Kenya is a country of significant ethnic and geographic diversity. Home to 41 million people, the population consists of more than 40 tribes and numerous ethnic groups. The population of Kenya is remarkably young, with 75% of the population under the age of 30. Kenya’s population has tripled over the last 30 years, a trend that will continue given the high fertility rate (4.49 children per woman).
Despite large gains in the health sector, Kenya still has much to overcome: life expectancy has declined since 1990 and is currently at 55 years; infant mortality rate is 44 deaths per 1,000; and preventable diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, pneumonia, diarrhea and malnutrition are said to claim a child every four minutes. Female genital mutilation was outlawed in 2011, though continues to factor into the high rate of maternal mortality during childbirth.
Primary education was made free for all children in 2003, which led to an enrollment increases of about 70%. However, many children are still unable to attend school due to a lack of transport/access and other related economic factors, such as the cost of school necessities (books and school uniforms.) About 15% of Kenya’s population is still illiterate at a ratio of 2:1 women to men.
Gallery Highlights:
Current Projects
Program Support for Rural Kenyan Schools
A Boy Scout at one of the kilgoris project’s schools
n the Kilgoris area, 60% of students at local government schools fail to qualify for high school. The reasons for this are many. Some have to do with the schools themselves—overcrowding, too few teachers, not enough resources, and focus on rote, book-only learning. But others can be attributed to the home environment—many absences due to illness, menstruation, hunger, trauma, or abuse.
Our grantee partners at The Kilgoris Project have been transforming the region one quality classroom at a time. Their local staff includes a growing team of highly qualified teachers, and a dedicated support staff to keep everything running smoothly.
In addition to high quality education, Kilgoris schools provide students with two healthy meals per day, regular health check ups and vaccinations, menstrual health education & support for adolescent girls, and a variety of extracurricular activities to enrich students’ school experiences. The results speak for themselves, as TKP students have begun to graduate and matriculate to high school with high test scores and bright futures. PaperSeed is proud to be partnering with The Kilgoris Project in 2020 to help foster students’ academic and cultural enrichment, including high school entry exam preparation and testing, orphaned and at-risk student care, student medicines, abused/traumatized student services, and menstruation support.
Girls share what they really want at the 2018 summit
2019 EAST AFRICAN GIRLS' LEADERSHIP SUMMIT & Social Action Mini-Grants
Following the growing success of the East African Girls Leadership Summit (EAGLS), we are continuing our work with The Creative Action Institute to bring a new cohort of low-income, high-potential girls from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda together for a week of leadership training.
EAGLS continues to evolve to meet both the increased demand and emerging needs of the people it serves. EAGLS is for girls, about girls, and driven by girls to develop their critical leadership skills and enable them to be active change-makers in their schools, communities, and beyond. The accompanying Mentor Program, which will serve 30 women from August of 2019 to 2020, builds a diverse network of young women leaders who advocate for girls’ and women’s rights and coordinate across borders to advance gender equality.
EAGLS participants take the skills they have learned back to their communities and take part in creative social actions, which are aided by mini-grants furnished by PaperSeed, thereby deepening the impact of the summit.
300 Sega School students march for their rights in tanzania
Completed Projects:
The valley community of Oloowang is home to two of The Kilgoris Project’s ten schools: Oloowang Preschool (opened in 2006) and Oloowang Primary School (opened in 2017). Five teachers shepherd students ranging from two-year-olds to second graders. For more than a decade, the preschool prepared students for success in primary school while providing two daily meals, clean water, and medical care.