Today is International Day of the African Child (IDAC)! Celebrated around the world, IDAC honors African children’s dignity and rights while focusing on access to high-quality education. IDAC commemorates the children in Soweto, South Africa who marched for access to quality education in 1976.
We spent this past week reflecting on the meaning of today and how it aligns with our mission here at Kakenya’s Dream. At the core of IDAC is the goal to ensure that all African children have the ability to reach their true potential. We work toward this goal everyday at Kakenya’s Dream by providing our girls in rural Kenya with the resources and basic building blocks of success; things like safety, education, and empowerment.
Though 43 years have passed since the protests in Soweto, there is still much work to be done to ensure that all African children have access to quality education. In our community alone, only 17% of girls finish primary school, and less than 2% of girls are able to enroll in university. At Kakenya’s Dream, we know the power of education to transform lives and communities, and we’ve designed programs that work by providing the holistic support necessary for girls to thrive. 100% of our girls have transitioned from primary to secondary school and our entire pioneer class headed to university last fall.
In 1976, a group of children went on to change the world forever. Like the Soweto protesters, we believe that every child can become a powerful agent of change when given the right support and resources. So our model at Kakenya’s Dream emphasizes empowering and supporting our girls holistically to ensure that they are equipped to make informed decisions about their futures and become a generation of women ready to take on the world.
Today also marks the conclusion of our Day of the African Child fundraiser for our students. We are incredibly grateful for your generosity over the past week. Because of you, we raised enough this week to fully support seven girls for an entire year! As you reflect on International Day of the African Child and what it stands for, we hope you will continue to help us educate, protect, and empower girls in underserved communities across Kenya today, and every day.
If you did not get the opportunity to contribute to our fundraiser but would still like to make a donation, you may do so here.
