Girls Club session at Emanyata Secondary School
Sponsor a Student
As a Maasai girl at the age of just 12 you are at risk of being forced to marry a man of that may be up to 30 years older than you. You must go through the ritual of female circumcision (FGM) – an excruciating procedure, which is likely to lead to a lifetime of pain and medical problems, if you survive the shock and blood loss. You will be one of several wives and can expect to have at least 5 children, whom you will need to clothe, feed and if at all possible send to school, but with little or no education this will be a lifelong struggle and your daughters will go through the same experience as you.
Education provides pastoralist girls with an understanding of what other options they have in life and the tools to pursue them. PWC provides the opportunity for girls who would otherwise have no way of attending school to receive an education through sponsorships. Most of these girls are educated at Emanyata Secondary School, which as a boarding school provides a safe environment for learning, away from the pressures to marry young and the risk of early pregnancy – which is used by families as a way to force girls to drop out of school. Emanyata also provides a place to stay during school holidays for those at particularly high risk. PWC also provides the opportunity for girls to talk openly about the negative aspects of Maasai culture such as FGM and help the girls to realise that there are other options.
There is an urgent need to provide more scholarships to educate girls who so desperately want a different future for themselves but have no other means to access one.
Education provides pastoralist girls with an understanding of what other options they have in life and the tools to pursue them. PWC provides the opportunity for girls who would otherwise have no way of attending school to receive an education through sponsorships. Most of these girls are educated at Emanyata Secondary School, which as a boarding school provides a safe environment for learning, away from the pressures to marry young and the risk of early pregnancy – which is used by families as a way to force girls to drop out of school. Emanyata also provides a place to stay during school holidays for those at particularly high risk. PWC also provides the opportunity for girls to talk openly about the negative aspects of Maasai culture such as FGM and help the girls to realise that there are other options.
There is an urgent need to provide more scholarships to educate girls who so desperately want a different future for themselves but have no other means to access one.
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Lenoi's Story
Lenoi Massago, a pastoralist girl from a remote area of Maasailand, has always struggled to attend school. When she was at primary school her father would try to stop her attendance. Once she was in standard five and realised the benefits of being educated she started finding ways around her father in order to attend school. When she passed her standard seven exams she expressed the desire to go on to secondary school but this was quickly brushed aside by her father. During the long break between primary and secondary school she was visiting an aunt when she heard that PWC were conducting interviews and exams to get a place in Emanyata Secondary School. She decided to go to the PWC office secretly so that her father wouldn’t stop her. She passed the exam and was told to report to the PWC office on the 14th January 2012 to be brought to Emanyata. |
Lenoi Massago is currently sponsored by PWC to attend Emanyata School
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She went home to tell her father only to be told that he wouldn’t allow her to attend the school. The village chiefs were alerted about this. They managed to talk to her father and he promised that he would take her and that he would buy her all the requirements that she would need for school. When they discussed this with Lenoi's stepmother she refused to agree. Lenoi’s hopes of going to secondary school were dashed.
She stayed at home until March when she decided that she would try and make her own way to school. She ran away from home and found her way to a village near the school where she found a PWC worker. They put her on the phone to the PWC education officer who told her they would help her. Lenoi met up with one of the Emanyata Secondary School teachers who arranged for all the uniform and school necessities to be bought. Finally, Lenoi made it to secondary school.
Since then she has been under the full sponsorship of PWC. She does not go home for any holidays for fear that her parents will force her to marry or get a Morani (young warrior) to impregnate her. Her brother came to Emanyata to try and take her home but he was denied access by the school.
As long as PWC have the sponsorship funds and if Lenoi keeps working hard she will be able to complete her form 4 exams. Lenoi does not want to return home and be married off. She wants to choose her life path for herself. She has struggled so much in the face of adversity to be given the opportunity to be educated. She dreams of one day being a doctor. She wants to have her children educated in the best schools. With the help of the sponsorship from PWC this dream could become a reality for her. Please help her achieve her dreams.
She stayed at home until March when she decided that she would try and make her own way to school. She ran away from home and found her way to a village near the school where she found a PWC worker. They put her on the phone to the PWC education officer who told her they would help her. Lenoi met up with one of the Emanyata Secondary School teachers who arranged for all the uniform and school necessities to be bought. Finally, Lenoi made it to secondary school.
Since then she has been under the full sponsorship of PWC. She does not go home for any holidays for fear that her parents will force her to marry or get a Morani (young warrior) to impregnate her. Her brother came to Emanyata to try and take her home but he was denied access by the school.
As long as PWC have the sponsorship funds and if Lenoi keeps working hard she will be able to complete her form 4 exams. Lenoi does not want to return home and be married off. She wants to choose her life path for herself. She has struggled so much in the face of adversity to be given the opportunity to be educated. She dreams of one day being a doctor. She wants to have her children educated in the best schools. With the help of the sponsorship from PWC this dream could become a reality for her. Please help her achieve her dreams.
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Nebiang's Story
Nebiang' eti Paulo is a Maasai girl living in Ngorongoro District. A year ago, she ran away to school but she still needs donations to help with her school fees this year. Here, in this short film made by our partner African Initiatives, she tells her story: |
Sponsor a student and transform their life!
Your donation will be used to sponsor a pastoralist girl like Nebiang' who is selected as being academically bright but whose family cannot afford to pay her school fees. $500 covers the full cost of a disadvantaged girls school fees, books and uniform for one year at the top performing Emanyata Secondary School, giving her a future and assisting her to escape forced marriage and early pregnancy. If you are interested in making a sponsership donation please email us at pwctanzania@gmail.com with any questions you may have. You can also specify in your email if their is a specific student you wish to sponsor with your donation. We will also be able to update you on your sponsored students progress throughout the duration of your generous support. |
Copyright 2006-2016 – Pastoral Women’s Council (PWC). PWC is a Tanzanian registered charity SO.no.10180
