avoid an arranged marriage. Thanks to the care in the rescue center she was able to complete her final exam in primary school.
With support of SU4T she started at MITABONI ABC GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL in February 2016 and in December 2019 she passed her final exams with very good results.

Teckler was very motivated to continue her studies and with our help, she was able to start her study  Bachelor of Commerce at the Jomo Kenya University of Agriculture and Technology {JKUAT} in Nairobi in January 2020.

After her education, she hopes to stimulate and support other Maasai girls in their development. And to inform their parents about the importance of education for their daughters.

Click here if you want to read about our visit to Teckler in February 2017.
Click here if you want to read about our visit to Teckler in May 2018.

Jecinta (2002) was admitted in 2018 to Moi Girls High School, a school known as one of the best in Kenya, thanks to her high final primary school scores. At the request of the village elders of her manyata (village), StandUp4Talent sponsored her education.

She was always one of the best students in her class and in 2022 she completed her final exams with excellent grades. For a long time, it was her dream to become a doctor. But she nevertheless decided to study law to be able to offer legal support to her Maasai community in the future for the many problems they face.

In October 2022, she started her bachelor study at the Faculty of Law of the University of Nairobi.
We wish to continue supporting this talented young lady to fulfil her ambitions.

Click here if you want to read about our visit to Jecinta in May 2018.