Help an Orphan in Kenya become an Empowered Woman

The statistics are stark. For the poorest families in Kenya less than 1% of girls go on to receive a higher education. Even in the second highest wealth class only 5% of girls get a higher education. It is only in the wealthiest of families that 25% of girls go on to achieve education beyond high school. (Source: DHS 2008)

While I can't help every woman in Kenya become independent and empowered, I feel a special need to help Catherine Ongili. I have known Catherine Ongili's family for over ten years. I conduct malaria research in Kenya. Her uncle, who worked with me, is a very good friend of mine. After both of Catherine's parents died, he took her and her siblings in as his own child. Her uncle has struggled to put all of them through secondary school. In Kenya, where women are often treated as property, this is truly an achievement.

I first met her when staying at their home for Christmas in 2004. A humble mud home with a thatch roof. She immediately wanted to talk about school and her plans to go to college. She was bright, you could just see it in her eyes, and determined. I knew she could make it.

She has worked very hard and has placed into a civil engineering program. Her uncle has already raised half of the 3 year program fees of $2500. He asked if I could assist with the remaining $1250. Unfortunately, I don't have the funds readily available so I am calling for help from others to give, just a little, what you might spend on coffee for a week. It will help at least one more woman achieve independence in Kenya and maybe, just maybe, help turn the cultural tide just a wee bit towards equal rights.