Educate girls and fight poverty in Kenya

Women’s Global Education Project (WGEP) is strengthening its work in Kenya through a new partnership with the Strong Maasai Ladies Association (SMALA), a grassroots women-led organization based in Kajiado County. This collaboration directly supports the core goals of our GlobalGiving project: ensuring girls stay in school, reducing poverty, and protecting vulnerable children from harmful practices that undermine their education and futures.

In many Maasai communities, poverty, early marriage, and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) remain major barriers preventing girls from continuing their education. Women also face limited economic opportunities and high rates of gender-based violence, which further entrench poverty at the household level. SMALA was founded by local Maasai women who intimately understand these challenges and work daily to address them through education support, safe shelter, mentorship, and economic empowerment.

Since SMALA first launched, the organization has already begun to help strengthen school retention for girls at risk of FGM and early marriage, expanded outreach to families and elders, and provided skills-building opportunities for young mothers. Their community-based approach is essential in regions where cultural norms and economic hardship intersect, limiting girls’ chances of completing school.

Through this partnership, we are reaching deeper into remote communities where girls experience persistent obstacles to education. Our combined efforts are improving school access, enhancing women’s economic resilience, and reducing the systemic barriers that keep families in poverty. When girls remain in school, they gain the tools to break cycles of poverty not only for themselves, but for their entire communities.

Links:

• http://womensglobal.org
• https://www.youtube.com/@marysupeetshow/