Meet Ann, a 20-year-old girl from a polygamous Maasai family in Narok, Kenya. She had a dream of pursuing a high school education, but the financial constraints of her family made it impossible for her to realize her dream. Fortunately, the Kenya Education Fund (KEF) came to her rescue and granted her a full scholarship to attend high school. The impact of the KEF scholarship on Ann's life and the community at large has been tremendous.
Ann had no other option but to wait for another year and repeat class 8 to see if she could get help to join high school before KEF came to her rescue. She heard about KEF from someone else's testimony who had received help from the organization. When she received the scholarship, Ann felt happy and saw an opportunity to fulfill her dreams.
The KEF scholarship not only had a positive impact on Ann's life but also on her family. The scholarship relieved the financial burden that Ann's parents had to bear to pay fees for their other children. Ann's participation in various KEF programs, including workshops and team-building activities, was a highlight of her high school experience and broadened her mindset. She particularly enjoyed the games and the lessons on leadership.
Being a leader in school and having to balance her academics was a bit challenging for Ann. However, she persevered and worked hard to achieve her goals. Ann's hobby is reading novels, which she does whenever she gets free time.
Ann pursued higher education and joined Kenyatta University, where she is currently studying Agricultural Education. Her aspirations are to be the solution to her family's problems and to join KEF in the future to educate more girls from her community.
Ann has given back to her community by participating in communal activities to show her leadership impact and help improve agricultural practices. She advises new KEF scholars to keep the goals of the organization in mind and strive to pay back with good grades.
The impact of the KEF scholarship on Ann's life and the community at large cannot be overstated. Girls from this community face numerous challenges, including early marriage, FGM, drought, cultural barriers and poverty, which make access to education a significant challenge.
KEF's support in educating girls from this community is not only changing individual lives but also transforming the entire community. Ann is forever grateful to her partner and the KEF fraternity for the support they provided to her, and she wishes to meet her donor in person one day. Blessings to KEF!
