students currently enrolled at KCE I
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students currently enrolled at KCE II
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Lack of educational opportunity is a serious issue in rural Kenya. In the communities we serve, less than 25% of girls graduate high school
The Kakenya Centers for Excellence
Our Centers for Excellence (KCE I and II) are full-support boarding schools that provide high-quality education to vulnerable girls in rural Kenya.
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Kakenya with the village elders
Our KCE campuses are located in the remote Maasai villages of Enoosaen and Isampin, almost 250 miles west of Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi.
Built on land donated by the village elders, our campuses are beacons of hope in the community. The first classroom building on our KCE I campus in Enoosaen opened in 2009.
From 2010-2017, that first campus expanded to meet the needs of its growing student population, offering art and science facilities, safe dormitories, teacher housing, a multi-purpose hall, and a library. In 2017, we broke ground on our second campus in Isampin, KCE II. Indigenous trees and vegetable gardens bring life to the grounds, while still leaving plenty of room for students to play sports and learn outdoors.
Academics
Our students receive high-quality instruction in five core areas: languages, math, science, technical skills, and humanities. In addition to the core academic curriculum, we also provide peer mentorship opportunities and leadership and life-skills training to help them become confident young women and agents of change in their communities.
Extracurriculars
Our students participate in a wide variety of activities outside the classroom, including sports, debate, choir, volunteer projects to give back to the community, and much more.
Cultural Connection
We believe keeping our girls connected to their Maasai heritage is important to ensure that the indigenous culture is preserved for generations to come, so we’ve woven it into our curriculum. Our students learn traditional Maasai beadwork, farming techniques, music, and dance!
Community
We know that engaged guardians and a supportive community are critical to a student’s success, so we’ve created a variety of opportunities to ensure that they are deeply involved in the day-to-day operation of our schools and the education of our girls.
Empowerment
Through specially designed workshops created by gender equality experts, we teach our girls vital life and leadership skills, their legal rights, and how to effectively advocate for themselves and their peers in difficult situations.
Healthcare
From nutritious daily meals to multivitamins, medical check-ups, and counseling, it’s our priority to nurture the minds and take care of the bodies and hearts of our students.
The Network for Excellence
We support girls through every step of their educational journey.
We created our Network for Excellence program to support our KCE alumnae as they make the critical transitions to high school, college, and early adulthood, a time when most girls in our community experience increasing pressure to get married and are often forced to drop out.
Through the Network for Excellence, we provide college and career guidance, scholarships and financial aid, tutoring, professional skills development, and social support so that our girls are set up for success in adulthood.
Our goal: to get them to their first-choice destination, whether that’s a university education, trade school, or job, and to ensure career readiness and financial literacy so that they can achieve economic empowerment. Upon completion of high school, our university-bound alumnae enter a nine-month gap year course that includes internships, other professional development opportunities, and academic skills enhancement to ensure they’re ready for the demands of a college education. For those who want to start a career directly after high school, we assist them with internship and job placement, entrepreneurship and other skills trainings, and building their professional networks.
The Network for Excellence has proudly supported
alumnae at high schools across Kenya and colleges/universities around the world
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We are excited to report that among girls and young women in the Network for Excellence
transition from high school to higher education
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%
Together,
we can Transform
the future
Most of our girls are the first in their family to complete school, paving the way for their younger sisters and generations of Kenyan girls to come.
