In the lead up to International Women’s Week 2018, Dr Kakenya Ntaiya visited Sydney and Canberra for a speaking and fundraising tour. Dr Kakenya was accompanied by two of her students, Sharon and Linet who recently graduated from high school in Kenya and will be studying in Sydney later in the year, thanks to scholarships provided by UTS and WSU.

Dr Kakenya Ntaiya founded the first school for girls in her Maasai community – the Kakenya Center for Excellence in Kenya. The Kakenya Center for Excellence seeks to empower and motivate young girls through education to become agents of change and to break the cycle of destructive cultural practices in Kenya. At a very young age, she dared to be bold, fought for her rights to an education, and through her journey has given girls and woman permission to hope for a better life through education.

Kakenya believes that education is the key to future leadership and these young women, by their example and experience, will be in a position to improve their community, their nation, and the world.