Educating Girls & Young Women

In 2004 and in 2006 President George Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush convened a World Literacy Symposium at the opening of the United Nations annual session. The purpose of this symposium was to heighten the awareness of the problem of illiteracy around the world. More than 700 million adults cannot read or write, the majority of which are women and girls. They are also the most vulnerable to exploitation, especially the preteen and teenage girls. Lacking an education, they often turn to prostitution or sold into slavery by their families. Girls who are educated have a better life.  The table banking program helps equip women not only with an education, but training and an opportunity to start their own business and become finally independent. When a person learns to read and write, a whole new world opens for them.

Eight vulnerable girls are currently benefiting from this program—from Meru Primary School, DEB Primary School, Irinda Primary School, and Kiraria Primary School.

Even with the introduction of free primary education by the Kenyan government in 2003, not all children attend school. Though figures may vary according to available data, conservative estimates indicate that only 30% of young people achieve the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), and of this number only half go on to complete the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). Only half again of those students with the KCSE are admitted to University – around 7% of all young people.

While education is supposed to play a greater role in bridging the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor, the education system in Kenya is seemingly doing just the opposite.

According to former Kenya Ministry of Education Secretary Professor James Ole Kiyapi, we are creating a system of ‘“social apartheid,” which only the rich can access. “Our education system is fundamentally flawed,” he warns.”We are condemning our children…”’

To most parents, the biggest challenge remains the tuition cost. It is for this reason that Solidarity House is partnering with Karibuni Onlus, a not-for-profit organization based in Italy, to provide scholarships to particularly needy girls. The program provides scholarships to high achieving students in both primary (to enable them to join secondary school) and secondary schools (to enable them attend university).