Let's do this again!!! #girlpower

 Several years ago I came upon a Instagram post that had a profound impact on me. 
I was made aware of the 

Kenya Drylands Education Fund 

(formerly The KERA Project) that was co-founded by Sarah Hadden, in Vermont, to help girls that live in extreme poverty in northern Kenya who do not have access to the most basic of sanitary products. 
KDEF provides menstrual hygiene kits to girls which contain 4 reusable menstruation pads, underwear (since many of the girls do not own underwear) and detergent - a kit will last each girl a year or more.  

Many girls are deprived of an education because of the lack of this basic necessity since going to school without any form of menstruation protection subjects them to the shame of staining their clothes.  Very often menstruation caused girls to miss school, drop out altogether and then to be married off at a young age.
Being one of millions who enjoy the the bountiful excesses of a lovely life in a free country, until I read about this fund it never even dawned on me that this is a need for these girls.  For a mere $25 your kindness will be giving the gift of personal hygiene to an impoverished girl for one year. 

Please... stop, think and take in the entirety of this situation for one single moment.  

can. you. even. imagine???????????????

To donate one Menstrual Hygiene Kit, or more!

Please click
HERE

When I first shared this with you you were all AMAZINGLY GENEROUS.  We raised enough funds to donate 250 kits!!!  I am hoping that this year we can beat that total!! 

Kenya Dryland Education Fund is a wonderful non-profit that has expanded to supporting High School Scholarships (If you'll recall, back in December I asked you to donate to a full 4-year secondary school scholarship for a deserving young girl, Catherine.  Myself and 49 readers donated a full 4-year scholarship for Catherine!), Mentoring Programs, and water and class rooms for their students and surrounding communities.  I hope you will take a look at their website to see all the amazing, important work they do.

From the KDEF website:

"KDEF is committed to supporting menstrual hygiene programs in schools by donating menstrual hygiene kits and providing training to school-going girls. Through the program, KDEF also offers instructional training on use and care for the hygiene kits.In this poverty-stricken part of the world, girls have limited access to sanitary products. Having protection during their monthly menstrual cycles is essential if females are to stay in school. With these kits, girls can attend school without interruption — no longer missing one week of classroom instruction every month. Girls can have a chance to achieve their full potential, getting the education they need to obtain jobs that contribute to the economic stability of their families and communities. 
The Deputy Headmistress of Korr Primary School reported that prior to 2014, 50% of her female students missed up to one week of school each month due to menstruation. After the kits were distributed, absenteeism dropped to 10%. The kits are an essential part of helping the girls be able to pass their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams in order to be able to go on to high school.
KDEF currently supports 32 primary schools in Marsabit and Samburu Counties of Northern Kenya – a 91,000 square kilometer area that is rural, remote, and impoverished." 

KDEF is a 501(c)3 organization, and Kenya NGO.  All donations are tax deductible.

KDEF also has a Guidestar Goldseal of Transparency for 2020.

Please join me in donating: 

HERE

All donatiIf you are more comfortable sending a check the address is:

KDEF

535 Prospect Street

Manchester, VT  05254 USA

Also, please share this post if you can.  What a wonderful gift it would be to have young girls/teenagers (it would make a great Senior Project!) who take this necessity as normal, or for granted, to see this need and want to help these girls who have so much less than they do too!

thank you. 
xxojoan

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” -Nelson Mandela

Please Help and become part of a "village" for this lovely young girl in Kenya...

Catherine Letipo, surrounded by her uncles in northern Kenya

In this season of giving I am hoping we can all come together to become a village and give the gift of a high school education to this beautiful girl, 

Catherine Ntasanwa Letipo, who lives in northern Kenya. 

(Her story below)

In support of the Kenya Drylands Education Fund (KDEF) which offers a High School Scholarship Program to promising secondary school students from vulnerable, impoverished families in Marsabit and Samburu Counties in northern Kenya with resources they need to complete four years of study in high quality boarding schools, without distractions or want for food, clothing, supplies, and safe housing I have started a GoFundMe for Catherine!  Secondary school is expensive, especially for families living on less than a dollar a day. A four -year scholarship provides for full-board tuition, uniform, bedding, books and sanitation supplies for girls.   

A full four-year scholarship costs $3,400.  

The new school session starts in January 2020.

Please donate (and share) this GoFundMe  

for Catherine  

HERE !

Won't you please join be in becoming "a village" for Catherine, to empower her through education, to make her dream of becoming a nurse a reality so that she can help herself, her family and many others out of poverty?  Imagine how wonderful we will all feel if we can give this young girl an education all because we came together because we love houses!  

KDEF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and a Kenyan NGO.  Any donation is tax deductible and all money raised goes directly to KDEF. 

 

You were all SO wonderful and SO very generous when I posted several years ago about KDEF (formerly KURA Project) and their Menstrual Hygiene Program  HERE which gives "opportunity kits" to girls who attend school (and their mothers) that live in extreme poverty in northern Kenya who do not have access to the most basic of sanitary products.  Many girls are deprived of an education because of the lack of this basic necessity since going to school without any form of menstruation protection subjects them to the shame of staining their clothes.  Very often menstruation causes girls to miss school, drop out altogether and then to be married off at a young age. "Opportunity kits" contain 4 reusable menstruation pads, underwear (since many of the girls do not own underwear), soap, soap sack, and a nice bag.  

One kit will last each girl a year or more.

KDEF is an amazing non-profit that is doing remarkable things for the people who live in northern Kenya . Please read about all of their projects HERE.

 KDEF's High School Scholarship Program provides promising secondary school students, both boys (about 20%) and girls, from vulnerable families in northern Kenya with the resources they need to complete four years of study in high quality boarding schools.  The students must score above 280 on the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exam in grade 8. 

 Catherine's story:

When I contacted Sarah Hadden, co-founder of KDEF, regarding starting a GoFundMe for a scholarship she was literally on her way to the airport to fly to Kenya attend one of KDEF's Mentorship Programs.  She informed me that all the scholarship slots had been awarded for the start of the school year in January 2020.  I asked if there was anyone we (you and me) could sponsor at this late date and she immediately contacted their Kenya Country Director and he said there was a girl, Catherine,  who had just been told by her father that she would have to drop out of school and forget pursuing her high school education because her father had lost everything.

After 18 months of severe drought, the rain finally started falling at the joy of the pastoral communities of northern Kenya.  The kinsmen could finally return to their homesteads after having been gone for 18 months herding their cows, camels and goats to find water.  Catherine, 14 years old and the only girl in her village to get a secondary school education, had just passed (with flying colors) her Primary School exam.

 Catherine wants to become a nurse.

When her father returned home she received the very sad news that her older brother had died, and that bandits had stolen all of her father's livestock. Because of these tragic, life-altering events Catherine was told she could no longer pursue an education.

And this is where we- you and me- come in!  Together, we can change her life and her future.  We can empower her through education and raise her up with love from around the world.

Please donate HERE!

Catherine with one of her uncles

If you are more comfortable sending a check their address is:

KDEF 

535 Prospect Street

Manchester, VT  05254 USA

(Please note your donation is for Catherine in the memo line)

Much love,

joan