Empower and Educate WISER girls in rural Kenya

As 2021 draws to a close, we at WISER have much to celebrate, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the lives of WISER students and their communities. This year, WISER welcomed all of its students back to campus with rigorous health and safety protocols. We received our largest single donation in our history, with plans to welcome 7th and 8th grade students to our campus after the largest expansion in our history, in 2024. And our students, though their learning was accelerated after a disrupted pandemic year, have continued to excel–with our 2020 graduating class being one of the most successful and resilient groups of students yet.

This outcome was not inevitable. At the end of 2020, it was unclear when students would return to campus, what campus life would look like when they did. Many schools throughout Western Kenya did not have the financial or staffing resources to continue their students’ education during pandemic lockdowns–a reality that most negatively impacted women and girls. For the average female secondary school student in Kenya, the pandemic meant an almost immediate end to their education and opportunities for the future. But WISER’s story--and WISER girls' stories--were different.

From our food and smartphone distribution efforts to our regular wellness checks, WISER’s pandemic story in 2020 was about quick thinking, using our resources wisely, and prioritizing our students. And in 2021, when we finally welcomed our students back to campus, our story was about all this and much more.

WISER’s story has always been, at its heart, a story about our students fearlessly rising to meet the challenges they face. It’s a story that would not have ended in students completing a successful accelerated covid-safe school year right now were it not for students’ indomitable spirits and incredible determination.

We have something else to celebrate at the end of this year. After nearly two years' seperation, our cofounder, Dr. Sherryl Broverman, made a covid-safe visit to campus this holiday season. Dr. Sherryl (as WISER students call her) shared this message with the students ahead of the end of their school term:

“You can become an amazing person that someone is going to look up to someday and say, ‘Oh, I want to be like her. Look how much good she has done for the world. Look at all the love people have for her. You’re part of this chain of people who are making big steps in the world and making big change.”

At the end of a tumultuous and uncertain year, Dr. Sherryl looked out at the sea of students’ faces in front of her: students who come from down the road in Muhuru Bay and from towns far away; students whose lives changed the moment they came to WISER; students who will create a better world for each of us. These students have proven, time and time again, that when girls have access to what they need, they not only survive–they thrive. They not only make it back to campus even amid a pandemic–they make it back to campus ready to take on the most challenging year of learning they've ever experienced. They make it back to campus ready to beat the odds--again and again, every single day.

You can support these students in 2022 and beyond by making a tax-deductible, year-end gift today.

If you were standing at the gates of WISER just a few weeks ago, you may have spotted several students leaving campus with brand-new suitcases. Dressed in graduation robes, surrounded by just a few family members, all sporting face masks, you may have guessed that they were carrying home a few last textbooks or uniforms.

You may not have realized that those suitcases are empty. And the fact that a WISER girl is carrying one is proof-positive that, provided the resources they need, girls can accomplish what might seem impossible. 

WISER’s 2020 Graduating Class had the beginning of their final school year in 2020 cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. They participated in distance-learning, completing assignments on their phones and communicating with teachers via WhatsApp, while also caring for family members and coping with the economic and psychosocial implications of COVID-19 lockdowns in rural Kenya. They came back to campus and took their final exams with brand-new physical distancing, masking, hand-washing, and student interaction policies in place, with the ever-present possibility of renewed COVID-19 lockdown.

And their scores were some of the best in WISER’s history.

In a year of almost unimaginable upheaval, 100% of WISER students not only passed their exams: every single student in the Class of 2020 has been accepted into a tertiary education program. WISER students were more than twice as likely to be accepted to university than any other student in Kenya. They continued to excel in STEM subjects, including the brand-new subject of Computer Science. They are going on to study engineering, agriculture, social work, mathematics, communications, hairdressing, and more. 

So why the suitcases? 

WISER has a graduation tradition of giving luggage to high-scoring students so that they can pack for college. Before WISER existed, the chance of a girl graduating secondary school and going on to college or university was slim to none. This year, student after student left campus with suitcases in toe.

The suitcases were empty, but they won't be for long. And you may not have been able to see through their face masks, but these WISER girls are smiling. These girls represent something WISER has known for a long time. Given the resources that they need, students can succeed. WISER girls have overcome gender-based violence, material poverty, and, now, a global pandemic, and have gone on to pursue their dreams. This is possible because of their immeasurable resilience and courage, and because they have partners like you.

When you give to WISER, you are providing the key to unlocking students’ potential. You are providing the resources that WISER students need: from textbooks to teachers, menstrual hygiene products to face masks, nutritious meals to comfortable (socially-distanced) dormitories.

Just two weeks ago, Migori County officials who inspected WISER and surrounding schools shared that WISER was the best example they had seen of effective COVID-19 prevention, and that it will serve as a model for schools going forward. It simply would not be possible to have implemented our COVID-19 strategy without the funds we raise on GlobalGiving because of supporters like you. The Class of 2020 could safely return to school thanks to your generosity. And when they did, they excelled. With their needs met, WISER students can do anything they set their minds to. Even the (almost) impossible.