This week two young Maasai women, Sharon and Magdelene, who have been awarded scholarships to study at universities in Sydney, have experienced a series of firsts as they become familiar with their new community.

Sharon, who is soon to begin her degree in medical science at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), is now busy preparing for her classes and has started a bridging course delivered by the university. The bridging course will assist in narrowing the gap between her high school and university studies.

Sharon and Magdalene are enjoying their new home and have settled into Urbanest at Darling Harbour. Special thanks to all the staff at Urbanest Student Accommodation who have made them feel so welcome.

This week Sharon also had her first cinema experience and Magdalene has celebrated her 18th birthday. We want to wish Magdalene a very happy birthday from all of us at Women for Change.

Sharon and Magdalene would like to thank their many supporters for their generosity as they have received donated clothes to help them adjust to Sydney’s winter, a very different climate to their home country of Kenya.

Visiting KCE and our Mentor Program launching soon

A group from the LBW Trust are currently visiting Kenya and are excited to tour Kakenya’s Center for Excellence before arriving at the Maasai Mara.

Australian National University (ANU) PhD students also visited KCE in Kenya recently to provide a program called Train the Trainer, which was met with enthusiasm from the teaching staff and students at the Centre – We would like to acknowledge ANU for their support.

Many of our Women for Change mentors have connected with their young mentees, and we are excited to launch our online mentoring program with inspirational talks from our mentors in September.

Find out more

• Read news story: Maasai girls arrive in Sydney to start their university studies