By Amy Maglio | Founder and Executive Director
Many of you have heard that East Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years, with the U.N. estimating that more than 10 million people are threatened by starvation. While news headlines have focused on Somalia, which has borne the brunt of the drought, Kenya, too, is now on the brink of famine, with 2.4 million Kenyans at risk, especially in rural areas.
During times of drought, famine and financial hardship, many rural families take their children--especially their daughters--out of school to work and help provide for the family. A recent article from Reuters highlighted how some desperate rural Kenyan families sold their daughters as child brides in exchange for money to feed the other children at home.
The drought is affecting the rural area of Tharaka where WGEP Kenya is based. Our program is doing everything we can to support our scholars' families during this difficult time and to ensure that our scholars stay in school. If it were not for their WGEP scholarships, many of our girls would most certainly have dropped out of school by now. We thank you for your continued support of WGEP Kenya--we are making a real difference.
Our scholars and their families find themselves at the fringes of their societies, and most vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters. All of us at WGEP wish to thank you for your support of our mission and for helping us affect lives.
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