Educating Kenya, one girl at a time

Kakenya Nteiya, 32, is globally recognised as a champion for the education of girls. With so many accolades under her belt, the US-based activist runs a girls' school in Enoosian, the village in which she grew, writes JOAN BARSULAI

Kakenya’s achievements have been the subject of a Washington Post series, a BBC documentary and many magazine articles. She has won several awards, including The Kenya Monitor:

Kenyan Diaspora Person of the Year (2009), News Week: 150 Women Who Shake the World (2011), Women Deliver: 100 Individuals Who Deliver for Girls and Women (2011), National Geographic Emerging Explorer Award 2010, One World Net: One of the People of the Year for 2009, Vital Voice Global Leadership Award (April 2008), National Organisation for Women: Woman of Courage Award (July 2005).

Last month, Kakenya received the Diller-von Von Furstenberg Award (2011), awarded by world-renowned fashion designer, Diane von Furstenberg. She won it alongside the likes of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The award was aimed at empowering women to stand up for themselves and their families and claim their voices and votes.

And yet Kakenya’s childhood is one that is representative of millions of unfortunate and underprivileged Maasai girls in a society that has long considered a woman’s education to be an unnecessary investment.

Despite the circumstances, Kakenya has emerged as one of the outstanding and successful women.

Her journey to the top has, however, not always been smooth sailing. Born in Enoosian village, Kakenya was engaged by the age of five, to a boy whose parents were even poorer than her own, and by the time she became a teenager, she would undergo circumcision in readiness for marriage.

She clearly had the odds stacked high against her, yet this phenomenal, resilient girl had a different game plan altogether.

Thirst for better life

She says: "I always knew that I wanted a better life and that I was capable of achieving great things. My mother had not completed her education and I saw how much she suffered toiling on other people’s farms for our family’s survival."

She discovered early on just how empowering education was, and this further fuelled her passion to be different and to choose an unbeaten path for her future.

She did what many would have considered unthinkable: She negotiated with her father to undergo circumcision after completing her high school studies.

When she completed her ‘A’ levels, she further negotiated with the village elders to let het leave her village to attend college in United States, with the promise of coming back to help build a school and maternity hospital, and it worked. She managed to get a scholarship and the village women raised money for her airfare and sent her away, glad that she was escaping.

Ashes to glory

From the moment she arrived in the US, Kakenya’s life took a complete turn for the better. She went from a girl who grew up in abject poverty in a village without electricity to a student who wrote papers on international relations and political science from the computers at the university library. She is undertaking a PhD at the University of Pittsburgh, and is active in assisting other women.

Kakenya’s story has greatly inspired other Maasai women to ensure their girls stay in school. Throughout her stay in the US, Kakenya has been engaged in efforts to promote awareness of the issues affecting girls in her community. Since 2006, she has been building a girls’ school in Enoosian, so that other young girls might travel the same path she did — to education, self-realisation and leadership.

She says: "I grew up in an environment that did not encourage girls to pursue their dreams. At school, boys were given more privileges than girls, including being able to have evening preps while girls did house chores.

"Because of the many opportunities I have received in my life, I wanted to create a place of learning where girls could learn and grow into smart, empowered women and fulfill their dreams, just as I have had the opportunity to do," Kakenya adds.

Targets vulnerable girls

Asked how she has managed to convince parents to let their daughters attend school in a community where girl-child education is a daunting task, Kakenya is quick to point out that most parents only want the best for their children.

She targets vulnerable girls from single-parent homes, as well as orphaned children. To date, she has raised over $75,000 (Sh6 million) towards this project, and so far the academy has enrolled 95 girls from Class Four to Class Six.

Kakenya’s goal is to have 270 students enrolled from Class One to Class Eight. She says education has had such a profound effect on these girls, and just a few months after being in school, they take charge, make decisions, speak up, and gain confidence.

Knowing how limited the chances of making it to university are, Kakenya vows: "When the top 100 names from the exams are published in the newspaper, I’m going to make sure my girls are on that list, because people from my community hardly ever get a mention on the list."

Besides being involved in the private girls’ school, Kakenya is also the first youth advisor to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and travels around the world speaking on the importance of educating girls, particularly as a means to fighting the practices of female genital mutilation and child marriage. Kakenya strongly urges the Government to do more to support education.

A worthwhile investment

She says schools in her community are underfunded, crowded, and lack access to equipment and facilities.

She explains that schools and teachers are reluctant to use the few resources they have on girls, and working to change these attitudes will go a long way in helping these families and communities see education for girls as a worthwhile investment.

The now expectant Kakenya is happily married to Michael Mugo, a Kenyan she met in the US, and they have a three-year-old son, Nathan. She considers this to be one of her great achievements, alongside the fact that her seven younger siblings have all managed to be schooled, with some making it to the university.

trapped in traditions

For girls who are trapped in traditions, Kakenya urges them not to give up hope.

"My message to these girls is to pursue whatever means they can to continue their education. For me, education was the path to my empowerment and freedom."

Despite the looming statistics that indicate that thousands of young girls are expected to be married off in the next decade, Kakenya is not giving up hope.

She says: "I see a brighter future for them. I see smiling faces, full of energy, and ready to change the world for better.

 I see them empowered and with proper education, I see them as senior executives in big companies, owning their own businesses, heading government ministries and championing rights for humanity."