Last week, the Kenyan government reversed their decision to allow universities to re-open in September. Our tertiary students must now remain at their family homes in their villages until 2021.

All our concerns about the future for these women have resurfaced. The priority is now to keep them safe, and positive about their education and their futures until they can return to their studies.

Kakenya explained the situation for these tertiary students, who are 17-20 years old, by referring to a Kenyan expression. She said, “big women don’t share their kitchens”. Kenyan’s traditionally believe that when a girl is grown up she shouldn’t still be in her mother’s house.

The current Covid-19 restrictions are forcing an unfamiliar and uncomfortable situation for these women. Where girls and their families loose sight of the value of education, marriage may be the result. In addition to the 5 girls from cohort 3 that were married earlier this year, we know that 1 student from cohort 2 has also recently been married. It is heartbreaking to think that all the work that has gone into raising these girls, to bring about change has been eroded.

We want to help Kakenya and her team in Kenya to support these students to keep learning, stay positive and stay committed to their dreams of an education. WFC is working with Kakenya’s Dream to identify educational opportunities and work programs to engage them during the remainder of 2020. We will keep you updated as the plans unfold.