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Website

http://www.maasaigirlseducation.org

What is your Impossible and how will you achieve it?

High poverty rates and the high cost of secondary education make it impossible for many girls to go beyond primary school in Kenya, but economics are only a fraction of the problem preventing girls from attending school. It is primarily cultural-based beliefs and traditions that deny most Maasai girls an education, and there will not be significant advances toward education for all or gender equity if these cultural barriers are not addressed. The Elders and Mothers Cultural Initiative organizes meetings for elders and mothers in the Kajiado County of the Rift Valley to initiate and promote discussion in the community about specific beliefs and practices that deny girls an education, including early marriage and FGM.

Explain how the $500 award will allow you to overcome your Impossible.

The $500 award will cover the cost of two Elders and Mothers workshops with an average of 100 participants per event. These workshops will focus on facilitating discussions among adult members of the Maasai community about age-old cultural beliefs and traditions that prevent girls from enrolling in and completing primary school. We will also demonstrate how the education of girls benefits their families and communities.

Once you achieve your impossible, how will you share your experience to inspire others to achieve their impossible?

We plan to share our experience by telling success stories and publishing photographs on our social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+) and our digital newsletters. Through these channels, we can demonstrate how $500 helps to change the cultural beliefs that hinder girls from attending school.

Discussion

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