Kenya (MNN) — 70 kilometers from Nairobi, Kenya's capitol, is Ewuaso
Najile School for girls. The girls in this Maasai community face many challenges in their lives. This secondary boarding school, which houses 267 girls, gives them hope.
Without school, they face poverty and are denied basic human
rights. In trying to preserve their culture, a woman is denied the right to an education, to control her body, to express an opinion, and also the right to choose when and to whom she will
marry. Only 48% of Maasai girls go to school, and within that 48%, only about 10% reach secondary school. With a good education and sponsorship through
Compassion International, these girls can reach their goals.
When the women are being educated, they learn their rights and it gives them the confidence and independence they need to follow their dreams. These girls decide what their future will be. One of the Maasai girls said, "I want to shape my future so that I can be a help to myself and others. I want to be a doctor."
With education that the school for girls is providing, the girls will have a chance to choose who they will marry, and their children will be better educated than the previous generation. With education comes economic security. Joyce, an older sponsored child
who has been helping at the school, has learned to be independent. "I want to have fewer children so that I can educate all of them with ease. My mother
sold the last of her cows to educate me."
After a woman is educated, she can provide for her family. Being able to educate and provide for her family will help with the shockingly high poverty level in the rural
communities of Kenya. A woman will spend about 90% of her income on her children, whereas the men only spend about 35% of their income on their children.
Pray that the girls of the Maasai community will see the importance of education. Pray that the Gospel will reach the girls, which can impact their whole family. Also keep in mind the girls that are in school now. Pray that they will impact their community and offer solutions to the problems facing their community now.
