The Plan
Our Vision
A world where every girl and young woman is educated, valued, respected, and realizes her full potential.
Our Origin Story
Kakenya's Dream CEO and President, Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya, is a world-renowned educator and activist for girls' rights who has channeled her own life experiences into creating lasting change both in her indigenous Maasai community in Kenya and across rural Africa.
In the Maasai tradition, women’s only accepted roles in society are as wives and mothers. The majority of girls in her community are forced to undergo
female genital mutilation (FGM),
a harmful practice considered to be a rite of passage that prepares girls for marriage and marks an end to their education and dreams for their future.
This was supposed to be Kakenya’s path, but she dreamed of a different life. After surviving FGM, escaping child marriage
and negotiating with her father and village elders to stay in school, she became the first woman from her village to attend university in the United States. Kakenya went on to receive a PhD in education and returned home, determined to provide a pathway to education and empowerment for every girl in her community and beyond.
And so, Kakenya's Dream was born.
Our Community
Our programs operate in Kenya’s most marginalized and underserved areas. The basic rights of girls and young women in particular are denied on a significant scale. This is due to discriminatory social norms, harmful practices like child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM), and denial of education and economic opportunities.
66% of girls undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) at puberty, 50% are subjected to child marriage, and 76% do not finish high school. These issues are interconnected and frequently trap girls in a lifelong cycle of poverty, keeping them from reaching their full potential.
Our Approach
Kakenya’s Dream began as a school for 30 underserved girls, but we learned that placing a girl in a classroom is not enough to truly transform her future. To thrive, she must also be healthy, safe, and equipped with the skills and opportunities to build a secure livelihood.
Today, Kakenya’s Dream delivers a continuum of holistic support to girls from childhood to adulthood, integrating education with healthcare, mentorship, skills training, economic empowerment, and climate resilience initiatives.
At the same time, we partner with entire communities to dismantle the harmful norms, beliefs, and practices that limit girls on a systemic level, ensuring our impact reaches far beyond those enrolled in our programs. By advancing lasting systemic change, we open pathways for whole communities to prosper—today and for generations to come. Kakenya's Dream has evolved into a global team building a replicable and scalable model for gender equality and sustainable development for communities across rural Africa.
Our Programs
From quality education to healthcare and community support, our wraparound programs provide each girl with a comprehensive support system and skills for the future. Developed and led by our community, our programs nurture and support the whole girl and all of her unique needs from childhood to adulthood, because we believe a healthy, educated, and well-supported girl has the ability to transform her family, community, and the world at large.
Our History
2008
Founding Year
Kakenya's Dream was founded in 2008.
2009
Kakenya Center for Excellence (KCE I)
Our first school opened its doors to our pioneer students, a class of 30 fourth graders.
2011
Health and Leadership Training
Kakenya's Dream launched our Health and Leadership Training program.
2014
Scholarship Program
Kakenya's Dream launched a scholarship program for our first class of KCE I graduates to support them as they enrolled in high schools throughout Kenya.
2017
Pioneer Class Graduates High School
Our pioneer class from KCE I graduated from high school and enrolled in collegiate institutions in Kenya and around the globe.
2018
Kakenya Center for Excellence (KCE II)
Our second school opened doors to its first students, a class of 18 ninth graders.
2020
Wells Installed
With the support of Lynda and Stewart Resnick of the Wonderful Company, we installed wells at each of our boarding school campuses, providing clean water to over 1,200 students and community members.
2020
Angaza Project
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kakenya's Dream organized the Angaza Project, distributing over 3,000 care packages to our girls and their families which contained food staples, hygiene products, and distance learning materials. Michelle Obama and Melinda Gates called this effort "innovative."
2020
Linda Dada Program
We launched our Linda Dada program ("protect a sister" in Swahili) in response to the alarming increase in unplanned teen pregnancy across Kenya while girls were out of school due to COVID-19.
2021
Pioneer Class Graduates University
Our pioneer class at KCE I, who began their education with us as fourth graders in 2009, graduated from university!
2024
Kakenya Health and Wellness Center
We opened our community's first and only youth-friendly health clinic, providing robust healthcare services to our boarding school students and the surrounding community.
2025
1,000th Student Enrolled
Kakenya's Dream celebrated the enrollment of our 1,000th student to date.
2025
2025-2029 Strategic Plan
Kakenya's Dream launched our new five-year strategic plan, deepening our commitment to our flagship education and health programs while expanding economic empowerment and climate resilience work to address emerging challenges and needs.
Our Investors
We could not continue the life-changing work we do without our incredible funders and partners. Thank you for your support.
