18 Jul News from the Field: A New School and the Pride of a Community

In March of 2012, the Unstoppable Foundation made a pledge to build a second high school for girls in Kenya.

Oleleshwa Secondary School for Girls is the result of that commitment and is located in the remote Maasai Mara region of Kenya. Without the opportunity to continue on to secondary school, girls are often obliged to enter into early marriage, and many have to endure female circumcision and a life of servitude. For most girls in this region of the world, it is just a dream to be able to attend such a school much less have one located in their own community.

The Oleleshwa campus will be complete in January, 2014 but that didn’t stop the girls who were accepted to the school to begin their studies early. The teachers and staff at Kisaruni Secondary School for Girls stepped up and invited the Oleleshwa girls to attend their first semester at the Kisaruni campus – another Unstoppable Foundation project.

A few weeks ago, the Kisaruni students and the soon-to-be first class at Oleleshwa Secondary School visited the construction site at Oleleshwa. All the girls sat together beneath trees on the campus grounds and listened as Mr. Charles, one of the teachers at Kisaruni, taught a class on biology. Being on the new campus and learning together as a group of young women was absolutely thrilling for the students. After the lesson, the Oleleshwa girls received their new school uniforms in the school colors of green and gold — green for the Oleleshwa tree itself and gold to represent unity with Kisaruni All Girls Secondary School.

We are so excited about the construction progress at Oleleshwa. When the doors open in January, Oleleshwa will provide the first class of 50 girls with a core academic curriculum. Each year, an additional class of 50 girls will be added until there are 200 girls attending school. Their studies will include agricultural training and income-generating skills development. Plus, Oleleshwa will integrate technology on the campus, offering both computer and science labs to provide students with advanced skills and opportunities to attend college or find employment.

This is going to be an amazing school providing every girl with the tools to create a bright future— all thanks to support from partners like you!