ﬂ

2.!“

w .. a a}: ..
u .. {KLiwvfr
7 NW 3.3:.
.3 it.
x... s $3.3: ,aﬁr.
x :9. x v If.
_. « 36m ".13 .
r} , «.3 51.x”. .1: .
, . . . Ii .4
, . ‘ «1.1.. .. .: (I...
. :2... ‘ . . :
:57 .. 1:: » , , , , . yak.
{Swag} . .

51:1

 

‘ ﬁe. .. .

a u x. .,

P.5wm. {Emma !
{h .

3dr?“
l3

 

 

 

 

 

‘3'

x a}: 1 A) ‘
ant-Exincvt...‘
3.»? J. 1

 

1-1.1}:
. .. ‘1‘

 

 

1ch LIBRARY
2 Michigan State
2111)) University

 

This is to certify that the
dissertation entitled

UNDERSTANDING EXPERIENCES OF GIRLS IN A CENTER
OF EXCELLENCE IN KAJIADO DISTRICT, KENYA: AN
EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY

presented by

MARY MOKEIRA. OMBONGA

has been accepted towards fulﬁllment
of the requirements for the

PhD. degree in K-12 EDUCATIONAL
ADMINISTRATION

 

 

7W wbDLQQ CV'

[TY Major Professor’s Signature

5/7/2008

 

Date

MSU is an affirmative-action. equal-opportunity employer

.—..-.-.—.--—o—.-._

4--.- -.—.-.--o---o-..- . _

 

PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record.
TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due.
MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested.

 

DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5/08 K'lPrqlAchres/CIRC/DateDue indd

UNDERSTANDING EXPERIENCES OF GIRLS IN A CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
IN KAJIADO DISTRICT, KENYA: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY

By

Mary Mokeira Ombonga

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
In partial fulﬁllment of the requirements
for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of K-I 2 Educational Administration

2008

ABSTRACT

UNDERSTANDING EXPERIENCES OF GIRLS IN A CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
IN KAJIADO DISTRICT, KENYA: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY

By

Mary Mokeira Ombonga

Education is considered a bedrock upon which the social, economic and
development agenda of any country rests. It is regarded as a pivotal force capable of
eliminating social and economic injustices inherent in many communities. The education
of women in general and girls in particular provides a meaningful and inextricable link in
the reduction of maternal deaths and disabilities, delayed early marriages, and prevention
of unsafe sex and its consequences. It is against this background that the campaign for
Education for All (EPA) was initiated. The establishment of intervention programs such
as Centers of Excellence in rural and marginalized areas is one step in attempting to
tackle some of the underlying socio-cultural barriers to girls’ education.

This study sought to explore and understand experiences of girls in a Center of
Excellence in Kajiado district, Kenya. Some of the girls were those who escaped or were
rescued from early marriages or female genital mutilation (FGM), socio-cultural practices
prevalent in the community around Kajiado. Utilizing a qualitative case study design, this
study sought to answer the following questions:

1. What are the experiences of girls prior to and after their involvement with the

Center of Excellence?

2. In what ways does the Center influence the girls” current and future educational
goals?

3. What strategies does the Center employ to support the girls?

4. What is the nature of the relationship between the Center and the community
within which it is located?

Data for this study were collected for a period of 3 months using face-to-face
open-ended interviews. The respondents included the Center‘s principal, 2 teachers, one
female and one male and 4 student respondents in a focus group. The ﬁndings indicate
that the Center, through its programs, was shaping the lives of the girls as well as
empowering them to transform their lives and that of their families and communities. The
study also uncovered girls’ palpable dreams and aspiration to excel academically and
change the perception that girls are only good as homemakers.

While the girls in the Center embodied the challenges the community was
experiencing, the study garnered that the Center had started programs meant to sensitize
and enlighten the community on issues such as HIV/AIDS prevention and poverty
reduction. This study presents an imperative and meaningful literature that is critical to
establishing innovative, culturally appropriate and gender-friendly educational
interventions and programs that can beneﬁt girls in rural and marginalized communities.
Policymakers, planners and practitioners will find it invaluable in illuminating the
challenges and opportunities that can be capitalized on to address issues of gender and
education, poverty and cultural practices that hinder the implementation of Universal

Primary Education.

Copyright by
MARY MOKEIRA OMBONGA
2008

This dissertation is dedicated:

To my parents,
The late Samson Nyamwega and Wilkister Kwamboka who believed in my potential
from early on and inspired me to reach for the stars

And

My loving husband, Dr. Kennedy Ombonga Ongaga and our children, Momanyi, Mogaka
and Kemunto for their love, support, prayers, and understanding during my many years of
schooling.

---Don’t Stop Trusting.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I feel greatly indebted to the loved ones and friends who held my hand, supported
and cheered me through this journey. My deepest gratitude goes to my dissertation
director, Dr. Reitumetse Mabokela and my advisor, Dr. Christopher Dunbar Jr., two
gracious mentors whose guidance, support. and patience, provided me with the skills and
tools to reconstruct and rediscover myself as an aspiring scholar. I also thank my
dissertation committee members, Dr. Francisco Villarruel and Dr. Susan Printy for their
wisdom, thoughts. encouragement. time and attention to my work amid their busy
semester schedules.

I cannot forget the invaluable support of my family. My loving husband, Dr.
Kennedy Ongaga. who stood by me and endured the highs and lows of my doctoral
program, his love. encouragement and constructive criticism, enabled me to survive the
hurdles of this journey. Our beloved children, Brian, Adams and Anne for their
unwavering love, understanding and cheers that saw me through the dissertation writing
process. Pastor Daniel Nyamwega and his beloved wife, Joan Nyamwega for their
hospitality and assistance during my data collection phase. My sisters, Eunice, Rebecca
and my brothers for their prayers and support. To my cousin Sheba Onchiri and her
children, Sylvia, Abigael and Maureen for their encouragement.

I cannot forget my network of friends who were not only supportive and
enthusiastic about my work, but also generous and loving. My very sweet Barbara

Dickman. Barbara Powers. Eleanor Smith, Maggie Pollock and Sally McClintock.

vi

My church family, Bethel Seventh Day Adventist Church, for their spiritual
guidance and support.

My special gratitude goes to MSU Graduate School, especially Dr. Yevonne
Smith for her words of wisdom and generous ﬁnancial support without which I would
never have been able to ﬁnish my doctoral program on time. I would also wish to express
my deepest appreciation to the staff and many courageous girls at Kajiado Girls Center of
Excellence who shared their hearts and part of their lives with me. If I have done it, you

can do it girls. Believe in yourselves and train your eyes on that brighter star.

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
LIST OF ABBREVIATION. ........................................................ xi
Chapters
I INTRODUCTION ................................................... 1
Statement of the problem ................................... 4
Purpose of the study ......................................... 5
Grand question and Sub-questions ........................ 6
Signiﬁcance of the study ..................................... 7
Theoretical Framework ....................................... 8
Organization of the study .................................... 1 1
11 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Introduction ................................................... l 2
Education and Girls ........................................... 13
Overview of education in Kenya ............................ IS
Girls’ education in Kenya .................................... 17
Girls’ education in rural Kenya .............................. 19
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) .......................... 22
Early and pre-arranged marriages ........................... 25
Community and parental responsibility ..................... 28
Role of church/religion ........................................ 30
Role of civil society ............................................ 34
FAWE ........................................................... 35
Gaps and Conclusions ......................................... 37
III METHODS AND PROCEDURES
Methodological Rationale ..................................... 39
Case Study Approach .......................................... 41
Sampling ........................................................ 43
Interviews ........................................................ 44
Observation and Document Analysis............................46
Methods of Veriﬁcation ....................................... 47
Ethical Considerations ........................................ 48
Role of Researcher ............................................. 49
Data Analysis ......... - .......................................... 5 0
IV PRESENTATION OF DATA
Setting ........................................................... 52
Respondent proﬁles ........................................... 56

Mr. Muniu: Compassionate and warmhearted. . . ...56

viii

Mr. Wario: Math and Music Teacher ............... 73
Rhoda: The Rescued who became the Rescuer. . .80

Student Respondents .................................. 86
V ANALYSIS OF THEMES

Introduction ................................................... 95
Education and Empowerment ............................... 96
Center of Excellence .................................. 97

The Community ....................................... 99

Tuseme (Let us Speak out) .......................... 102

The Rescue Center .................................... 103
Holiday Programs .................................... 105
Reconciliation Programs ............................. 107

Hard work and Faith ................................. 109
Gender Responsive Pedagogy ...................... 111

Role of Government ................................. 115

Free Primary Education ...................... 115
Constituency Development Fund ............ 116

World Food Program ......................... 119

H0pes and Dreams ............................................. 119
The Maasai: A vulnerable community ...................... 128
Origins of Maasai’s resistance to girls’education..130
Poverty .................................................. 13 1
HIV/AIDS ............................................... 133
Summary ......................................................... 136

VI IMPLICATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS AND
CONCLUSIONS

Introduction ..................................................... 1 37
Impact of the Girls Center of Excellence ................... 138
Implications and Recommendations ......................... 139
Contributions to Research ..................................... 148
Recommendations for further research ...................... 149
Reﬂections ....................................................... 15 1
Conclusion ....................................................... 153

ix

APPENDICES

A
Approval letter from Human Research Protection Programs, Michigan
State University, consent and assent letter ............................. 156
B
Interview protocols ....................................................... 161
C
Pictures from the site ..................................................... 165
REFERENCES .............................................................................. 172

AIDS:

CDF:

CEDAW:

CRC:

DFID:

EFA:

FAPED:

FAWE:

FEMNET:

FGM:

FIDA:

FPE:

GCE:

HIV:

IBRD:

ICRW:

IMF:

KCPE:

KDHS

MDG:

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Acquired Immune Deﬁciency Syndrome

Constituency DeveIOpment Fund

Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women

Convention for Rights of the Child

Department For International Development

Education For All

Forum for African Parliamentarians for Education

Forum for African Women Educationalists

The African Women Development Communication Network
Female Genital Mutilation

Federation of Kenyan Women Lawyers

Free Primary Education

Global Campaign for Education

Human Immunodeﬁciency Virus

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
International Center for Research on Women

International Monetary Fund

Kenya Certiﬁcate of Primary Education

Kenya Demographic and Healthy Survey

Millennium Development Goals

xi

MOEST:

NGO:

SAP:

SEBF:

SMT:

STI:

UNAIDS:

UNESCO:

UNF PA:

UNGEI:

UNICEF:

UN:

USAID:

USAID:

WEF:

WFP:

WHO:

Ministry of Education Science and Technology
Non-Governmental Organization

Structural Adjustment Programmes

Secondary Education Bursary Fund

Science Mathematics and Technology

Sexually Transmitted Infections

United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS

United Nations Education Scientiﬁc and Cultural Organization
United Nations Population Fund

United Nations Girls Education Initiative

United Nations International Children’s Education Fund
United Nations

United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency on International Development
World Education Forum

World Food Program

World Health Organization

xii

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

A comprehensive report commissioned by UNESCO/ UNICEF (2002) on the
state of the world’s children paints a grim picture on the plight of girls and women in
developing countries. The report shows that two of every three children in the world who
do not attend school are girls. More than 130 million 6—11 year-olds are out of school of
which 81 million (60 percent) of them are girls. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the report
indicates, girls make up to 60% of the 42 million children who do not attend school.
Obura (1991) further attests that in spite of an increase in the average level of education
in Sub-Saharan African, completion rates for girls still remain low.

As the starting point to narrow gender disparities in education, the provision of
universal basic education has continued to gain prominence in the development agenda of
many governments in developing countries. The education of women and girls in
particular has been cited as the single most important investment that developing
countries can embrace in order to realize beneﬁts that can translate to better health for
families, increased productivity and lower fertility rates (Summers, 1992; Coclough,
I994; UNICEF, 2000; UNESCO, 1991). However, current research conducted in
developing countries reveal alarming gender disparities in the provision of and
participation in basic education for boys and girls (UNICEF, 2004; UNESCO, 2005: UN

2000). This trend is more pronounced in rural areas].

 

' Rural areas as used herein to denote regions that are characteristic of high adherence to cultural norms and
limited levels of development as in infrastructure. education, basic services and other social amenities.

Rural areas are considered tenacious embodiments of deep-rooted cultural beliefs
and practices that are detrimental to girls’ education. Leach (2003) views rural settings as
“culturally sensitive ground, embedded with a multitude of traditions, norms, and values
relating to gender roles and relations, and to status and power in what remain heavily
patriarchal social systems” (p.6). This kind of system often perpetuates girl-unfriendly
practices such as early marriage, female genital mutilation, sexual violence, excessive
domestic chores and male domination, all of which combine to disadvantage the
education of girls (Mlama, 2005; Sultan, 2004; UNESCO, 2006; FAWE, 1996; Obura,
1991; FAWE, 2001, UNESCO 2003; Eshiwani, 1985; Mirsky, 2003; Kiragu, 1994; Leach
et al., 2003; Hyde, 1994; Gordon, 1995; UN, 2000; UNICEF 2001; Stromquist, 1994;
Davidson & Kanyuka, 1992; Herrera, 1992). While these practices are pervasive both at
home and societal level, some of them are manifested within school systems.

At the school level, impediments to girls’ education are reﬂected in lack of gender
sensitive facilities such as separate toilet facilities for boys and girls, bullying and sexual
violence, teachers’ attitudes and stereotypes as well as insensitive curriculum (Gordon,
1995; UN, 2000; UNICEF 2001; Stromquist, 1989; Davidson & Kanyuka, 1992; Herrera,
1992). It is unfortunate that much of the educational reforms initiated to address these
retrogressive cultural practices and institute aspects of social justice “remains at the level
of rhetoric and paper statements, and is not integrated into the actual design and
implementation of reforms” (Leach, 2003, p.7). A review of some of these cultural
practices and their effect on the education of girls is worth exploring.

In Kenya, which was the focus of this study and particularly in rural settings, a

large percentage of girls who enroll in schools often drop out before they complete their

basic education (Chege and Sifuna, 2006). A myriad of obstacles are said to impede their
participation in education. A plethora of literature point out that deeply entrenched socio-
cultural practices are leading obstacles to girls’ education (Leach et al., 2003; FAWE,
2001; UNESCO, 2003; Hyde, 1994;.UNICEF, 2001). These obstacles include: families’
preference for boys to girls, early marriages for girls, female genital mutilation (FGM),
and household responsibilities that deprive girls of valuable school time (Obura, 1991;
UNESCO 1993; Eshiwani, I985; Mirsky, 2003; Kiragu, 1994; Gordon, 1995; UN, 2000;
UNICEF 2001; Stromquist, 1989; Davidson & Kanyuka, 1992; Herrera, 1992:
Obermeyer, 1999). At the school level, these obstacles might be seen in lack of gender
sensitive facilities such as separate toilet facilities for girls, bullying and harassment by
boys, and teachers’ attitudes and stereotypes. Further literature view school environments
along gender inequality and gender gaps, which emanate from the structural gender roles
as perceived and understood by the larger society (Obura, 1991; Eshiwani, 1985; FAWE,
2000; UNICEF/UNESCO, 2002).

A review of literature on women and girls’ education in developing countries
focus mostly on identifying and describing general constraints that impede girls’ access
and success in education (Mulugeta, 2004; FAWE, 2000; Kane, 1995; Leach, 2002;
Swanson & Bendera, 1998). While this literature has helped to design relevant
interventions in context speciﬁc environments, there is paucity of data that speaks to the
success and meaning of such intervention strategies. It is upon this premise that I
undertook this study as an attempt to explore and understand experiences of girls who
were enrolled in a F AWE Center of Excellence in Kajiado District, Kenya. A majority of

these girls were those who had been rescued or escaped from early marriages and female

genital mutilation (F GM), socio-cultural practices that are prevalent in communities
around Kajiado. I speciﬁcally sought to understand ways in which the Center inﬂuenced
the girls’ current and future educational goals, strategies the Center utilized to support the
girls’ educational goals in addition to understanding the relationship between the Center

and the community in which it was located.

Statement of the Problem

Education is the backbone of any country’s economy and therefore it can be used
as an indicator of a better and quality life for her citizenry (UNESCO, 2000). While this
assertion might be true for boys, research cutting across the globe show that girls are less
likely to be enrolled in school and even less likely to complete their basic education
(UNICEF, 2003; UNESCO, 2000; World Bank, 1999). In the developing world, girls
face many barriers to access school and even once in school, they continue to face
insurmountable challenges that hamper their full participation, retention and academic
success. Entrenched traditions that relegate girls as passive actors in education; poverty,
unconducive school environments and inadequate facilities within schools are some of
the hurdles that disproportionately affect girls in school (FAWE, 2001; Mlama, 2005;
Leach & Machakanja, 2000 ). I believe that unchallenged socio-cultural norms within
society, its communities, families and schools will not only continue to negatively impact
on the social and economic wellbeing of its members but also aggravate the already
fragile state of women and girls’ education.

When 189 heads of states signed the Millennium Declaration in Dakar, Senegal in
2000, they recognized that educating girls is a powerful and necessary ﬁrst step towards

ending poverty and achieving human rights. They made gender parity in primary and

secondary education their priority in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by
promising to get as many girls as boys into school by 2005. However, recent research
reveals that these goals have not been actualized in many developing countries
(UNESCO, 2003/ 2004; UN 2005; ECA 2004; FAWE, 2004). Challenges in meeting
these goals are compounded by high levels of poverty, burgeoning impact of HIV/AIDS,
which affects more girls than boys, and the practice of retrogressive cultural norms.

According to World Bank, (1999) and FAWE, (2001), closing the gap between
boys and girls’ education would not only help women, their families, and their
communities, but will also boost the social and economic development of the countries
they live in (Subbarao & Raney, 1995). Thus, societies that prefer not to invest in girls
pay a higher price in terms of slower growth and reduced income.

Based on the foregoing, it is logical to postulate that as long as girls are left
behind, the goal of providing education for all children and promoting social, economic,
and political development will remain elusive to many governments in developing
countries. It is therefore imperative for governments and development agencies to
deliberately design, implement and evaluate programs and interventions that increase

girls access, participation and success in education.

Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of girls in a Center of
Excellence in Kajiado District, Kenya. Speciﬁcally, I sought to understand the Center’s
fundamental role in inﬂuencing the girls’ current and future educational goals. Pertinent
to the Center’s role was my desire to understand the strategies employed to support and

inspire girls to achieve their educational goals. Since I believe that school programs may

directly or indirectly affect communities around them, I found it imperative to further
understand the nature of the relationship between the Girls’ Center of Excellence and the
community within which it was located. By examining these variables, I hope that the
ﬁndings of this study will assist policymakers and education stakeholders to design
appropriate and gender responsive programs that are suitable in promoting and enhancing

education for all children especially those in rural settings.

Research Questions

 

In this study I used a grand question and four sub-questions to guide my
investigation. According to (Spradley 1979), “the purpose of grand tour questions is to
obtain a preliminary survey of the meaning system your informant is using as well as to
acquire many different category labels. Grand tour questions encourage the informants to
ramble on and on” (p.87). Spradley’s View is congruent with Lincoln and Guba’s (1985)
conviction that at ﬁrst, the researcher approaches the study”... not knowing what is not
known” (p.235). Hence, my grand question was:

What are the Experiences of Girls in a Center of Excellence in Kajiado district, Kenya?

To focus my study, I utilized the following four guiding questions:
1. What are the experiences of girls prior to and after their involvement with the
Center of Excellence in Kajiado?
2. In what ways has the Center inﬂuenced the girls’ current and future educational
goals?
3. What strategies does the Center employ to support the educational goals of the

girls?

4. What is the nature of the relationship between the Center and the community

within which it is located?

Signiﬁcance of the Study

Observation from the literature show that gender equality and equity in education
is a global concern and educating women and girls is critical to social and economic well
being of democracies worldwide (Rousso and Wehmeyer, 2001). In 2002, the
government of Kenya introduced Free Primary education in order to address gender
disparities in education and ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of
primary schooling. While this is a positive step towards increasing students’ enrollment,
there is lack of systematic intervention programs that address challenges girls face both in
school and in the community. There still exist signiﬁcant underlying socio-cultural
challenges that continue to plague the education of women and girls in rural and
marginalized areas. The establishment of intervention programs such as F AWE Center of
Excellence in Kajiado district, Kenya is one step in attempting to tackle some of these
underlying socio-cultural barriers to girls’ education.

This study will be signiﬁcant in articulating the quandary of girls in Kajiado
Center of Excellence, which is a reﬂection of the experiences of most girls in rural and
other marginalized areas. It is my hope that this study might provide policy makers and
other education stakeholders with some helpful insights to enable them to review,
acknowledge and change inherent school-based and socio-cultural impediments that hold
girls back from participating and achieving academic success. The ﬁndings of this study
may also serve as a springboard for policy makers to design, implement, monitor, and

evaluate policies meant to create safe schools and increase educational resources for the

girl-child and indeed for all children. Only then can school organizations in rural areas to
be meaningful and act as radiating centers of change for marginalized students and their

communities.

Theoretical Framework

 

In this study, I utilized a Gender and Development (GAD) theoretical framework
to explore and understand experiences of girls enrolled in a Center of Excellence in
Kajiado, Kenya. Speciﬁcally, I sought to unpack the Center’s fundamental role in
inﬂuencing the current and future educational goals of the girls as well as the supporting
strategies used to inspire them to achieve such goals.

GAD assumes that gender conceptions and roles are the product of a broad
network of social inﬂuences operating interdependently in a variety of societal
subsystems (Bussey and Bandura, 1999). It also postulates that people contribute to their
self-development and bring about social changes that deﬁne and structure gender
relationships through their swift actions within the interrelated systems of inﬂuence. In
this regard, I found it critical to understand experiences and aspirations of girls who
escape socio-cultural environments that impede their potentialities and how they thrive in
a FAWE Center of Excellence in Kajiado, Kenya. Proponents of GAD framework
portend that empowering women with education is moving them from the status of
passive victims to that of active decision-makers (Young et al. 1981; Moser 1989; Elson
1992). In this context, I asked my secondary informants about the strategies that they
employ to ensure that girls, who attain the highest grade level that center offers, transition

to environments that continue to empower them.

According to Sen and Grown (1987), GAD also recognizes that women are
deeply affected by the nature of patriarchal power in their societies at the national,
community, and household levels. Moreover, women’s material conditions and
patriarchal authority are both deﬁned and maintained by the accepted norms and values
that deﬁne their roles and duties in a particular society. F AWE’s Center of Excellence in
Kajiado is an example of a deliberate response to the social and cultural practices of the
communities that see no value in educating a girl. In this case, GAD framework enabled
me to put into context the social and cultural background of my student respondents
(girls) in order to understand their circumstances prior to their enrollment in the Center of
Excellence.

GAD’s focus is on relationships between women and men, not on women alone.
According to Parpart, et al., (2000), “Gender relations are seen as the key determinant of
women’s position in society, not as immutable reﬂections of the natural order but as
socially constructed patterns of behavior - the social construction of gender, which can be
changed if this is desired” (p.11). Moser, (1993) contends that GAD approach focuses on
the interconnection of gender, class, and race and the social construction of their deﬁning
characteristics. Women, in his view, experience oppression differently, according to their
race, class, colonial history, culture, and position in the community and its economic
order.

From a GAD framework standpoint, girls who were rescued from their
communities’ harmful cultural practices and placed in safe havens such as Centers of
Excellence can be categorized into two gender interests, practical and strategic needs.

Advancing this rationale, Molyneux (I 985) says that while practical gender needs arise

out of immediate perceived needs, such as the need for food, shelter, education, and
health care, strategic gender interests arise out of an analysis of women’s subordination
and require changes in the structures of gender, class, and race that deﬁne women’s
position in any given culture. Strategic interests include the goal of gender equality. This
formed part of my interest to explore if and how practical and strategic gender interests of
girls are met in a Girls Center of Excellence in Kajiado.

A critical tenet of GAD approach is the call for formulation of more gender-
sensitive interventions and empowerment policies that require the involvement of both
men and women as beneﬁciaries and agents. Empowerment as used herein denotes
achievement of equal participation in and control of the development process and its
beneﬁts by men and women (Leach, 2003). This further means that women girls in this
case have an enabling environment to take greater control of their own destiny.
According to Leach, empowerment encourages gender awareness in development
projects and speciﬁcally helps women to develop the ability to recognize issues affecting
them, be it in projects involving their gender or those where both men and women are
involved.

Although often considered passive recipients of assistance, girls in intervention
programs such as the FAWE Centers of Excellence are hoped to become agents of
change and development in themselves, their families and communities through
empowerment. I found GAD an appropriate framework upon which my respondents

voiced their concerns, frustrations and dreams.

10

Organization of the study

This dissertation is organized into six chapters. Chapter I comprises of
introduction to the study, the problem statement, purpose and signiﬁcance as well as a
descriptive conceptual framework. Chapter 11 consists of the literature review that served
to highlight the rationale for studying the unique phenomenon of girls experiences in a
Center of Excellence. Chapter III describes the methodology for this study while chapter
IV is the presentation of data in which the setting of the study and respondent proﬁles are
described. Chapter V is a thematic analysis of the data in which three themes emerged in
response to the research question: What are the Experiences of Girls in a Center of
Excellence in Kajiado district, Kenya? The themes include: Education and
empowerment, Hopes and dreams, and the Maasai a vulnerable community. These
themes are reﬂective of the respondents’ experiences, stories/narratives as well as
challenges and opportunities. Chapter VI includes the study’s implications,

recommendations and conclusions.

11

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Introduction

The provision of universal basic education has continued to gain prominence in
the development agenda of many governments in developing countries. The education of
women and girls in particular has been cited as the single most important investment that
developing countries can embrace in order to realize beneﬁts that can translate to better
health for families, increased productivity and lower fertility rates (Summers, 1992;
Coclough, 1994; UNICEF, 2000; UNESCO, 1991). However, current research reveals
alarming gender disparities in the provision and participation in basic education for boys
and girls in developing countries (UNICEF , 2004; UNESCO, 2005: UN 2000). This trend
is more pronounced in rural areas.

In Kenya, which was the setting of this study and particularly in rural settings, a
large percentage of girls who enroll and participate in schools seldom complete their
basic education (Obura, 1991). In the rural areas, deeply entrenched and retrogressive
cultural practices are said to deny girls an opportunity to acquire basic education. Some
of these practices are manifested in the preference for boys to girls, early and pre-
arranged marriages for girls of school-going-age and female genital mutilation (Obura,
I991; FAWE, 2001; UNICEF 2004; Mirsky, 2003; Kiragu, 1994; Leach et al., 2003;
UNESCO, 1993; Hyde, 1994). At the school level, these practices are evident in lack of

gender sensitive facilities such as separate toilet facilities for girls, bullying and

12

harassment by boys, and teachers’ attitudes and stereotypes (Gordon, 1995; UN, 2000;
UNICEF 2001; Stromquist, 1989; Davidson & Kanyuka, I992; Herrera, 1992).

A review of literature on women and girls education in developing countries
mostly focus on identifying and describing general constraints that impede girls access
and success in education (Mulugeta, 2004; FAWE, 2000; Kane, 1995; Leach , 2002;
Swanson & Bendera, 1998). While this literature has helped to design relevant
interventions in context speciﬁc environments, there is paucity of data that speaks to the
success and meaning of such intervention strategies. Utilizing a cultural lens, this study
will attempt to understand experiences of girls, who are students, in a Center of
Excellence in Kajiado, Kenya. A majority of these girls are those who have been rescued
from early marriages and female genital mutilation (FGM), cultural practices that are
prevalent in communities around Kajiado. The Kajiado center of excellence is said to be
a formal education intervention strategy that is gender responsive. My study will seek to
understand the meaning of this center to the girls and how it empowers them to navigate

their social and cultural environments.

Education and Girls

 

As a bedrock upon which the social, economic and development agenda of any
country rests, education is considered a pivotal force in eliminating social and economic
injustices inherent in many communities (Mlama, 2005; Dakar, 2000). A surfeit of
literature reveal that education is an essential ingredient in breaking barriers and
empowering disadvantaged groups and individuals in society (Psacholopoulos &

Patrinos, 2002; Chimombo, 2000; World Bank, 2004; Swanson, 1994; Psacholopoulos,

l3

1995; Bellamy,2004). In the context of developing countries, education is a pillar for
individual, regional as well as international development (World Bank, 2004).

Researchers suggest a strong link between primary education and non-formal
training programs that broaden participants’ horizons, raising their aspirations and
familiarizing them with relevant modern concepts and institutional frameworks (Floro &
Wolf, 1990; Summers, 1992; Coclough, 1994; UNICEF, 2000). It further enriches and
opens their horizon through life skills, and provides avenues for economic, civic and
political involvement, which in turn strengthens communities and families (FAWE, 2000;
&Hill 1991: UNICEF, 2002: UNESCO, 2004; Schultz, 1989).

Further studies indicate that women’s education, compared to that of men, is
linked directly to the delay in marriage, lower fertility rates, the desire for fewer children,
and the increased practice of effective methods of contraception as well as improved
health care (Nafula, 2000; Mirsky, 2003; Kiragu, 1994; Leach et al., 2003; Hyde, 1994;
Gordon, 1995; UN, 2000; UNICEF, 2001 ). In my view, well resourced gender-sensitive
educational interventions are much needed in the rural settings to awaken girls’
educational prowess in order for them to develop a critical understanding of their
circumstances and social environment geared towards taking control of their own lives.

A comprehensive study conducted by UNESCO and UNICEF (2003) on the state
of the world’s children, indicate that 104 million children aged 6-11 do not attend school
every year. Of these, 60 million are girls and 40% of them live in sub-Saharan Africa.
These ﬁndings corroborate other research, which shows that a staggering 150 million
children currently enrolled in school will drop out before completing primary education,

a level essential for the acquisition of basic literacy (World Bank, 2002a; Herz et al,

14

2004; UNICEF, 2002; Bruns et al., 2003). Although the average level of education in
sub-Saharan Africa has generally increased in recent years, completion rates for girls still
remain low starting at the primary school level (Obura, 1991; FAWE, 1999; UNICEF,
2001). A UNESCO (2003a) report discloses that after primary education, girl’s
participation declines sharply (17%) at the secondary level. Common in rural and hard-
to-reach areas, this trend is detrimental to women and girls who play crucial productive
roles that immensely contribute to the social and economic well being of their families
and societies (F loro & Wolf, 1990).

The education of women in general and girls in particular provides a meaningful
and inextricable link in the reduction of maternal deaths and disabilities, delayed early
marriages, and prevention of unsafe sex and its consequences such as STIs and the
dreaded HIV/AIDS (ID21, 2003; UNICEF, 2003; UN, 2004; WHO, 2001). It is against
this background that the campaign for Education for All (EFA) was initiated (World
Bank, 1999; FAWE, 200]; UNICEF, 2003; UNESCO, 2000). Hence, one cannot
underscore the critical importance of designing and implementing gender-sensitive
intervention strategies meant to boost the social and economic well being of the girl

child.

Overview of Education in Kenya

Like in other developing countries, progress in the education sector in Kenya can
be garnered from a review of national, regional and international frameworks that call for
equal participation of all citizens. Notable among these are the United Nations Charter on
Human Rights (1948), African Nations Declaration (1961), Mexico (1975), the

Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), Jomtien (1990), Beijing (1995) and the

15

recent Dakar Framework (2000). Amongst the fundamental objectives of these
declarations and frameworks is the requirement of governments to implement universal
free primary education and pay speciﬁc attention to the plight of the girl-child. The
United Nations Girls Education Initiative (UNGEI), Forum for Africa Partners in
Education (FAPED), Global Campaign for Education (GCE) and Forum for African
Women Educationalists (FAWE) are some of the organizations that coalesce to put
pressure on governments to enact free education while articulating the critical needs of
women and girls (FAWE, 1995 & WEF, 2000).

In line with these declarations. the government of Kenya has in the recent years
initiated educational reforms with a view to accelerating the country’s socio-economic
development (MOEST, 2004). Many of these reforms have been undertaken to address
existing regional and national disparities in terms of access and enrollment. The recent
introduction of free primary education in 2003 typiﬁes one such initiative by the
government of Kenya to ensure access and participation of all children of school going
age. This progress notwithstanding, there still exist substantial regional, geographical and
institutional differences in the acquisition of basic education between boys and girls. In
rural and marginalized areas, which are hubs of retrogressive social and cultural
adherence, education is considered a preserve of a few and sometimes a threat to the
status quo. It is therefore pertinent to understand how institutional interventions set up in
the heart of entrenched cultural practices such as early marriages and FGM make sense

not only to the victims (girls) but also the communities around them.

16

Girls’ Education in Kenya

The current system of Education in Kenya can be understood based on three
levels known as 8-4-4. While primary level (inclusive of early childhood education) takes
8 years to complete, secondary and university education each take 4 years for one
graduate. Since the country has a national curriculum, which mandates national exams at
each level, students who do not meet the cut-off points to advance to the next level are
absorbed into competitive vocational /technical training institutions.

Although Kenya’s current system of education was designed after independence,
1963, it has evolved over time and its linkage to the progressive marginalization of
women and girls must be understood in the context of history, tradition and emerging
global trends (Ochwada, 1997). While the national education policy does not discriminate
against girls and women, their participation in all levels is marked by a myriad of
impediments (Obura, 1991; Eshiwani, 1985; MOEST, 2004, Government of Kenya,
1964). Girls and especially those in rural areas continue to be left behind in education due
to the prevailing cultural environment in which some communities are more
accommodative of gender inequalities (Mlama, 2005; FAWE, 2000). According to Chege
and Sifuna (2006), girls’ low participation in education varies widely at provincial and
district levels and it mirrors regional variations in economic and political development in
the country. The vast rural settings in marginalized areas in Kenya characterize this
developmental trend.

The provision of good quality primary education in Kenya has continued to face
considerable challenges and disruptions. For instance, the introduction of Structural

Adjustment Programs (SAPS) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World

17

Bank in the 19805 greatly hindered the advancement of primary education through the
introduction of cost sharing in the form of school fees, which increased the cost of
education especially for poor households. In this case, one can argue that the drive for
gender equality is not a local initiative but one that is largely driven and determined by
the international donor agenda. In the reign of SAPS, most girls in rural areas were left
behind educationally as most parents made choices that favored boys.

While the introduction of free primary education in Kenya in 2003 has increased
the general enrollment of pupils in schools, the limited structural facilities and insensitive
school environments have not changed to favor the girl-child. I believe that educational
policies that emphasize access alone but lack insight on academic performance and
success are bound to fail. Thus, “getting more girls into school does not guarantee
equality of opportunity or outcome” (Leach, 2003, p.7). It is plausible to say that in rural
Kenya, policies devoid of the local socio-cultural environment are likely to impede
instead of advancing girls education. F AWE (2003), Mlama (2005) and UNESCO (2005)
say that the prevailing socio-cultural conditions of rural life radically reduce the chances
for girls to stay in school long enough to acquire the knowledge, values and skills
necessary to enable them play positive roles in their societies in a rapidly changing world.

In an effort to address the deﬁciency inherent in the education of girls, most
education related international, regional and local non-governmental organizations
(N GOs) operating in Kenya have a component on gender and girls’ education in their
programs (Mlama, 2005). This is a campaign strategy geared towards garnering support
to form a basis upon which communities, individuals, private sector and other non-

govemment organizations can coalesce to ensure equal participation of boys and girls as

18

well as men and women in education (MOEST, 2005). Interventions in girls’ education
such as FAWE Centers of Excellence can be viewed as deliberate efforts meant to give
currency to the education of girls in rural areas. It is upon this premise that I will seek to

explore the experiences of girls in a F AWE center of Excellence in Kenya.

Girls’ Education in Rural Kenya

Since independence, the govemment of Kenya has shown commitment towards
ensuring education for all her citizens. The inception of several education commissions
such as the Ominde report (1964) instituted immediately after independence and others
such as Gachathi (1976), Mackay (1981), Kamunge (1988) Education master plan (1998)
and Koech (2000) is a clear manifestation of such a commitment. Pertinent in all these
reports and master plans is the reference to the need for acceleration and improvement in
the education of girls (Elimu Yetu Coalition, 2003).

In the context of rural and marginalized areas in Kenya, it is imperative to
understand the historical, social and political context under which education occurred. In
pre-colonial Kenya, children belonged to the society and as such any kind of training and
preparation for societal roles and adulthood was a preserve of the family and the
community (Mensch &Lyold, I998). Adolescence was a period often marked by a
barrage of communally understood and sexually segregated rituals crowned by
celebrations. This was a crucial period in children’s lives that signaled their initiation into
adulthood, boys to men and girls to women. It is during this time that critical information
regarding sexuality, reproduction, and adult roles were shared by designated persons
(between men and boys and between women and girls). Like elsewhere in Africa,

colonial rule in Kenya left behind permanent legacies that greatly inﬂuenced gender

19

relations and heavily eroded women’s power base within their society (Obura et al, 1992;
Kinyanjui, 1974; Shefﬁeld, 1973; Eshiwani, 1985 and Egbo, 2000).

Rural areas are considered epitomes of deep-rooted adherence to cultural and
traditional practices that are detrimental to girls’ education. Leach (2003), views rural
settings as “culturally sensitive ground, embedded with a multitude of traditions, norms,
and values relating to gender roles and relations, and to status and power in what remain
heavily patriarchal social systems” (p.6). These areas often perpetuate practices
manifested in early marriage, initiation ceremonies such as female genital mutilation,
sexual violence, excessive domestic chores, male superiority and domination of women
all of which combine to disadvantage the education of girls (Mlama, 2005; Sultan, 2004;
UNESCO, 2006; F AWE, 1996; Obura, 1991; F AWE, 2001, UNESCO 2003; Eshiwani,
I985; Mirsky, 2003; Kiragu, 1994; Leach et al., 2003; Hyde, 1994; Gordon, 1995; UN,
2000; UNICEF 2001; Stromquist, 1994; Davidson & Kanyuka, 1992; Herrera, 1992). It is
unfortunate that much of the educational reforms initiated to address these retrogressive
cultural practices and pursue equality “remains at the level of rhetoric and paper
statements, and is not integrated into the actual design and implementation of reforms”
(Leach, 2003, p.7).

In their comprehensive review on girls’ education in developing countries, Herz
and Sperling (2004) reveal that rural and poor areas of sub-Saharan Africa form the bulk
of regions where millions of children grow up without receiving basic education. They
contend that education imbues in women a sense of empowerment to not only improve
their own welfare but also that of their families and society. On the economic sphere,

education leads to higher wages hence higher returns for women which in turn lead to

economic growth (Psachoropoulos & Patrinos, 2002; Shultz 2002; Dollar & Gatti, 1999).
On the cultural front, education can reduce the risk of female genital mutilation and early
marriages that are prevalent in rural areas. This is because women with education are less
likely to subject their daughters to such practice (WHO, 1998).

In another study, Brock and Cammish (1998) conducted research in 7 developing
countries with a view to ﬁnding factors that affect female participation in education.
Their ﬁndings reveal a number of interrelated social, economic, religious and other
factors that inﬂuence the extent of female participation in formal educational institutions.
These include:

0 Geographical location of the school (may adversely affect girls’ access more

than boys).

0 Socio-cultural factors that reﬂect patriarchal (male-dominated) ideas, e.g.
early marriage and girls’ heavier domestic and subsistence workload.

0 Religious factors (indirect but overall positive effect on female participation
in education).

0 Education factors such as lack of resources, low teacher quality and morale,
lack of female primary teachers in rural areas and gender bias in teaching
materials.

Similarly, Colclough et al., (2000) conducted case studies in Ethiopia and Guinea
that sought to determine causes of gender inequalities in primary schooling. Their study
also reveals that a wide variety of cultural practices as well as poverty negatively affect
girls’ educational participation, relative to boys. They further found out that household

work, cultural practices of early marriage of girls, as well as gendered division of labor

21

limit girls’ available time for school. Both Brock and Cammish (1998) and Colclough et
al., (2000) studies suggest that without speciﬁc intervention strategies to address these
adverse cultural practices, the gender gap between boys and girls in education as well as
qualitative inequities in school outcomes between girls and boys are likely to last for a
while.

These pieces of research document and underscore the vitality of girls’ education
as critical and inevitable resource in the elimination of culturally oriented and gender-
based obstacles that impede their social, economic and political progress. However, there
seems to be a general commitment to the goal of gender equality without concrete
translation of these commitments to beneﬁt girls. There is need to understand how F AWE
Centers of Excellence improve girls access to education, awaken the commitment and
participation of communities embedded within their institutions to support their overall
goals and objectives. In this study I speciﬁcally seek to understand the socio-cultural
factors that impede girls education in rural Kenya and F AWE’s intervention in addressing

these factors.

Female Genital Mutilation: Its Impact on Girls’ Education in Rural Kenya

Even though cultural practices may appear senseless or destructive from the
standpoint of others, they have meaning and fulfill a function for those who
practice them. However, culture is not static; it is in constant ﬂux, adapting and
reforming. People will change their behavior when they understand the hazards
and indignity of harmful practices and when they realize that it is possible to give
up harmful practices without giving up meaningful aspects of their culture

(UN, WHO &UNFPA, 1997).

The above quote reveals an intricate yet complementary relationship between
education and culture. While culture signiﬁes the beliefs, values, customs and behaviors

characteristic of a given group of people in society, education shapes the development of

22

individuals and communities. Cultural practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM),
are prevalent in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, a few countries in the Middle East
and South Asia (WHO, 1996; UNICEF, 2005; Shell-Duncan, et al., 2000). FGM has been
deﬁned as the intentional removal of part or all of the external genitalia, or other damage
to the female genitalia, for cultural or other non-therapeutic purposes (WHO, 1996).

According to the WHO (2000) estimates, 3 million girls undergo FGM practice
annually in sub-Saharan Africa and as many as 100-140 million girls and women
worldwide have undergone the practice. It is estimated that at least two million girls are
at risk of being cut each year, translating to about 6,000 girls a day (UNICEF, 1996;
WHO, 2000; Mackie, 2000). Although regional and international conventions such as
CRC (1989) and CEDAW (1979) have and still continue to widely condemn FGM as a
human rights violation, it is deeply entrenched in communities that practice it and
consider it a necessary cultural rite. It is said to imbue a sense of pride and ultimate
initiation to womanhood and it is believed to raise a girl’s social status, which increase
chances of marriageability, chastity, health, beauty and family honor (Mackie, 1996).
Failure to conform to this practice stigmatizes and isolates girls and their families, a
situation that results in the loss of dignity and social status (UNICEF, 2005). On this note
F GM is a complex social convention that requires multiple, complex and interwoven
approaches to tackle.

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (1998) and UNICEF
(2003), about 32 % of women and girls in Kenya have undergone FGM. Although the
speciﬁc form of FGM and the age at which the practice is performed varies widely from

one ethnic community to another, it is usually rife in pre-puberty and adolescent girls

23

(UNICEF, 2005). The meaning of F GM practice is crystallized in the preservation of
virginity to dignity, cleanliness to marriage prospects as well as being a community’s
long standing tradition that has never been questioned (USAID, 2003; DHS, 2003).
Although FGM is constitutionally banned in Kenya, it is still rampant in rural areas.

Research indicates that FGM has long-term physiological, sexual and
psychological effects on girls (Sarkis. 2003). The practice inﬂicts immediate physical
pain, severe trauma and it is often conducted in unhygienic conditions especially in rural
areas where there is limited access to sterilized medical tools and professional help. It
also makes girls vulnerable to the risks of infection and possible transmission of the
dreaded HIV virus, hemorrhage or septicemia (WHO, 1998).

The practice of FGM can compromise other human rights, including the right to
education. Well intentioned grassroot intervention measures can be taken to promote
universal access to quality education, encourage regular attendance at school and reduce
drop-out rates, while promoting the child’s development to reach her fullest potential.
According to a UNICEF (2005) report, FGM is “increasing indicated as a factor in school
drop-out rates for girls. The health problems, pain and trauma experienced by girls
concerned can lead to absenteeism, poor concentration, low performance and loss of
interest” (27)”. Since it requires long preparation, ethnic communities in Kenya that
practice FGM, withdraw their daughters from school to undergo this ritual. This makes it
difﬁcult for girls to catch up in their schoolwork or even go back to school, since they are
considered to have become adults ready for marriage. This not only has “a serious impact
on a girls’ personal development, but also on her community, since girls’ education and

informed participation in social life is a key to reducing discrimination and promoting

24

development and social progress” (UNICEF, 2005, p. 27). Intervention programs
embedded within communities that are known to practice FGM are needed to increase
awareness of a girls education and the health issues related to ‘cutting’ girls. It is my
intention to seek to understand how F AWE centers of excellence, embedded within
communities where FGM practice is rampant, involve these communities and create a
working relationship that ensures the girl child’s human rights including those of

education are respected and upheld.

Early and Pre-arranged Marriages

 

Like F GM, early marriages deprive millions of girls around the globe their
childhoods and limit their social, economic and educational opportunities (UNICEF,
2005). This practice is often conducted for girls ranging from 8-17 years and usually the
marriage is with strangers and often without the girls consent (UNICEF, 2005; FAWE,
2001). Conventions and agencies such as CRC (1989) that champion the rights of
children consider early marriage a harmful traditional practice that is a threat to
childhood. Like child labor, early marriages deprive children of their freedom and right to
education (ICRW, 2003/2004; CRC, 1989).

According to a UNICEF (2005) report, the practice of early marriage is common
among most communities in sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, North Africa and parts of
South East Asia. This practice is attributed to communities with strong religious or
traditional lifestyles. The underlying causes for early marriages are numerous and many
of them are context driven. In their study entitled, Too Young to wed: the rights, lives and
health of young married girls, Sanyukta et al., (2003) reveal that family honor, gender

roles and lack of alternatives, value of virginity and fears about pre-marital sexual

25

activity, marital alliances as well as poverty are the \leading causes of this trend. The
study, which covered parts of south and East Asia, West, Central, Eastern Africa and
Latin America, further indicate that early marriage is an important means for securing
critical social, economic, and political alliances in addition to security for the family,
clan, or lineage. This study echoes similar ﬁndings from other studies that link early
marriages to poverty, dowry pressures, parental concerns about premarital sex and
pregnancy, security of daughters and cultural requirement (UNICEF, 2005; UNF PA,
2004; Amin, 2006 et al; FAWE, 2001; ICRW, 2003).

In recent years, societal pressures such as the fear of HIV/AIDS infection have
been blamed for promoting early marriage. This is based on the belief that young boys
and girls are likely to be virgins and therefore likely to be uninfected. In the context of
global development, early marriage stands in direct conﬂict with the objectives of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), such as the promotion of basic education, child
survival, and the prevention of HIV/AIDS (ICRW, 2003).

In Kenya, the practice of marrying off young girls is not a new phenomenon. It is
an age long cultural tradition that has withstood the test of time in some rural
communities. Among the Maasai community, there is a tradition of betrothing girls at a
very young age, sometimes at birth and marrying them off in early to late adolescence
(Kakonge, 2001; Mlama, 2005). In most cases, these girls are married off as second, third
or even fourth wives often to men over 50 years old. While some parents disregard the
education of girls due to its direct costs, others view early marriage as a way of protecting
their daughters from the dangers of sexual assault, and pregnancy before marriage, which

stigmatizes the family (Kakonge, 2001). In other instances, parents consider formal

26

schooling as a springboard that inﬂuences their children, especially girls to embrace
foreign styles of behavior and mode of dress (F AWE, 2000). The education of girls,
therefore, is not a priority or even a necessity. In my view, educating girls in rural areas
especially in communities that practice both F GM and early marriage is like ‘watering a
neighbor’s garden’ because girls get married to another family.

The consequences of early and prearranged marriages in rural and marginalized
areas are enormous. In Kenya, these young brides ﬁnd themselves in new homes with
greater responsibilities, without much autonomy or decision-making power, and unable to
negotiate sexual experiences within marriage (ICRW, 2003; Mlama, 2005). This often
exposes them to higher levels of domestic violence, higher rates of unwanted pregnancy
and sexually transmitted disease, including HIV/AIDS (Heise, et al., 2002). These
impacts take a vicious cycle that negatively affects their children, families, and societies.

In the face of these consequences, education is critical to provide hope especially
for disadvantaged children in poor and inaccessible communities. Acquiring education
will enable them to gain knowledge and life skills that will empower them to make
informed decisions, exploit income-generating avenues where they can freely contribute
to the socio-economic and political development of families, communities and country.

In their comprehensive book on the education of women and girls in Kenya,
Chege and Sifuna (2006) argue that the huddles in changing some of the harmful
traditional practices that negatively affect the education of women and girls are
embedded within the mindsets of practicing communities. In particular, issues of gender
are perceived as a threat to prevailing male hegemony and normally elicit explicit

resistance from all its beneﬁciaries regardless of their sex. Hence, they advocate that a

27

genuine step forward, lies in enlisting girls and women, as well as boys and men, in
strategic partnerships, whose objective is to jointly challenge human inequalities,
including those that are founded on gender stereotypes.

While it is important to reckon with the fact that there are no easy solutions in
tackling existing gender disparities in education in Kenya, it is imperative to maintain a
sustained focus, renewed commitment and energy in advocating for girls’ education in
rural areas (UNESCO, 2005). Given the underscored importance of girls’ education, there
is need to understand how F AWE’s educational interventions such as centers of

excellence work with communities to give girls a voice to articulate their experiences.

Girls Education: Community and Parental responsibility

Education and community have been recognized as two interdependent and
interrelated elements in the education of children in both urban and rural areas (Cotton,
2000; UNICEF, 2000). The collaboration between schools and communities develops a
long lasting symbiosis between stakeholders. This relationship is more crucial for rural
areas, where local communities create and develop connections with children (World
Bank, 2002). In his study, breaking the barriers to girl students ’ poor academic
achievement, Ifelunni (2000) articulates the role of communities in the education of girls.
He says, “Community participation in girls ‘education is very crucial aspect for societal
development. The way the community views female performance in education either
encourages or discourages girls’ participation” (p. 96).

Similarly, Caffarrella (2002) contends that extensive community support of any
project makes its implementation effective. According to him, if all stakeholders are

involved at all stages of policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

28

the involvement cultivates a sense of reciprocal responsibility and accountability between
the school and the community. He further postulates that participation of the community
draws attention to the various dimensions of culture and allows its effective review.
Based on my frame of reference, families, communities and schools share overlapping
spheres of inﬂuence that directly impact children’s learning and development. Hence,
schools need to work together with families and communities as partners who share
responsibility for the education of all students.

However, according to Sifuna and Chege (2006) the case of the girl-child requires
community responsiveness and involvement in their education both as a prerequisite to
sustainable development and a safeguard to social injustices and inequalities. They argue
that many of the factors, which contribute to girls’ low school enrolment, poor
participation and achievement, are a complex display of interwoven realities ranging
from the school system, the education sector and the community. They recommend a
complex, multi-dimensional, holistic and participatory approach by all stakeholders to
curb the legacy of gender inequality and achievement in education. I believe that such
recommendations, which span a lot of studies that have been done on gender inequality
are achievable if educational policies and other reforms intended to beneﬁt the girl-child
are reviewed at the implementation stage. This is where stakeholders; the community,
parents, opinion leaders, schools and religious organizations need to connect to deliver
any meaningful services.

For instance, the role of parents in the education of their children has been
underscored by decades of research studies (N yati-Rwamalho &Mabuse, 2000; Davies,

1991; Epstein, 1995; Henderson& Berla, 1994). Research has shown that parents

29

determine a child’s chances of getting education. Since they are the decision makers, they
inﬂuence the manner in which their children participate in school (Chimombo et al,
2000). Avotri et a1 (1999) and Kasonde-Ng’andu (1999) support the argument that the
level of parental formal education has a very positive inﬂuence on their children’s
participation in education. In his research on parental involvement in girls’ education in
Malawi, Mingat (2003) found out that children whose mothers had formal education had
an attendance rate of 71% compared to 47% for those children whose mothers did not
attend primary school.

Given the literature of parental support, I believe that parents make a difference in
the school-based lives of their children especially when their role is meaningful,
empowered and sustained. It is along this line that I will seek to understand how FAWE
centers of excellence meaningfully empower and sustain parental support in the
education of their children. Besides communities, schools and parents, civil societies are

instrumental in pushing for the education of girls especially in rural areas.

The role of the church in girls’ education

Churches and faith-based organizations are able to reach into the heart of
communities in a way that no other organizations can. Besides spearheading religious
awareness in developing countries, faith-based NGOs have been in the forefront in
establishing educational infrastructure facilities for disadvantaged groups (FAWE 2001).
These infrastructure facilities are manifested in building girl schools, middle level
colleges and other institutions of higher learning. In Kenya for example, schools such as
AIC girls primary school in Kajiado, Maasai girls school, and Kajiado Adventist

Education and Rehabilitation Center comprise some of the religious establishments meant

30

to foster the participation and success of girls in school. The overall objective of such
facilities is to create a conducive learning environment for girls. In addition, the church
and its afﬁliates rehabilitate victims of harmful practices by providing them with social
support services such as health services to meet their health-care needs, emotional and
psychological counseling and skills training aimed at making them self-supporting in
order to facilitate their reintegration into their families, communities and in other sectors
of the society.

In addition to increasing educational access for all children, the church provides
educational sponsorship (bursaries) in terms of scholarships to disadvantaged children
especially girls in rural areas. The church uses some of these successful students as
beacons of change within their communities. As role models, they help to sensitize their
communities to change their socio-cultural beliefs and practices that are perceived as
impediments to girls’ participation and success in school. For instance, Kajiado Adventist
Education and Rehabilitation Center uses its senior girls to create public awareness
regarding harmful practices through information, formal and informal education,
communication campaigns and outreach programs targeting all stakeholders (Ray
Dabrowski, 2001).

Within communities that are believed to be ardent practitioners of socio—cultural
rites such as FGM and early marriages, the church-initiated community based
organizations are instrumental in initiating and encouraging alternative rites of passages
for girls (Mlama, 2005). The ‘alternative rites of passage’ simply calls for the respect and
retention of traditional initiation rites and accompanying teachings on the role of women

without having to endure the agony of the ‘cut’. “It is an example of a culturally sensitive

31

approach — one that respects the value of the tradition, but rejects the violence associated
with it” (UNF PA, 2005). Ideally, girls are ‘cut’ through words, since in their seclusion,
they are educated about reproductive health issues, HIV/AIDS, communication, self-
esteem and how to deal with peer pressure. This procedure is being tested in several
communities around the world and has registered some success.

Illustrative of the viability of alternative rites of passage is Tasaru Ntomonok
Girls Rescue Center, in Maasai community, Kenya. T asaru ntomonok means ‘rescue the
woman’ in the local Maasai language. The Center caters for girls who have been thrown
out of their homes for running away from F GM or forced marriages. It provides the girls
with shelter, protection, education and skills training. According to Ms. Pareyio, the
center’s director, “UNF PA funded the construction of the building where the girls receive
training. It also pays school fees for the girls and supports outreach and advocacy
activities. The project leases a IOO-hectare farm where the center grows wheat and runs a
maize mill to provide income for women who formerly earned money by performing
F GM. Proceeds from the farm help make the center more sustainable” (UNFPA, 2005).
Beyond protecting and offering educational and vocational training opportunities to the
girls, the rescue center also tries to reconcile them with their parents and communities.

In collaboration with other civil societies to ﬁght for the social justice of the girl-
child, the church is credited for establishing the initiative to ‘buy back’ girls who are
married off for socio-economic reasons. Those girls who are bought back are placed in
speciﬁc educational environments believed to be conducive for their learning. Kajiado
Adventist Education and Rehabilitation Center in Kenya is one such educational safe

haven for such girls and vulnerable children. The center is a response to the govemment’s

32

program to change the custom of forcing children to enter marriages at an early age. The
Kajiado Center organizers believe, “the establishment of this project will not only have
an impact on its immediate beneﬁciaries, but that it is also an example of ﬁilﬁlling the
Adventist Church’s mission among the most vulnerable, abused children” (Ray
Dabrowski, 2001). Acting as a home and school for rescued girls, the center “provides
food and shelter, along with education, counseling services, and spiritual nourishment. It
also provides social and community services that extend to the families of the children
and the community as a whole” (ANN Staff, 2006).

Liaising with other human rights organizations such as FIDA and F AWE, the
church also provides counseling programs and connects abused girls to free legal
services. Many girls who are abused suffer silently, either unaware that legal recourse is
available, unable to access it, or they lack conﬁdence to report it to the justice system. A
lack of awareness and understanding of legal provisions and limited understanding of the
procedures required to report cases of violence, also hinders girls from taking action
against abuse. A number of women’s organizations offer legal services, but they are
primarily in urban areas and their resources are strained. The church counsels and
connects abused girls in rural areas to such organizations.

In essence the church utilizes the facilities it establishes in rural communities as a
springboard to provide social amenities such as water, health centers, electricity and
roads to win the hearts of the communities they are trying to change. By so doing, it is
plausible to argue that the church is a critical component in alleviating poverty and

highlighting social injustices that inhibit girls’ education.

While the church can be viewed as a fundamental instrument in mitigating and
inﬂuencing socio-cultural factors that hinder girls education in rural areas, some of the
religious doctrines and policies in the context of ﬁghting HIV and AIDS among school
going children can be viewed as a barrier. For instance, religious leaders in Kenya wield
enormous inﬂuence in schools but a deafening silence permeates religious communities
with regard to sexuality and HIV/AIDS (USAID, 2005). Further, Bennell et al. (2002)
suggest that the church appears to play comparatively little role in disseminating
information about prevention of HIV/AIDS among young people. Their emphasis lie on
‘abstinence only until marriage’ as the only prevention strategy.

It is indisputable that encouraging abstinence has an important part to play in HIV
prevention. However, it is plausible to argue that failure to talk about other methods of
prevention such as condom use excludes the youth who are already sexually active or
inclined to have sex and limits access to potentially life-saving information, which could
make a difference between life and death. Research ﬁndings have offered little evidence
to support the claim that the use of condoms by sexually active youth increases their
sexual activities (Kirby, 1994; Boler et al, 2005; Gachuhi, 1999). On the contrary, the
same studies have shown that good quality sex education can actually decrease the
likelihood that young people will have sex and increases condom use among those who

are actually sexually active.

Role of Civil Society in Girls’ education
The plight of girls has been the center of focus in regional and sub-regional
afﬁliations of women in Africa. Most of these afﬁliations are in the form of national,

regional and international non-govemmental organizations. These NGOs have in recent

34

decades concentrated their efforts in examining and addressing a variety of factors that
hinder the participation of girls in education. According to Mlama (2005), most education
related international, regional and local NGOs operating in Africa have a component on
gender including girls’ education in their programs. Further, Mlama says that some
NGOs have initiated innovative, culturally appropriate and girl-friendly educational
programs as a strategy to beneﬁt girls in rural areas.

In the context of Kenya, organizations such as Federation of Kenya women
lawyers (FIDA), African Women’s Development and Communication Network
(F EMNET), Global Campaign for Education (GCE) the Association of African Women
Entrepreneurs (AFWE), and the Forum for African Women Educationists (FAWE)
continue to act as pressure groups advocating for the plight of women and girls especially
in rural communities. Their support is manifested in increasing and improving
educational resources and infrastructure such as classrooms, bursaries, food, healthcare
and other learning resources through training seminars and workshops (Kakonge etal.,
2001; Cotton, 2000). For purposes of my study, I will focus on one of these NGOs and
speciﬁcally FAWE and its intervention strategy of initiating a Girls’ Center of Excellence

in Kajiado, Kenya.

Forum for African Women Educationalists (F AWE)

The Forum for African Women Educationalists (F AWE) is a pan African non-
govemment organization with chapters in 33 countries in Africa. According to Kakonge
(2001), FAWE was started in 1992 to counter the slow pace of implementation of
Education for All goals (EFA) in sub-Saharan Africa. FAWE challenges some of the

cultural attributes that negate girls’ educational attainment. To ensure that girls have

35

access to school, complete their studies and perform well at all levels of development,
F AWE established educational Centers of Excellence that provide girls with full
educational sponsorship (F AWE, 2000).

FAWE works in partnership with local and national levels, with the ministries of
education and other agencies such as ‘USAID, DF ID, F EMNET, African Academy of
Sciences and Rockefeller foundation. Their core objective is to create positive societal
attitudes, policies and practices that promote equity for girls in terms of access, retention,
performance and quality (Kakonge, 2001). Kakonge frames F AWE’s mission into a
threefold agenda:

1. Supporting innovative action and experimental strategies for overcoming
obstacles to female education.

2. Mobilizing civic associations and society as whole to pay more attention to the
needs of girls and women in the planning implementation of national education
policy.

3. Encouraging dialogue within governments to improve investment in female
education.

In 1992, FAWE came up with an initiation report to guide its mission. The speciﬁc and
strategic objectives of this report included:

0 To inﬂuence the formulation and adoption of educational policies on girls’
education in order to increase access, improve retention and performance.

0 To build public awareness and consensus on the social and economic advantages

of girls’ education through advocacy.

36

0 To undertake and support demonstrative experimental and innovative programs to
increase girls’ participation in education.

0 To empower girls through education for effective participation in the creation of
an equitable society.

0 To create and sustain partnerships with governments, donors, universities, NGOs
communities, and other partners in education for effective implementation of
programs to improve education.

0 To strengthen organizational capacity to effectively implement programs that
promotes girls’ education.

0 To monitor policies, practices and programs that impact on girls’ education.

2 community, a

FAWE’s activities in Kenya are concentrated within the Maasai
conservative ethnic group that is well known for its cultural tenacity. Located in the heart
of rural Maasai community, FAWE‘s model school, Kajiado Girls Center of Excellence
is said to act as an educational intervention center intended to serve and empower girls

who escape or are rescued from gender insensitive cultural practices such as early

marriages and Female Genital Mutilation (Kakonge, 2001).

Gaps and Conclusion

 

In the foregoing review, I focused on the general status of girls’ education and
attempted to utilize the status of girls’ education in rural Kenya to illuminate some of the
cultural practices that hinder their educational progress. The literature outlines cultural
practices such as female genital mutilation and early marriages as part of the rituals that

have left many girls behind in education. There is limited research that talks on how

 

7 . . . . .
‘ Maasar rs one ofthe ethnic tribes in Kenya

37

interventions can use those cultural practices considered retrogressive as launching pads
to meaningfully educate communities that practice them to bring about change.

On the other hand, there is paucity of data to understand the meaning of
interventions such as FAWE Centers of Excellence both to the clients (girls) and their
communities. In my review of research, I hardly came across studies that have focused on
the experiences of rescued girls placed in safe havens, such as Kajiado Center of
excellence. Even those studies that focus on girls as their primary respondents within
schools, rarely consider the gendered nature of the communities in which schools operate.
It is upon the scarcity of such data that I launched my study. Speciﬁcally, I sought to
explore the experiences of girls in Kajiado Girls Center of Excellence in Kenya. My
focus will be:

I. The experiences of girls prior to and after their involvement with the FAWE

Center of Excellence in Kajiado.

IQ

The ways the Center inﬂuences the girls’ current and future educational goals.
3. The strategies the Center utilizes to support the educational goals of the girls.
4. The nature of the relationship between the Center and the community within
which it is located

. The Methodology used in this study to explore the Experiences of Girls in the

Center of Excellence is presented in chapter 111.

38

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH DESIGN: ASSUMPTIONS AND RATIONALE

My primary goal in this study was to understand the experiences of girls enrolled
in a F AWE Center of Excellence in rural Kajiado district, Kenya. I sought to investigate,
analyze and situate the girls’ personal and academic experiences at the Center before and
after their involvement. I grounded my study along the tenets of qualitative study.

Qualitative study seeks to understand phenomena in context-speciﬁc setting and
in the case of this study, the experiences of girls in a F AWE Center of Excellence in
Kaj iado District, Kenya. I believe that girls who either escape or are rescued from the
indigenous practices of early marriage and FGM and placed in the Center of Excellence
have their own personal and culturally driven dispositions. These dispositions sometimes
dictate the way they view their world and understand themselves as well as circumstances
around them. On this ground, I chose to utilize a qualitative case study approach to allow
me to listen and draw from the insights and wisdom of those who live and have
experienced transition from their rural lifestyle to an education-oriented Center of
ExceHence.

According to Denzin & Lincoln (1994 and 2000) qualitative research is multi-
method in its focus, involving an interpretive and naturalistic approach to its subject
matter. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings,
attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people
bring to them. Patton (1985 and 1990) adds that qualitative research manifests an interest
in understanding how people make sense of their world and the experiences they have in

the world. He further argues that qualitative research strives for a depth of understanding

39

as an end in itself, not as an attempt to predict what may happen in the future. Sherman
and Webb (1988) also contend that qualitative inquiry tries to show a direct concern with
experience as it is lived or felt or undergone.

Maxwell (1998) enumerates ﬁve research purposes for which qualitative studies
are particularly useful. They include:

1. Understanding the meaning, for participants in the study, of the events, situations,
and actions they are involved with, and of the accounts they give of their lives and

experiences

to

Understanding the particular context within which the participants act, and the

inﬂuence this context has on their actions

3. Identifying unanticipated phenomena and inﬂuences, and generating new,
grounded theories about the them

4. Understanding the processes by which events and actions take place;

5. Developing causal explanations

Strauss and Corbin (1990) broadly describe a qualitative research design as, “any
kind of research that produces ﬁndings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures
or other means of quantiﬁcation” (p.17). Qualitative research therefore, provided a
particularly appropriate choice for this study considering that I sought answers regarding
the “how” and “what” of my topic. It provided a mechanism for exploration into an
uncharted question on a detailed level (Creswell, 1998). Instead of using quantitative
methods, which impose meaning or experiences of a group of participants, I used
qualitative methods to elicit and explore experiences of girls in a FAWE Center of
Excellence in Kajiado district Kenya. The Center served as my case study and

respondents were my unit of analysis.

40

Case Study Approach

This qualitative study employed a case study approach to understand the
experiences of girls at Kajiado Girls Center of Excellence. The deﬁning characteristic of
a case study is the boundaries that establish the parameters of the unit of study. Merriam
(I998) contends, “by concentrating on a single phenomenon or entity (the case), the
researcher aims to uncover the interaction of signiﬁcant factors characteristic of the
phenomenon” (p.29). Merriam further states characteristics that distinguish case study
methodology from other types of qualitative designs. Case studies are “particularistic,
descriptive, and heuristic and rely heavily on inductive reasoning” (p. 16). Inductive
reasoning arises from the new understandings, concepts, and relationships that occur
from studying the data.

As a well established method of inquiry in qualitative research, case study tends
to be particularly responsive to research questions of “why” and “how” (Winegardner,
1999). Hence, choosing to utilize a case study approach hinges on the desire to bracket
the main research question regarding the experiences of girls enrolled in Kajiado Girls
Center of Excellence and how the Center inﬂuences their current and future educational
goals. According to Stake (1995) and Feagin (1991), case studies must have boundaries
and always strive towards providing a holistic understanding of culture. Given the
contextual cultural richness that gave rise to the Center of Excellence, the case study
approach provided me with a ﬂexible yet integrated framework for which I holistically
examined the respondents’ experiences in their natural context. According to
Winegardener (1999) the ﬂexibility of a case study approach lies in its customization to

address a wide range of research questions and types of cases that incorporate a variety of

41

data collection, analysis, reporting techniques, epistemological orientations, and
disciplinary perspectives, all of which provide their own standards of scholarship

Because gender issues are considered sensitive, I preferred a case study because
its tenets made it suitable for the exploration aspect of my study since it calls for
tolerance in matters of ambiguity and the willingness to respond to emerging data,
reﬁning the design of the study even as it is underway. I found it particularly relevant and
meaningful since it can accommodate different epistemologies and can provide
application to a wide range of disciplines. My aim in utilizing a case study was to give
my respondents, especially students. a voice to speak out about issues that affect their
lives. Signiﬁcant in their voices was a re-discovery of a horde of underlying socio-
cultural challenges that continue to plague the education of girls in rural and marginalized
areas and the importance of interventions meant to stem such challenges. Unlike many
social surveys, which tend not to include the truly disadvantaged as respondents, and
even when they do, the surveys are typically pre-tested and standardized in terms of the
knowledge base of the privileged group (Feagin et. al, 1991), the case study stood to be
an appropriate vehicle through which my respondents discovered their voices.

Yin (1994) asserts that the distinctive need for case studies “arises out of the
desire to understand complex social phenomena. The case study approach allows an
investigation to retain the holistic and meaningful characteristics of real-life events”
(p.3). Hence, a case study was appropriate for this study because I sought to investigate
and understand from my respondents how their participation in the center has directly
affected their personal, social and academic aspirations. To get a rich description of the

respondents’ stories, I incorporated their voices in the data analysis process since “a case

42

study is done in a way that incorporates the views of the ‘actors’ in the case under study”
(Tellis, 1997, p. 2). I included the voices of the respondents in the study in reporting the
research rather than relying on my voice only.

Therefore, drawing on the works of Merriam (1988), Yin (1994), F eagin (1991),
Stake (1995) and Tellis (1997), my study fell well within a qualitative case study
framework. It focused on girls who were enrolled in Kajiado Girls Center of Excellence
from whom I sought to understand their lived experiences, perceptions and lives in the
Center. This makes my study largely descriptive since it involved listening to the

respondents’ personal stories.

SEN—i112

For this study, I utilized purposeful sampling. According to Patton (2002) the
logic and power of purposeful sampling “lies in selecting information-rich cases for study
in depth. Information-rich cases are those from which one can learn a great deal about
issues of central importance to the purpose of the research” (Patton, 2002, p.169).
Purposeful sampling ﬁts well into the strategy of participant selection in qualitative
research, which “rests on the multiple purposes of illuminating, interpreting,
understanding — and on ones own imagination and judgment” (Glesne, 1999, p.30).

The sample of my study comprised of primary and secondary respondents. The
primary sample consisted of 4 girls. Due to the emotiveness of the subject under
discussion, I chose to interview them in a focus group. The rationale of doing so was to
encourage them to open up and share common experiences, which might be difficult to
talk about if I interviewed them individually. Through focus group it was possible to

observe the phenomenon as respondents were constantly stimulated by others to

43

articulate their perspectives, opinions, ideas and lived experiences during this group
session. I wanted to create an everyday-like social conversation environment where
respondents could support each other in sharing and discussing perspectives and
experiences related to my questions. All respondents in this category were selected
because they were in senior classes (grades 7 and 8), had stayed in the Center since their
2nd and/or 3rd grade and were aged between 14-18 years. My assumption was that they
had reasonable exposure living in the Center for several years and so they were well
versed with the programs and operations of the Center. The Center’s principal and the
boarding mistress, who also served as my secondary respondents were helpful in assisting
me to identify primary respondents who were willing to share their perceptions and
experiences in the Center.

My secondary sample comprised of the Center’s principal and 2 teachers, one
male and one female both teaching at the Center. Upon my arrival at the Center I made
known to the principal the nature and purpose of my study. With his permission and help,
I provided potential student respondents with assent letters stating the purpose of my
study and ethical considerations that were in place to ensure their privacy and
conﬁdentiality. I provided consent forms to my secondary sample. I was in touch with the
potential respondents and arranged for a brieﬁng of the study as we planned on the time

and venue where individual and/or focus group interviews were to take place.

Data collection procedures

 

Interviews
In this study, I used interviewing as a technique of gathering information from my

respondents. Research shows that three data-gathering techniques dominate in qualitative

44

inquiry: participant observation, interviewing, and document collection (Glesne &
Peshkin, 1992). Interviewing is widely believed to be the mainstay of many different
kinds of qualitative methods, from case studies to ethnography. It is among the most
challenging and rewarding forms of measurement in research.

Qualitative studies indicate that the purpose of research interview is ﬁrst and
foremost to gather data, not to change people (Patton, 2002; Kvale, 1996). Since this was
a case study, I utilized unstructured and open-ended interview questions in order to
“understand how other people see their experiences” (Spradley, 1979). Emphasizing the
goodness of open-ended interviews, Mills (2002) observes that this technique allows the
researcher and the researched to establish a link of openness and engagement that “speaks
to the difference between gaining mere data and understanding a person’s life
experiences” (p.107). Therefore, rather than studying my participants, I was learning
from them.

I interviewed female students who are currently enrolled in FAWE Girls
Center of Excellence in Kajiado District, Kenya. My aim was to understand their
educational experiences before, during and after their exposure to the Center. I
also interviewed 2 teachers and the Center’s director with a view to understanding
how the Center is beneﬁcial to the girls, their families and the community.

Prior to the interviews, I provided my respondents with a description of
my study objectives to raise their awareness and to address any concerns or
questions from them. Research indicates that since respondents, “grant access to
their lives, their minds, (and) their emotions.” it is important to provide

respondents with a straightforward description of the goals of the research

45

(Loﬂand & Loﬂand, 1984, p. 25). By using interviewing technique, I wanted to
provide my respondents a springboard on which they could express their feelings,
opinions and their knowledge (understanding) of their culture, school, families
and communities besides their goals and aspirations.
All interview conversations were audio taped with prior participant consent.
Patton (I 997) notes, “no matter what style of interviewing you use and no matter how
carefully you word your questions, it all comes to naught if you fail to capture the actual
words of the person being interviewed” (p.380). By tape recording the interview
conversations, I was less distracted and paid most attention to the respondents’ stories. I
transcribed verbatim all interview responses and that laid the foundation for my analysis.
Given that matters of gender especially as relates to women are controversial and
can provoke strong reactions presumably due to the inherent cultural beliefs of even those
being aggrieved, I made efforts to build rapport “on the ability to convey empathy and
understanding without judgment” (Patton, 2002, p.366). I believe the conﬁdence level of
my interviewees developed as the interviews evolved and this enabled me to get the
information that I sought. Patton (2002) reminds us, “sensitivity to and respect for other
people’s values, norms and worldviews is as needed at home as a broad” (p.394). I

respected my respondents’ stand on sensitive issues by heightening my sensitivity.

Observation and Document Analysis

In addition to using open-ended face-to-face interviewing technique, I used
observation and document analysis to gather data. According to Patton (1990),
observational data can be used for the purpose of description of settings, activities,

peOple, and the meanings of what is observed from the perspective of the participants. It

46

is through observation that I was able to account for the knowledge of the site and its
happenings, which I believe enabled me to see things that participants themselves were
not aware of. I attempted to take the role of a passive participant observer in order to
avoid being obstructive. While observing my respondents within their environment, I
wrote ﬁeld notes to supplement my data. The ﬁeld notes were later handy in data
analysis.

Document analysis offered me a chance to understand the historical and
contextual dimensions of the Center that I could not have acquired through interviews
and observations. According to Peshkin (1992), documents enrich what the researcher
sees and hears by supporting, expanding and challenging the researcher’s portrayals and
perceptions. In particular, I examined the Center’s policies, objectives, newsletters,
brochures and School Board and Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meeting minutes as
well as workshop and seminar reports. These documents helped me to understand the
modes of communication utilized by the Center to build a link between the students, their

families, the community and donors.

Methods for Veriﬁcation
Studies show that issues of validity and reliability are different for qualitative
research than for quantitative research (Patton, 2002). Glesne (1999) adds that qualitative
researchers must attend to the process involved in interview data collection by critically
questioning and corroborating observations and participant observations. Critical in this
process is how closely research ﬁndings match reality. Since the researcher is the prime
instrument of data collection in qualitative research, “interpretations of reality are

accessed directly through their observations and interviews” (Merriam, 1998, p.203).

47

I anchored the validity of my study on Merriam’s 6 tenets, which include:
1. Triangulation: using multiple sources of data to conﬁrm ﬁndings.
2. Member checks: taking transcripts of interviews and interpretations of data back
to the participants for veriﬁcation of intent and conception of ﬁndings.
3. Long-term observation: repeat observation of the same phenomenon over time
insures that the ﬁnding was not a one time occurrence
4. Peer examination: review of the ﬁndings by colleagues to assure logic of ﬁndings
5. Participatory or collaborative modes of research: involvement of the participants
in making sense of the ﬁndings throughout the study
6. Researcher’s biases: upfront clariﬁcation of the researcher’s assumptions and
theoretical orientation (Merriam, 1998, p.204-205).
Due to the emergent design of qualitative research and the role of the researcher in
obtaining data, reliability in the traditional sense appears inapplicable to qualitative
research. Lincoln and Guba (1985) instead suggest thinking about “dependability” and
“consistency” of the results obtained from the data. For this study, I constantly
questioned and ensured that the study’s ﬁndings emerged from and were consistent with

the data.

Ethical Considerations
It is no secret that ethical issues in qualitative research may be touchy and can
create dilemmas especially when conducting interviews. However, since ethical
dilemmas tend to be deeply embedded within the contexts of the situations in which they
arise, what may be ethical behavior in one circumstance may not be ethical in another.

According to Patton (2002), “because qualitative methods are highly personal and

48

interpersonal, because naturalistic inquiry takes the researcher into the real world where
people live and work, and because in-depth interviewing opens up what is inside people —
qualitative inquiry may be more intrusive and involve greater reactivity than surveys,
tests, and other quantitative approaches” (p.407).

This study was approved by Human Research Protection Programs at Michigan
State University (Appendix A). In an attempt to minimize ethical challenges, I made
explicit, to my respondents, the objectives of my study. I sought an informed written
consent from the Center’s principal, student respondents and teachers. Through the
principal, I asked students to voluntarily assent to participate in the study. I explained to
the respondents that their participation in the study was strictly voluntary and that they
could reject and/or withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. To all my
respondents, I attempted to communicate in clear terms the nature of and purpose of my
research and made it a process of unfolding rather than a once-and —for-all declaration.

In the course of the interview process, I endeavored to ask culturally relevant
questions in a relevant manner. To protect the identity of my respondents, I used pseudo
names that would make it difﬁculty for any one to associate the study ﬁndings with them.
The data is in a locked cabinet and a password protected computer and consistently I

have used the pseudonyms in its collection, analysis and writing the ﬁndings of the study.

Role of the Researcher
The role of the researcher is a critical factor in qualitative research. The researcher
provides the primary instrument for data collection and analysis in the ﬁeld. Glesne and
Peshkin (1992) point out, “a reﬂective section on who you are as researcher and the

lenses through which you view your work is now an expected part of qualitative research

49

studies” (p.109). As such, my role as a researcher became crucial as I entered into the
world of the respondents to investigate and understand their experiences. I acknowledged
my research biases and situated myself as the researcher in the study.

In making my biases explicit, I ensured that my respondents understood who I am
and the purpose of my study. I shared my experiences of growing up and going to school
as a girl in Kenya. This was a boost to my interview process since it encouraged my
student respondents to be comfortable to hit a cordial rapport that made them open up and
share their experiences without holding back critical information. Dunbar Jr. et al. (2001)
acknowledge this kind of disclosure to be critical since it is foundational work and it tells
the interviewee where the researcher is coming from. During the interview process, I
attempted to listen to each account of my respondents as if it were the ﬁrst time I heard it.
This way, I could not allow myself to jump to conclusions that would exclude other

possible themes or interpretations of the ﬁndings.

Data Analysis

 

According to Glesne and Peshkin (1992), data analysis is the process of
organizing and storing data in light of increasingly sophisticated judgments. This process
includes writing memos and reﬂective passages, developing analytic ﬁles, applying
rudimentary coding schemes, displaying data in tables, ﬁgures, and ﬂowcharts,
establishing patterns of categories, interpreting themes from the patterns, and developing
naturalistic generalizations are some of qualitative data analysis procedures (Creswell,
I998; Glesne & Peshkin, 1992; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Rudestam & Newton, 2001).

In this study, I categorized data based on the respondents’ responses to the

interview questions. This is in line with Lincoln and Guba (1985) views, that data

50

analysis must begin at the very ﬁrst phase of data collection because continuing analysis
can facilitate “emergent design, grounding of theory and emergent structure of later data
collection phases”(p.242). Hence, my data analysis began at the time of data collection
and I coded the data using identiﬁers, which enabled me to classify the categories under
which the responses fell. Category construction is considered the heart of qualitative data
analysis (Merriam, 1998). In Chapter IV, I present the data, which includes the setting of

the study and participant’s proﬁles.

51

CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION OF DATA
Setting

I conducted my study in Kajiado District, Kenya, which is about 2 hours drive
from Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. Kajiado is a rural district located approximately
100 kilometers south west of Nairobi. It borders Tanzania to the south and serves as the
western wall of the Great Rift Valley to the west. Kajiado is part of 18 administrative
districts of the Rift Valley province of Kenya and commands 7 administrative divisions,
which include, Mashuru, Central, Magadi, Isinya, Narnanga, Loitokitok, and Ngong.

Kajiado is home to the Maasai tribe who form part of the 42 ethnic groups in
Kenya. The Maasai are a pastoral/nomadic community with deeply entrenched unique
way of life. With a population of about 400,000 people, Kajiado district lies
geographically within the semi-arid to arid zones, which support limited crop farming
due to insufﬁcient rainfall. For the most part, livestock farming (cattle, sheep, camels and
goat) serves as the dominant regional economic activity and source of livelihood for the
Maasai community.

Kajiado is considered an economic hardship area. Due to long spells of drought
and unpredictable insufﬁcient rainfall to support farming, the Maasai community mainly
relies on nomadic pastoralism. This trend however, is gradually diminishing due to
government efforts that encourage the Maasai to live a sedentary lifestyle since much of
the vast grassing land is utilized for construction and wildlife conservation projects.
Despite increased levels of development that characterize many parts of the country,

Kajiado district is one of the regions in the country with low numbers of student

52

enrolment and retention rates in primary and secondary schools. It is also known for
gender disparities in education and other aspects of social life. For instance, girls’
education is not valued, boys are preferred to girls, and most prevalent is the practice of
FGM and early and prearranged marriages for girls of school-going age (Mlama, 2005;
Kakonge, 2002). Minimal trends of modernization in this region can be explained in part
by the fact that the Maasai people have remained largely conservative and partially
resistant to pressure to modernize and change their way of life.

As one drives along the winding and bumpy stretch of the Nairobi-Arusha
highway en route to Kajiado, vast open savannah grasslands with occasional acacia
shrubs unfold with lovely scenes of giraffes, zebra and camels basking in nature’s
serenity. As one descends to the Kajiado plains, littered with thin savannah grassland
browning from the relentless heat from the sun, a desolate atmosphere strikes from the
surrounding as if giving testimony of the wildly nature of this country side.

With no visible human settlement around, clusters of ﬂocks of sheep, goats and
cattle catch my eyes from a far horizon foraging on the browning grasslands with
scattered ﬂora. Filled with occasional gaping potholes and speed bumps, the road to
Kajiado calls for a careful drive to give way to frequent crossing of animal traffic, which
can stretch for a '/2 kilometer down the road. While the animal trafﬁc was one of the
contributing factors that slowed us down, it was spectacular to watch. Barely visible in
the slowly moving herds, were young boys (probably 8 to 9 years old) clad in bright red
sheets barely covering their behind. Each carried at least 2 wooden clubs, a spear and a
box of arrows and bows hung on their shoulder. They seemed ready to protect their

animals from any harm.

53

After nearly 2 hours of drive from Nairobi, a huge welcome sign on the road-side
with writings, “welcome to the AIC Kajiado Girls Center of Excellence”, reminded us
that our destination was drawing near. Located midway between Nairobi and Namanga,
near the Tanzanian border, Kajiado Girls Center of Excellence lies across the road on the
isolated Maasai steppe. No sign of human settlement or activity is visible in the vicinity.
We pulled off the highway a few meters ahead and stopped in front of a huge steel-walled
gate that stood high amid concrete walls on either side. The writings and drawings on the
concrete walls bore the Center’s name, logo and motto, which read in part: Determination
and Dedication to Excellence on one side and Safe School Zone on the other. Finally, it
dawned on me that we were at the Kajiado Girls Center of Excellence. Two security
guards clad in navy blue uniforms allowed us into the compound aﬁer stating our purpose
and signing in the visitors’ log book, our names and car registration.

Once in the compound, I realized that the Center is an accumulation of old and
new buildings isolated from the rest of the Maasai steppe by an enclosure of clustered
desert cacti and woodland shrubs along edges of barbed wire fence. Most of the buildings
were inscribed with different writings on every wall, clearly spelling the Center’s vision,
mission and motto. For instance, on the modern administration building were writings,
Motto: Determination and Dedication to Excellence; Mission; To Encourage the
Holistic Development of the Girl Child and lastly, Vision: To Establish a Center of
Excellence for the Girl Child, Incorporating High Standards of Achievement, Discipline,
Responsibility, Integrity and Gender Responsiveness. A tour around the Center’s

compound including classrooms later that day revealed more catchy writings, which I

54

learned were a strategic reminder of what the Center symbolizes and a source of
inspiration to the students.

Behind the administration building was a clear view of clustered buildings on the
background with observable groups of girls dressed in green uniform with light green.
collars strolling elegantly as they exited one building only to enter another. Noticeable a
top one of the buildings was a large tank and below it was a humongous underground
tank that seemed newly built and whose purpose was clear to me, a reservoir of water for
the Center’s use in this dry countryside. Standing by the only acacia tree visible behind
the administration block was a set of girls who wore white shirts and checkered skirts. I
later learn that these girls were pioneers of the secondary school section that had been
established three years earlier.

At the extreme east corner of the school compound, a group of girls in green
uniforms could be seen queued towards what seemed to be a small structure, which I later
learned was the pit latrine for the girls from the primary section. To the west side, was a
stretch of barbed wire fence that seemed overwhelmed by loosely hanging parade of wet
clothing, mattresses and towels of different colors. The view to the south revealed a
magniﬁcent building whose front elevation was engraved with picturesque murals
embellished with art carving of what seemed to be a group of women or young girls
engaged in a variety of tasks. Written in a bell curve fonrr around the mural, the Maasai
words, Emparnat Naisula Center of Excellence meaning ‘home for the rescued girls’
captures the poignant meaning of Kajiado Girls Center of Excellence. A school bus, with

one ﬂat tire lay as if on display at the center of the ﬁeld between the classrooms and the

55

administration building. The overgrown grass from under the bus was an indication that it
had not been driven for some time.

In the following section, I provide proﬁles/portraits of respondents in the study.
Using data from personal interview conversations, I paint a portrait of each of the
respondents. The proﬁle of the ﬁrst respondent, the principal of the Center of Excellence

is a little bit lengthy since it sets the ground for subsequent respondent proﬁles.

PORTRAITS OF RESPONDENTS IN THE STUDY

Mr. Muniu: Compassionate and wholehearted

Mr. Muniu is the principal of Kajiado Girls’ Center of Excellence, a position he
said he has held for two years. Prior to his appointment as the Center’s principal, Mr.
Muniu had served as the deputy principal for 9 years. Mr. Muniu is married and has one
child, a son in high school. I learned that his wife is one of the 19 female teachers in the
Center and doubles as the head of Special Education Unit.

A devout Christian, Mr. Muniu believes that his being in the school for many
years is no accident. In his words, “I feel what I do is like a calling, and I also have
teachers who do it just like that, as a calling. They don’t complain.” Although Mr. Muniu
comes from a different ethnic community, he considers Kajiado his home. He was proud
of the Center’s achievements and transformation albeit the challenges. According to him,

In fact me I have always lived here, even when Mrs. Nangurai was the head. You

know when you are the deputy, even the watch men (security guards) they would

not go to the head, they would come to my house, if there is a girl who is sick,
even before she (the principal) knows what is happening I have taken the girl to

hospital and am back. And I never complained. Infact, God has given me the
grace and I have never complained. Infact it is very difﬁcult, because sometimes

56

you might be much into the school that your family duties are neglected. Because
I have to be here even on Saturdays (Muniu, Personal Interview, June 2007).

Mr. Muniu’s description of his commitment to the Center was profound and

characterized by his emotion, passion and compassion. His reference to the students was

captured in phrases such as “my girls”, “my daughters”, “my children”. The student

population in the Center comprised of 650 girls with a majority being boarders. About

100 girls, whose parents supported the education of the girl-child, operated from their

homes. For Mr. Muniu this was a huge achievement, knowing that there were parents

whose daughters went home at the end of the school day, and they (parents) allow them

(girls) to come back to school the next day.
Mr. Muniu became very emotional when he talked about the change of heart of

some parents to support their daughters’ education. He recounted his understanding of

most girls background experiences and once again reiterated the need to love them, show

compassion and encourage them to overcome the trauma they had undergone prior to

coming to the Center. With deep empathy, he described the girls;
We have some girls in our Center we call rescue (we are trying to get a better term because
I feel rescue is a label) I have been trying to see whether we can maybe call them needy
girls but we are still yet to come up with a better term. We have girls here who have been
married a day, a week or a month. Remember these girls have I want you to picture such a
girl who has stayed with her husband and carried all the chores of a wife, and then she runs
away or is brought here to learn with the children. We also have young mothers, not
married but have got children they are here with us. We also have some girls who were
forced to undergo female genital mutilation against their will. We have some cases of girls

who have been abused sexually, but those ones still do not want to talk, they are still trying
to come to terms with the trauma (Muniu, personal interview, June 2007).

Although Mr. Muniu’s vivid description of the girls they serve made me
emotional at ﬁrst, I was later overjoyed to realize that their being in the Center

was in itself a sign of triumph over tribulation. They had overcome

57

insurmountable cultural and social barriers to wring excellence from the Center of

Excellence.

His Story (success)
Mr. Muniu believes that both girls and boys need to be given equal educational
opportunities in order for them to grow up to be dependable citizens. He emphasized that
although some communities in the country still preferred boys education to that of girls,
his experience in the Center had conﬁrmed his belief that if girls are given a chance to get
an education, “the sky is the limit, for their lives are bound to change for the better”. He
shared:
But we are saying, these girls also need to be respected. Men need to be
sensitized, that there is no difference between a girl and a boy and educating them
both. Here [in Maasai community], they have been taking boys to school and
leaving girls are home. You know that is our main objective, we are saying can
you please give them equal chances. They need to respect people, not because of

their gender, not because of their position but because they are people. And a man
and woman are equal—they are people (Muniu, personal interview, June 2007).

As a testimony to the girls’ success in the Center, Mr. Muniu pointed to an array of
different academic and sports trophies that were on display and housed in a huge glassy
cupboard in his ofﬁce. He said, “these trophies here I was given last year for admission
and retention and completion. We are a school that admits and retains most of our girls.
Our girls who start from class one here, they don’t drop out.”

In a community riddled with retrogressive cultural practices that hinder girls from
accessing education, the exemplary performance at the Center was not only a milestone
for themselves but also for their families and community. Cognizant that the Center’s
success in academic and extra-curricular activities does not come on a silver platter, Mr.

Muniu acknowledged the hard work and commitment of both his staff and students to the

58

school’s vision and mission. He further emphasized the vitality of having all
stakeholders on board to make success a reality. He said, “For us to achieve success, we
have to involve everybody. The community has to own the school. These girls have to
know why they are here in the ﬁrst place”. He referenced many top cream national
schools in the country where girls from the Center had qualiﬁed to pursue their high
school education. He proudly shared, “Because of their good performance, if you go to
schools like Alliance Girls, we have our girls there, Limuru Girls, we have our girls there,
Mary Hill, we have our girls there, Moi Girls Eldoret, we have a girl”.

If there is an aspect that Mr. Muniu expects from a leader in an institution such as
the Center, is leadership by example. Leadership by example, according to him, “plays a
role in changing the attitudes and opinion of girls regarding their capabilities”. He
commends his staff for their endless efforts to encourage the girls to believe in God,
themselves and to love and accept one another regardless of their background and
problems. The establishment of Girl Take Care of Girl policy at the Center stems from
his belief in love and leadership by example. He shared:

I am always what I say. So when I talk about love, the love of God, I love them

whenever and deep within my heart. I feel like these kids are just like mine. Me I

have a son. I only have one son. I do not have a daughter. Whenever we are

talking, I normally tell my girls that I see them like my son. I always want the best

for my son and that is exactly what I want for them. (Muniu personal interview,
June 2007)

I realized that Mr. Muniu was living his values, the values of love and being an
example to those who look up to him for love. His description made me think that there
is no substitute for a leader who leads by example. Leadership as I learned from Mr.
Muniu is about attitude not position. Mr. Muniu worked with girls who had been deeply

traumatized. He had to be “the example I want my girls to experience”. He explicated

59

that a loving, caring and nurturing relationship that is cognizant of individual students’
needs was a key ingredient in the Center’s success story. He explained that his fatherly
love and connection with the girls and his concern for their welfare is what he believes
gives the girls a sense of belonging and boosts their performance and self esteem. He

stated:

You have to be very close with these girls, very close. They refer to me not as
their teacher but as their father. I go to class one [1St grade] every morning. When
am passing by, my arms are open. I have to be really close to them, they have to
really see me as a part of them. Like this morning I was in class one, I don’t teach
class one but I was there, to talk to them and let them have a chance to hug me
and that makes their day. (Muniu, personal interview, June 2007)

I realized that Mr. Muniu’s unselﬁsh leadership and love for the students had led the
teachers and the whole school community to discover the overwhelming joy of

developing and empowering girls.

Empowerment programs

Besides giving education to the girls in the Center, the concept of empowerment
is a central component to their holistic growth and development. Echoing the words of
F AWE’s Executive Director, Mr. Muniu emphasized that no meaningful gender
transformation can be achieved unless the efforts to eliminate gender inequalities include
the empowerment of women from the time they are young girls. According to him,
“empowerment is giving voice to the voiceless and strength to the powerless”. He was
very enthusiastic to share some of the empowerment programs in the Center that enabled
the girls to become aware of their subordination and acquire the necessary knowledge

and skills to overcome their marginalization. He singled out programs such as T useme

60

(Let us speak out) clubs, Debating club, Drama, Science, Math and Technology (SMT)
and Girl Take Care of Girl policy. In his words:
Our girls have been so sensitized that even when they go home over the holidays
and they know of girls who are threatened for marriage or FGM, they advise and
encourage them to come here. What we have agreed is, when a girl comes, then

the local chief should come and we start working to meet the parents of the girl.
(Muniu, personal Interview, June 2007).

When I asked Mr. Muniu to elaborate how Tuseme programs work, he grabbed a
brochure on his desk and had the following to say:

Tuseme program is a concept we adopted from FAWE. According to FAWE

Tuseme is a complete concept and an answer to many concerns. It is an original

human right-based approach, gender responsive and inclusive. Because of its

inclusiveness, the Tuseme process is persuasive and effective for social

mobilization, which offers distinct advantage in the effort to promote girls
education. (Muniu, personal interview June 2007).

Listening to Mr. Muniu, I learned that Tuseme programs, under which Debating and
Drama clubs fall, aim to empower girls to identify and analyze problems that hinder their
academic and social development, to speak out and express their views about the
problems and take action to solve them. I attributed the assertiveness and self-conﬁdence
the girls showed during the interview to Tuseme programs. Indeed as Mr. Muniu had put
it, “the girls no longer have to walk with their heads down or dig the ground with their
toes when they talk to men or their parents”. The variety of activities in Tuseme programs
was effective tools that empowered girls to Speak Out and say NO!

Other programs that Mr. Muniu attributed to the girls’ empowerment process
included Guidance and Counseling, Peer Counseling, FAWE sponsored seminars and
workshops, student-family reconciliation programs and the integrity and devotion of his
teaching staff. Underscoring the critical role F AWE plays in the lives of students in the

Center, Mr. Muniu said:

61

You know F AWE has and is really doing quite a lot. If there is money that is not
wasted, it is money that goes to FAWE. FAWE pays fees for most of the girls
here in the Center. I don’t know where they could be if F AWE were not in their
lives. (Mr. Muniu personal interview, June 2007).

Mr. Muniu’s accolades for FAWE further puts stress on their role in capacity building
programs including gender sensitization workshops and seminars as well as in-service

training for teachers. He states:

I want to say that this school has been made what it is largely by FAWE. What they
are doing now is on capacity building for teachers and pupils. Like now the
workshops and seminars, they [FAWE] are the ones who are organizing and funding
it. Even empowering teachers to stop thinking like ordinary teacher, it is FAWE. In
fact I can say FAWE has done a lot to me as a person. You know we are Africans and
sometimes we can behave like Africans, you know they have been

hammering. ...women, women, girl-child until now we have opened up. (Muniu,
personal interview, June 2007).

I also learned that FAWE helps to train the teachers in the Centers of Excellence to
acquire gender responsive pedagogy skills, which are seldom part of the teachers’
training curriculum.

It is worth noting that F AWE had helped teachers in the Centers of Excellence in
Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania to develop a gender responsive pedagogy. Mr. Muniu
shared that all teachers including the heads of the three Centers had participated in the
processes, which were conducted in each country. The teachers used their own school
experiences to identify what the issues that needed to be addressed were. Then they
participated in developing a gender responsive handbook for teachers, which was piloted
in each Center for all the subjects offered. The piloted manual consists of units dealing
with various aspects of a gender responsive pedagogy including how to create a gender

responsive:

62

0 Lesson planning

0 Teaching and learning materials

0 Language use in the classroom

0 Classroom set up and

0 School management system as well as addressing issues of combating sexual
harassment and management of sexual maturation.

I was curious to understand how teachers in Mr. Muniu’s Center had integrated
the teachers’ Gender Responsive Pedagogy Manual into their teaching practice. He
lectured me how this model was taking root in his Center. He asserted that the model was
producing very encouraging results in terms of the following:

0 Raising the awareness of the teachers on the gender constraints to learning.

0 Equipping the teachers with concrete skills on how to eliminate the gender based
constraint to the teaching and learning processes.

0 Equipping the teachers with skills for new teaching methods, which apply not
only to gender but to the overall improvement of the quality of their teaching.

- Equipping the teachers with the skills to identify gender stereotyping in teaching
and learning materials such as textbooks and visual aids and the skills to produce
gender responsive materials instead.

0 Promoting innovation and creativity in the teachers in the bid to come up with
gender responsive teaching methodologies, teaching and learning materials.

0 Introducing a gender friendly atmosphere in the school among teachers and

students, both inside and outside the classroom.

63

0 Improving the quality of teaching and learning overall leading to better
performance by both boys and girls.

It was clear that FAWE, through the Centers of Excellence was reducing gender
disparities in education with a view to having more girls access school, complete their
studies and perform well at all level. At the same time it was encouraging capacity
building programs to continue building stakeholders’ awareness and consensus on the
overall advantages of girls’ education through advocacy for action at all levels with
emphasis on the grassroots level. A critical program that FAWE sponsored to narrow the
gap between rescued girls and their families was a series of workshops and seminars

meant to reconcile the rescued girls and their families.

Reconciliatory Forum

Besides his administrative duties Mr. Muniu’s acquaintance with the community
through FAWE sponsored seminars and workshops had made him “visible and more of
an insider than an outsider in the community”. According to him, reconciling the rescued
and/or run-away girls with their families is a critical piece for the survival of the girls and
the continuity of the Center. He believes that getting the community on board the
Center’s programs and activities make communication and partnerships easy and helps
the Center to achieve its solemn goal. Getting parents involved in their children’s lives
and education in particular is in line to changing parents’ attitudes and opinion regarding
the girls’ education. With the help of FAWE, Mr. Muniu shared that he had organized
and facilitated a number of reconciliation seminars and workshops for the local
community. Through these fora:

We have been able to change the attitudes of some people. And I have also seen a
very big change in the community. You know I have been the deputy for quite

64

some time and deputies are very close to the students and the community, so I can
see now men are seeing some of these things in a more positive manner than
when a lady was heading this school. This made me know that Maasai men lowly
regard women regardless of their position in society. The men now can associate
with me. If they see it is a man telling them that a girl should not be circumcised,
they see there is a point. Like last December, last year when we had a workshop,
most of the parents, men confessed that they have seen the reasons why girls
should not be circumcised and why they should get education. (Muniu, personal
interview, June 2007).

Mr. Muniu takes pride in the reconciliation program since its inception.
According to him, there was widespread antagonistic relationship between girls who had
been rescued or run-away and their families. Before, some parents and ‘husbands’ could
storm the Center and demand the release of their daughters and ‘wives’.

We have had some hostile parents and ‘husbands’. When these girls come here,

there are those (parents and ‘husbands’) who come here with bows and arrows

that we want our daughters and ‘wives’. But we don’t release them, that one I

cannot. It does not matter how they come, we cannot give them back. (Muniu,
personal interview, June 2007).

With such account, I could not help to infer that while the Center was a safe
haven for the girls, its existence in the heart of the Maasai community was a sour
reminder of its intrusiveness to their way of life. Mr. Muniu, therefore grounded his role
in reconciliation workshops arguing:

Yes, I organize for these workshops and seminars. We are doing reconciliation.

Before when we rescued these girls, there was a rift between the school, the girls

and the parents and families. So the school was coming in between the girls and

the parents and I didn’t like it. As the principal, those are some of the changes I

decided that I should have, because we need the community and the community
needs us but they have to know. (Muniu, personal interview, June 2007).

I asked Mr. Muniu what exactly happened in the reconciliation workshops and
sensitization seminars and how the parents respond. He told me that in these fora, parents
and other members of the community are encouraged to participate in the education of

girls. Girls who have been empowered perform skits and recitations. He continued, “This

65

is a good chance for the girls to voice their concerns, communicate the issues to the
members of their community and provoke their involvement in the discussion and
persuade them to take action”. On the other hand, he stated that they had to involve the
local administration ofﬁcials such as the chiefs, district commissioner (DC) and
divisional ofﬁcer (D0) in order to penetrate the closely-knit community. He revealed that
some local chiefs were known to either marry young girls or give their own away. Hence:

In the year 2001, 2002 and 2003, we had workshops for the chiefs. All the chiefs
in the district were sensitized. We had even the DC who talked to them on the
roles of chiefs in the girl-child education. The context this time was the girl
child—what is the role of a chief in the girl child education. So he came and he
talked to them for the three workshops. (Muniu, Personal interview June 2007)

Mr. Muniu’s argument to include the local administration, especially the chiefs was
plausible since such partnerships had led to increased enrolment of girls and a reduction
of female genital mutilation (F GM) and early marriages. He said that since 2004, all local
chiefs were required by the provincial administration to sign declaration forms declaring
that they will:

0 Enforce the Children’s Act of 2001, which is an act of Parliament to ensure the
rights of a child are not violated.

o Sensitize parents, especially fathers, on the importance of girls’ education and the
disadvantages of F GM and early marriage.

0 Analyze the status of girls’ education in their areas and the negative impact on the
development of their areas.

- Formulate their own areas’ work plan on how they wished to address the gender
constraints to girl’s education.

0 Take legal action against parents who were in deﬁance of protecting the rights of
the girl-child as enshrined in the Children’s Act of 2001. (Muniu, personal
interview, June 2007).

I further learned that reconciliation programs also involved ofﬁcers from the
Children’s Rights Ofﬁce. Their involvement was to ensure that parents as well as other

community members understood and respected children’s rights as required of the 2001

66

Children’s Act. Two months before I went to Kajiado Girls Center of Excellence, Mr.
Muniu told me that he had organized for a forum that included the newly appointed local
chiefs and children’s ofﬁcials.

Two months ago, the district ofﬁcer (DO) was here and then we had to call the
children’ 5 ofﬁce to speak on the children’s rights. That is a chance that we never
forget to give. Whenever we call parents here, we have to call the children’s
ofﬁcer to come and talk about the children’s rights. They [parents] understand
now that children have a right. Because previously, the man, this lion, has always
thought he owned everything. The destiny of the children is in his hands. He is the
one to decide who to go to school, what should happen to you, who to get
married. . .we are now telling them from the 2001 Children’s Act, children have a
right. You have to give back to a child their rights, you have to give them food,
shelter, clothing, education, and you have to protect them. So it is now moving.
The chiefs have also now been sensitized. So whenever they have a baraza
[community meeting], they talk about children’s rights. That is why are saying we
now have a change of attitude. (Muniu, Personal interviews June 2007).

In Mr. Muniu’s view, reconciliation programs had increased parental involvement in the
girls’ education. Some parents were willing to reconcile with their daughters as well as

allow those who had not yet been in school but were of school-going age to join their
sisters. For instance, of the 49 parents who had given their girls for marriage and who had
attended the reconciliation meeting in December 2006, 36 had gone home with their
daughters and brought them back the next day. “And 3 of the men asked for vacancies to
bring some of their other daughters who were at home”, conveyed Mr. Muniu. He was
upbeat that the community was;

Now trying to understand what the Center is all about. Now we tell them, it is

their turn. We are not against their culture, we tell them their culture is rich, good

but there are some things in the culture that we need to get rid of. They are now

seeing sense of what we are doing but it has not been easy. (Muniu, personal
interview June 2007).

67

While the initiatives I have attempted to discuss in the forgoing depict potential and hope
of succeeding in bringing about gender equity and equality in education in rural areas,

Mr. Muniu acknowledges that his Center is challenged in many ways.

Challenges

When I ﬁrst met Mr. Muniu, he was hurrying up to get to his ofﬁce with a group
of students, as I waited by the bench outside his ofﬁce. Close to where I was seated, were
two men, probably in their late 403 clad in bright red shuka (textiles) each carrying two
well-carved wooden clubs, as is traditional of Maasai men. A brown dog wagged its tail
around them. Later, Mr. Muniu revealed to me that one of themen was looking for his
‘wife’, who had run away two days earlier. “Of course the girl is here and we are trying
to have her processed. But you see, we cannot give her back”, said Mr. Muniu. I ﬁrrther
learned that the girl in question was 11 years old and had been given away for marriage
and in both times, she had managed to run away.

I realized how technical and difﬁculty it is for Mr. Muniu to navigate such
complex terrains but at the same time, I admired the ease with which he handled such
cases. He recounted that once a girl runs to the Center, the ﬁrst thing they do is to give
her a uniform so that it becomes difﬁcult for anyone to identify her. Then they inform the
chief who in turn informs the district education ofﬁcer who registers such girl in the
govemment register. “The girl now belongs to the government, not the school. No parent
or ‘husband’ can access her. But the chief hunts the parents down and institutes
investigation with a view to prosecute them”, recounted Mr. Muniu. According to him,
gender-based constraints to education are to blame, especially around the locality of the

Center since its community tenaciously display strict adherence to traditional cultural

68

values, attitudes and practices such as female genital mutilation (F GM) and early

marriages.

Gender Inequam

While Mr. Muniu believes that women have got a role to play in the development
of their families, communities and country, he bemoans the position of women in the

Maasai culture. He stated that in Maasai tradition women are considered children and;

A woman’s place is in the kitchen. It doesn’t matter how educated a woman is or
what position she holds, she is counted as a child. In fact, the word they use for a
woman is the same word they use for nagera [children]. When I meet a Maasai
man, even with me, we will discuss about ourselves, our cows, goats then
eventually children, women included. In fact Maasai men would respect an
uncircumcised boy than a woman. (Muniu, personal interview June 2007).

In his view, once a Maasai girl is born, she goes through 3 major phases. “Once a
girl is born, she waits to get circumcised, get married and bear children”. Mr. Muniu uses
the analogy of a lion to stress that a man, in the Maasai community is the ﬁrst and ﬁnal

say in the culture.

The Maasai community is a man’s world. In this community when food is cooked
there is the man, he is served ﬁrst, he eats, then the children and ﬁnally the
women. Do you know that is how lions behave, the lioness will hunt, the lion will
kill and the male [lion] will feed ﬁrst. (Muniu, personal interview June 2007).

As if what Mr. Muniu had just said was not disturbing enough, he further revealed:

Let me say, because I share with men, and we really talk, you know it may not be
important but let me say this. When a man is having intercourse with any woman, the
woman is not supposed to show feelings at all. If she does, she is considered a

prostitute. So sex is for the man, he can enjoy. (Muniu personal interview, June
2007)

During school programs that require the involvement of parents such as

reconciliation meetings, parent teacher association (PTA) and visiting days, Mr. Muniu

69

encourages women to talk and give their ideas and opinions, something that their culture
does not allow them to do. In the Maasai culture, “Girls don’t talk to their fathers. Even
when they are greeting their parents you know they give the heads and they are touched.
That includes women and boys who have not been circumcised”, conveyed Mr. Muniu. I
remembered the generous hugs in America and the right to express views and thought

how such acts often go unnoticed.
HIV/AIDS

The devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in education did not escape the list of
challenges that Mr. Muniu feared was likely to beleaguer his Center. While he reported
that incidents of HIV infection among students were minimal, he was worried about the
emerging high number of HIV/AIDS orphans in the Center. His characterization of the

orphans in the Center is as follows:

So now we have total orphans (those who have lost both parents) who are with us.
We have a majority who have lost one parent but most of them they have lost
their fathers. As of now, I am aware of 78 cases that have lost their fathers then
we have like 36 who have lost their mothers. But you know within the Maasai
community the father is everything. The fact that most of the women in the
Maasai community never went to school, it is a man who has been doing
everything for the community. Almost all of these cases contract HIV due to
ignorance. (Muniu, personal interview June 2007).

As much as Mr. Muniu was concerned about these orphans, he was much more
worried with what was happening in the community. He reiterated that some cultural
practices in the community had predisposed most innocent people to HIV infection and

this situation was complicated by experiences of endemic poverty. He said:

What I am worried about are the several cases of parents in this community who
are dying due to HIV/AIDS complications. Sex in the Maasai community is not
an issue. There is no such word as rape in this community. When you are
circumcised you are supposed to have sex in order to become a woman. By the

70

age of 8 and 12 circumcision is the key. After circumcision a mother can chase
her daughter from the house to go get a man, ‘you are a woman, why don’t I see
men here’? (Muniu, personal interview, June 2007).

Being a semi arid area, Maasai people’s investment is in livestock. As I have said earlier
in the setting section, the land in this part of Kenya is not suitable for farming due to
insufﬁcient rainfall. Hence, drought is a natural disaster for them since they cannot get
enough pasture and water for their cattle. This situation is exacerbated by their
reluctance to embrace education as the one and probably only key to break the cycle of
poverty.

All girls who attend the Center are either paying little tuition for their upkeep or
an individual or organization sponsors them. However, due to poverty, parents of most
girls are not able to support their daughters ﬁnancially. Mr. Muniu discovered that a few
parents had speciﬁcally brought their daughters to the Center because there was no food
for them at home. Such parents’ intent in this case is food not education. Mr. Muniu
emphatically said:

There is also poverty. This is a boarding institution, parents have to pay tuition

fee but because of poverty, many parents are not able to. So, they come looking a

place [vacancy] for their children —what do you do, do you turn them away? That

is the question. So these girls are here with us and we have to take care of them.

We have to even go out of our way. Like today, I have to meet someone at Kenya

Breweries [local beer-brewing company], who wants to purchase some uniforms
for these girls, so you have to move out. (Muniu, personal interview June 2007).

Sponsorship for the girls in the Center was a challenge to Mr. Muniu. He had to move out
and reach to well-wishers and ask for food, clothing and other supplies that are very
essential for girls. For instance, he shared:
In the Maasai community things like sanitary towels is not an issue even to
women in the community but now these girls are here, do we continue with what

they do at home? Or you change. So I have to go out. I am always out there
looking for funds (Muniu, personal interview June 2007).

71

Mr. Muniu therefore spent most of his time ‘out there’, either with the students or seeking
help for the girls. As leader, he said he had to be a good listener and a genuine friend with
a lot of networks both in and outside the country. He was hardly an ofﬁce principal.

One other challenge that worries Mr. Muniu is lack of physical space to
accommodate the ever-growing number of girls who keep rising by the day. He said that
the Center’s dormitories were operating twice their normal capacity. On the other hand,
while the rescue center within the Center is a pivotal symbol of hope for the rescued girls,
it poses more challenges to Mr. Muniu’s leadership. The rescue center serves as a home
for those girls whose parents refuse to accept them back. With such girls in mind, Mr.
Muniu described his predicament:

These girls are there yes. Sometimes we have over 100 girls who remain here.

One of the greatest challenges is that in this Center, the head teacher is on duty

throughout. The teachers are on duty throughout because it is a school that is on

from 1St January to 31St December. Teachers have to be here. We need to have at
least 2 teachers on duty everyday over the holidays. Sometimes you have to tell
the teachers that they cannot go because we need them. (Muniu, personal

interview, June 2007).

I learned that those girls who use the Rescue Center as their ‘home’ were not just idle.
They were involved in vocational skills programs such as bead making and sewing. In
addition, they also received remedial help with their school work and this meant that
teachers were always needed to supervise them and ensure their safety.

Going by the pressures and challenges Mr. Muniu navigated to ensure that his
Center lived up to its name, a Girls’ Center of Excellence, it is my view that his role was

stretched beyond that of a regular principal. He wears many hats for deserving girls in a

challenging environment with minimal resources.

72

Mr. Wario: A Passionate Music and Math Teacher

Mr. Wario is married and has a one-year-old daughter. Like Mr. Muniu, Mr.
Wario‘s wife teaches Special Education to visually impaired girls in the Center. Mr.
W ario has been a Math and Music teacher in the Center for the last 13 years. While he
does not hail from the Maasai community, Mr. Wario considers himself part of it since he
too refers to the girls at the Center as his daughters. He is a member of the Center’s
Guidance and Counseling team and also serves as one of the teachers involved in piloting
Science, Math and Technology (SMT) project in the Center. He believes in challenging
the stereotypes that hinder the participation and performance of girls in education
especially in Math and Science oriented subjects. Expressing his contentment over the
girls’ exemplary performance in these subjects, which are traditionally considered a
preserve of male students, Mr. Wario shared:

For a long time, girls have been thought not to do well in Math. I have been here

for some time and I have seen girls rise up. Because like last year in terms of As

of course they were not many, like English had the most number of As, I think

they had about 16As which we still consider small and then Math had 9As. These

are some of the things that I see as a driving force for my being here. When I see

girls performing well in Math I feel encouraged (Wario, personal interview, June
2007)

Mr. Wario was ecstatic that despite what the girls who come to the Center have been
through, they are a joy to teach. The girls’ stellar performance in national exams was a
major motivating factor for him and most teachers to remain in the Center. I asked him to

share with me what he considered was a cause for the girls good performance. He said:

Let me say this, it is a combination of factors. One thing that really encourages is
when I see these girls perform well in Math. The reason why I say this is because
there are other stakeholders who have come in, like FAWE. FAWE has really
encouraged us through training, in Science, Mathematics and Technology (SMT).
We have had workshops and in—service training in SMASSE (Strengthening Math

73

and science education). And the girls are ready to learn, and our principal is very
understanding. (Wario, personal interview June, 2007).

Mr. Wario’s description of the teacher’s commitment and students’ willingness to
learn was a mirror of the school motto: Determination and Dedication to Excellence.
Viewing his students as his own sisters who had stable jobs and decent income, Mr.
Wario stated that like boys, girls can achieve their dreams and contribute to the welfare of

their families provided they are given a chance in education.

Science Math and Technology (SMT)

Remembering how, during my primary and secondary schooling, my teachers
discouraged me and other girls from pursuing science oriented subjects, I asked Mr.
Wario to elaborate on the SMT project, which I thought was a noble enterprise. My
curiosity was heightened by the fact that during the interview, there was an SMT on-
going pilot class in standard ﬁve (5’h grade) that was using the SMT model.

According to Mr. Wario, SMT was introduced by F AWE with the aim to
encouraging girls to appreciate science related subjects by developing positive attitudes
early in life. In the long run, its objective is to enable teachers, students and the
community to tackle barriers that perpetuate the poor performance of girls in science-
oriented subjects. F AWE, which Mr. Wario said is very supportive in the Center, funds
the facilitation of SMT activities including in-service training for teachers to make the
science curriculum gender responsive. Hailing the support of FAWE, he says:

FAWE has been here for quite a while and has been encouraging girls either

directly or through us to pursue Math and to perform well in Math and other

Science subjects. As we talk now, there is a pilot class next door, and they have

tried to pump in some resources to kind of assess the performance (Wario
personal interview, June 2007).

74

Under the umbrella of SMT, Wario said that FAWE continues to set up
laboratories, computers and science workshops for students to encourage them to engage
in sciences. In essence, as Mr. Wario put it, “. . .they are trying to provide a conducive
learning environment that will make a difference in the girls performance in Math and
Science”.

Echoing the Center’s Mission on its inﬂuence on the girls educational goals, Mr.
Wario strongly believes in the holistic development of the students since, he argues, they
cannot isolate education from other social aspects. He said:

Our mission is to ensure the holistic development of the girl child. That one we

believe in besides our motto: determination and dedication to excellence. We

believe that their holistic development is important. Using our assemblies, we do
give a lot of pastoral (spiritual) care, the teacher in charge allocates one or two
people to talk to them either from the AIC church or anywhere to come and talk to
them especially on Wednesdays, We have assemblies in the dining hall on

Mondays and Wednesdays. In these assemblies we talk to them, teachers using

the Holy Scriptures teach them on virtues like love, caring and forgiveness
(Wario, personal interview, June 2007).

Mr. Wario further shared, “My girls also learn and gain skills that prepares them to take
care of themselves. They also gain spiritual nourishment, which adds to their kit in being
responsible, caring and as well as skills that enable them to survive hardy environments”.
Based on the elaboration of Mr. Wario, I realized that they were not just giving the girls
an education, but empowering them to change values, attitudes and practices in which

they are always the underdogs.

75

Girl Take Care of Girl Policy
Girl Take Care of Girl policy was introduced in the Center as one way to
encourage girls to support one another. While most girls had homogeneous background
experiences that resulted in their being in the Center, they needed help to unlearn some
social aspects and relearn what is expected of them while in the Center. The policy
therefore is meant to encourage girls to care and share their resources with needy and
new arrivals since a girl who runs to the Center comes only in the clothes she is wearing.
Explaining about this policy, Mr. Wario said:
We also try to develop that sense of caring. We have, Girl Take Care of Girl
policy. You see, when we receive rescued girls, most of the time they don’t have
anything, so we encourage this girls to contribute voluntarily, things like soap,
uniform or clothes even sanitary towels. In other words they share what they have
and this really helps them when they go out there they already know what it
means to share and care for one another. (Wario, personal interview June 2007).
Mr. Wario’s explanation is a depiction of hope and despair. While the Center ‘3
nerve of existence resides in helping rescued girls ﬁnd a footing in life, the challenges
that come with this gallant mission embody some elements of despair on the immediate
service providers. Mr. Wario singled, trauma, inadequate parental involvement,

occasional pregnancies and the difﬁculty for some girls in transitioning from being a

mother or ‘wife’ to being a student.

T_ra_Lnn_a

Invoking his role as a guidance and counseling teacher, Mr. Wario declared that
trauma among students was one of the profound challenges that the Center faced. Much
of the trauma emanated from some of the girls’ background experiences. He explained

that a number of the girls had been sexually abused/molested, forced to concede to

76

undergo FGM or early marriage against their will prior to their rescue or escape to the
Center. Mr. Wario further cited HIV/AIDS deaths or infection, instability in families due
to divorce or separation as major sources of trauma besides early marriage and FGM.
Due to the differing circumstances and degree of their trauma, Wario noted that it took
along time for the traumatized girls to heal and integrate well to the school routine. He
said;
It is trauma, and as I said we have children from different backgrounds. Some
children here have come here because the parents have separated, some maybe the
parents have divorced, some have been sexually molested, some are orphaned due
to the HIV/AIDS so we have all this diverse reasons why this children come here.
So trying to bring them back this children is not easy, because some already have
deviant behavior. So we have to be patient with them, we have to counsel them,
through peer counseling and have peer counselors within the school amongst the
students who are selected. In fact we have peer counselors amongst the students
(Wario, personal interview, June 2007)
Mr. Wario was optimistic that the individualized counseling services that the

Center provides coupled with the introduction of peer counseling among students was

helping most affected girls to cope with the reality.

Pregnancy

Mr. Wario narrated of a few cases of pregnancy among girls in the Center, which
he considered heartbreaking not only to the teachers but also to other students and
stakeholders. He shared a story of a girl in his class who had dropped out of his class due
to pregnancy.

Like now as we talk, there is a girl who dropped out. Unfortunately am the class

teacher, she was in class 8. I understand she is pregnant but I don’t know what

happened. She was supposed to be here over the holidays but she dropped out
quite recently because of pregnancy. It is even sad to talk about this one because,

her sister is at Alliance Girls, one of the best national school as you know. The
sister was hardworking and in fact she was index one. She scored very good

77

marks and we helped her and we determined to see that her sister joins her. Both
of them were rescued. This girl had dropped out earlier because of pregnancy, but
because her sister at Alliance loves education very much, she convinced her to
come back to school. She gave birth and left the baby at home. She came back to
class six. We decided to apply the re-entry policy and she came back to school
and all along she has been doing well only to receive this news this term that she
is pregnant for the second time. Her performance was good. (Wario, personal
interview June 2007).

Efforts to encourage girls such as the one Wario talks about in this excerpt to take
advantage of the re-entry policy to complete their studies was overshadowed by lack of
self-esteem, shame and disenchantment from peers. An element of optimism that such
girls are welcome to complete their studies is captured in Mr. Wario views:

We are still trying to follow up. We are hoping that she can come back. We are

still in the process of inquiring and see what happened. Right now she has not

given birth and the other baby may be big. As a class teacher, I would have
wanted her to come back after she has given birth, learn a bit and do her exam so

that at least she can have her class 8 certiﬁcate. So we are still pursuing because
this just happened recently (Wario, personal interview, June 2007).

Despite his optimism, Mr. Wario understood well the stigma that comes with
such pregnancies. Besides pregnancy, Mr. Wario stated one other challenge that he
believes continues to beleaguer the Center in providing a conducive environment for the
girls to realize their dreams. He cited the difﬁculty with some girls transitioning from

being ‘wives’ or ‘mothers’ to being students.

From being a wife/mother to being a student/child

 

Given that a number of the girls in the Center were those who had either run away
or been rescued from early marriages or FGM, they had little experience and knowledge
with formal schooling. Hence, in Mr. Wario’s view, it was difﬁculty to orient such girls

to the formal school programs. He explained:

78

Many of these girls have been married, you are trying to bring them back from
being a mother or wife to being a child [student]. It is difﬁculty because some
of them may have been married for a month or week and so it is hard to get
them from mother to child, it is hard for them to realize that they are in school
and not being a mother or wife (Wario, personal interview, June 2007).

Mr. Wario revealed further that a number of rescued girls either had one or two
children, which made it difﬁcult for them to separate from them and their home life and
concentrate in their education. Although many of them gradually get used to school and
eventually embrace it as their liberating force, Mr. Wario recalled of a case where one of
the rescued girls could not cope with life at the Center and eventually had to drop out. He
shared:

I remember there is this girl we rescued. She had been married for some time and

had stayed with her husband. We brought her here, we counseled her and thought

it was ok, and then one day when she was outside and she saw cattle passing and
she started telling other students that she misses her cattle and her goats. That one

did not stay for long, she dropped out. That was a very challenging case. She was

not fully engaged into the school system. I think she had attachment to her

animals, just like all those who come the way she did. (Wario, personal interview,

June 2007).

After probing Mr. Wario about the counseling staff in the Center, I realized that it
composed of teachers who had been sensitized on the social issues most girls who came
to the Center experienced. There was no professional counselor trained to handle the
psychological, physiological, and emotional needs that the rescued girls were
experiencing. This deﬁciency notwithstanding, Mr. Wario along with the rest of the staff
members, did their best to provide the girls with physical safety, which they needed ﬁrst
before all else. His work, especially in the sensitization and reconciliation workshops,

together with other staff members was giving hope and redeﬁning the place, role and

capabilities of the girl-child in the Maasai community.

79

Rhoda: The Rescued who became the Rescuer

I met Rhoda when she came to the principal’s ofﬁce in the morning of my ﬁrst
visit to Kajiado Girls Center. After a brief introduction from the principal, Rhoda agreed
to talk to me after class hours. Rhoda comes from the Maasai community and has been a
teacher at Kajiado girls Center for 13 years. She teaches social studies and English in
grades, 4, 6 and 8. In her late 30$, Rhoda is a single mother of 3 children, 2 daughters
and a son. The oldest daughter is in college. The second born, a son, is in high school,
while the last daughter whom I learned was 10 years old, is in class 5 at the Center. Like
Mr. Wario, Rhoda is also a member of the school’s Guidance and Counseling team.

Besides teaching, she is in charge of the Center’s food stores.

Personal Story

 

In our interview conversation, I realized that Rhoda was not only an embodiment
of what most girls in the Center had experienced, but also an epitome of hope for their
future. Rhoda’s information throughout my interview was her own life experiences. I
asked her to share with me how she had ended up in Kajiado Girls Center of Excellence.
She narrated:

I came to this school in 1995. The reason why I came here is because I had

quarrels with my parent [father]. I went to the District Education Ofﬁcer (DEO) to

get me somewhere to stay with my children, where I could be comfortable and

where I could avoid threats from my father who by then wanted me to marry
someone that I never wanted to marry (Rhoda, personal interview June 2007).

At age 10, Rhoda had undergone F GM and like any Maasai girl, she was waiting

to be given away for marriage. Her few years in school before she underwent F GM was a

80

profound experience. She believes that her father loved her and since she was bright in
school, she was spared to continue with her education instead of being married off.

After completing my secondary education, I was employed as an untrained

teacher (UT). Where I was working, I befriended a man from another tribe and

my father was really against it. Unfortunately, something happened, I conceived

and my father was very upset with me for befriending a man outside of my tribe. I

gave birth and left my child with my mother and I went to college. After college,

it happened again (I became pregnant) with the same man and my father didn’t
want to see me anymore. He said he could not accept it and he could not talk to
that man. And because of that he said he wanted to give me to somebody for

marriage because I had deﬁled his order and had become pregnant by someone

from a different community (Rhoda personal interview, July 2007)

According to the Maasai tradition, Rhoda, who then had 2 children was considered an
outcast. Rhoda’s father was therefore compelled to give her away quickly to escape the
shame Rhoda’s actions had brought to the family. According to Rhoda, she had
transgressed her family and community in 3 ways: (1) she gave birth before marriage (2)
her boyfriend was from a different tribe and (3) she had refused to obey her father by
marrying a man of his choice. Consequently, Rhoda was forced to move out. “When I
told my father that I was not interested in marriage at all, he told me to pack my things,
get my kids and move out of his home.” Rhoda 23years old by then did not envision
herself, a teacher marrying a 56 year old man just because that was her father’s choice. “I
didn’t know him”, she added.

After moving to the Center as a teacher, Rhoda stayed for two years without
communicating with her father. Rhoda was independent and the fact that she was
working and living a decent life, her father could not afford to continue his hatred for her.
One day, “He said that we cannot afford to stay like this, I want to forgive you and I want

to talk to you, and I want you to come home without conditions”, said Rhoda. She loved

her father and she wanted to put to an end their frost relationship. It did not take long

81

however, before Rhoda realized that her father was still determined to see her married to
the same man she had refused. It was evident that Rhoda was caught between her own

wishes as an educated Maasai teacher and the complexity of her culture.

The Power of Culture

 

While Rhoda was not willing to give in to relentless pressure from her father and
extended family to live up to the expectation of her culture, the idea of being an ‘outcast’
was more troubling. “Now my neighbors, my uncles, everybody was coming to me and
telling me to listen to my father, if I didn’t want to get a curse. Your father loves you so
much that is why he wants you to get married to this man...” The family pressure was
weighing down on Rhoda’s spirit, her determination to remain single was waning and the
silent and lonely moments cut deep into her life. She had to ﬁnd a middle ground to rest.
She explained:

My father used to love me so much and maybe that is the reason why I never

wanted to let go. I was really touched when everybody could talk to me and tell

me why I needed to obey my father and our customs. I could be called at home
and whenever I went there the topic was about my marriage. I was always angry

until one time I said I had had enough of it. And so I agreed and I got married to
the man they wanted. (Rhoda personal interview, June 2007)

Despite her education and status in the community as a teacher, Rhoda’s resolve
could not stand the power of culture. She was entrapped by her culture by falling to the
wishes of her father and her community. She consented to her father’s pre-arranged
marriage and became the second wife to a man who was more than twice her age.
Although Rhoda’s family was delighted about her marriage, happiness for her was just
but an illusion. She shared:

Everybody was happy when I agreed to get married but it was hard for me. My
father wanted me to be married to this man and for me I just followed

82

instructions, but I was never happy, not even one day I was happy. Most of the
time I stayed in my room crying and thought to myself why I was trying to make
people happy while I was miserable everyday. I realized that my personal
happiness was most important (Rhoda, personal interview, June 2007)
Comparing her matrimonial relationship to a “cold war”, Rhoda said, “ We had
nothing in common. I told my father I was tired of the cold war—we were not talking—
we were not quarrelling but I didn’t like it that we didn’t talk to each other.” Recalling
the anguish and frustrations she suffered due to lack of communication, connection and
love in the relationship, Rhoda retorted:
There was nothing in common whatsoever, even intercourse was the biggest barrier,
the age difference was so big, if anything he was supposed to be my father. I could
not discuss my feelings to him. Maybe I was too hyper for him or he was too slow for

me. So I couldn’t handle it any more. I was tired of feeling miserable and worthless.
(Rhoda, personal interview, June 2007).

To end her misery, Rhoda walked out of the marriage much to the shock and dismay of
her family. She told her family, “I know you wanted us to be happy but we are not and I
cannot force myself to stay with somebody I have no feelings for.” To her father, Rhoda
candidly put it to him:
I don’t want to die young, I need to live a happy life and if you truly love me, you
should release me to be myself. For the short time we have stayed together, it was
enough—you should return his cows. I requested that neither you nor my uncles

should sit anywhere discussing about my marriage or me. (Rhoda, personal
interview, June 2007).

Rhoda said that she was craving for freedom, the freedom that is devoid of
cultural prescriptions that imprisoned her. She wished the same for all human beings and
specially her children. Since she ﬁrmly stood before her father and asked him to let her free,
she considered herself a rescued person. “I consider myself a rescued girl now involved in
rescuing others”. Once hopeless, Rhoda further considers herself as an epitome of hope and

model for the rescued girls who end up in the Center.

83

Giving Voice to the Voiceless
Despite her tribulations, Rhoda has continued to stand tall as an icon of change
both within the Center and in her community. She believes that her challenges had made
her resilient and stronger. Working in the Center had shaped and redeﬁned her resolve to
be a voice to the voiceless in her community. She said, “if it were not for this Center, I
could have undergone so much trouble that probably could have broken me. This has
been my security and I will make it a security to the rest who need it”. She felt obligated
to become a rescuer through active involvement in grassroots’ campaigns meant to
enlighten and empower girls in her community. It is ironical that Rhoda is considered a
threat to the very culture that once held her captive. She said:
I know I have become a threat to my community, whoever wants to have their
daughter undergo FGM or given away for marriage, they ﬁrst ask if I am going
home (to my home village) or if anybody knows of my well about before they can
do anything. It is because they know I will call the police. They know that if they
are known they will be reported and they will be prosecuted. (Rhoda, Focus
Group Interview, July 2007).
Speaking speciﬁcally of FGM, which is still rampant in her community, Rhoda narrated
how her own brother and sister in-law had arranged to sneak their two daughters from the

Center to secretly undergo the ritual. Aware of their ill plans, Rhoda intervened and

foiled their plans but provoked a bitter family feud. She recalled:

I had a problem with my brother. When I came here [Center], my brother brought
his 2 daughters. One December, his wife came here and told my daughter that her
two cousins were going to undergo FGM, and if she could hide and come over to
the village they will go together, since she knew I was against it. So my daughter
told me and I called my nieces and asked them if they were aware that they would
undergo FGM. They said that they did not want to but they didn’t know what to
do. They sought for my help and I told them to write a note to the District
commissioner (DC) about their feelings. Because I knew the moment they could

84

go home they will be forced to undergo F GM, I personally took them to DC’s
ofﬁce where I got a letter barring them to be taken away from school by anybody,
including their parents. One of the letters was for my brother, the Center’s
principal and the local chief. When my brother came to the Center to get the girls
he was served with the letter barring him from accessing the girls. He went back
home and came with my father, and the same was told them. He was really upset
with me because he knew that I was behind it (Rhoda, personal interview, June
2007).

Although Rhoda explained that her actions saved her nieces from undergoing the ritual,
her relationship not only with her brother but also the community was frosty. People in
the village were afraid of her because they knew that she could not stop at anything to
involve government authorities to save the girls from retrogressive cultural practices. She
however lamented of high levels of poverty in her community that deprived many
children of education. Education, according to Rhoda, is not an immediate need for many

families in Maasai community especially during drought season.

Poverty

Echoing what Mr. Muniu and Mr. Wario had said regarding poverty, Rhoda
reiterated that poverty was a major impediment to girls’ education and general
development in her community. She shared that poverty had pushed some parents in her
community to give away their daughters in acts of desperation.

There is this case, one that really touched my heart. There is this girl who was
given away for marriage because of drought. The man was so poor that he gave
away this girl in order to get some grazing land for his few animals. There was
this old man who had a piece of grazing land, he told this other man (the girl’s
dad) that if you give me your daughter, I will allow you to graze your animals in
my piece of land. The girl was 10 and she was exchanged for grass, you can
imagine. So she was rescued, and this girl now is in form one, she did very well in
her grade 8 exams. (Rhoda, personal interview July 2007)

Rhoda was emphatic about this act of desperation, but indicated that there were many

85

more cases that go unnoticed in the community. She was optimistic that the inroads
reconciliation programs and F AWE sponsored sensitization workshops had made in the
community was paying dividends as some culturally ardent wazee (old men) had given in
and embraced the values of girls’ education.

Literature is replete with research that shows the value of educating girls to break
the cycle of poverty. There is credence in the view that educated mothers will almost
always want their children, both girls and boys to acquire better education than they
themselves received (Shultz, 1989). As Rhoda put it, “if these girls are not educated, they
will end up like our mothers and do as our culture demands. Undergo F GM, marry early,
and just manufacture children.” It is plausible to argue that the cycle of poverty does not
stop in one life cycle. According to UNICEF (2001), “A girl born in poverty is more
likely to marry early and have a child while still an adolescent. A malnourished girl
becomes a malnourished mother, who will give birth to an underweight baby’ (p.33). I
am of the view that an educated girl is able to negotiate her rights and is aware of her

responsibilities.

Focus Group Respondents
The girls enrolled in Kajiado Girls’ Center of Excellence were my primary
respondents. My access to them was heavily reliant on the three teachers I had
interviewed. I had asked each of them, the Center’s principal, Mr. Muniu, Ms. Rhoda and
Mr. Wario to identify at least 5 girls, who were likely to agree to participate in a focus
group. I explained to the teachers that the purpose of my focus group interview was to

understand the girls’ experiences along the thematic concerns that I had covered with

86

them. Thus, their experiences prior to joining the Center, perception of the Center and
their future educational goals after the Center.

From the list of names I received from each of the three teachers I interviewed, I
selected four girls based on their ages, duration spent at the Center, and the grade level.
My target was to select girls who were between the ages of 14-18 years, had stayed in the
Center for at least 5 years, and were enrolled in grades 6 to 8. I thought that girls, who
met these measures, were more likely to articulate their experiences than those from
lower grades. I therefore sampled a focus group comprising of four girls, namely: Faith,
Naomi, Hope, and Lydia. Faith and Lydia were in class 7 while Naomi and Hope were in
class 8. All the four respondents had been in the Center for over 5 years and their ages
ranged from 14 to 18.

Three of the student respondents hailed from the local Maasai community while
one was from a different community. In order to protect the respondent’s identity, I used
pseudonyms. In the sections that follow, I give brief background information for each
focus group respondent and later present their responses, opinions and ideas regarding
their experiences at the Kajiado Girls’ Center of Excellence. With the help of Rhoda, who
coming from the immediate local community understood the plight of most girls joining
the Center, I created rapport with the girls by taking lunch with them for all the time I
visited the Center. I gained their trust by sharing with them my own experiences, growing

up in another ethnic community as a girl in Kenya.

87

Faith
Faith was a 14-year-old Maasai girl in class 7 at Kajiado Girls Center of
Excellence. She comes from Ngong Hills, one of the divisions that make up Kajiado
District. She was into her 6’h year since she joined the Center. Faith shared with me about
her family, “ I am the last-bom in the family but I have 2 sisters who are older than me
and one brother. My father has 3 wives and my mother is the ﬁrst one. There is a second
one and a third one, who has many children. All of us are 13 in total.” When I asked Faith
how she had come to the Center, she took a deep breath and answered, “My sister and my
mom took me away from my father and brought me to this Center.” I wanted to know the
reason(s) that had made her mom and sister take her away from her father.
I probed Faith further to explain the circumstances that had led her to be brought to the
Center. She gave a lengthy response:
My father used to drink alcohol a lot and he could come home and beat my mom.
One day my mom ran away. She went to Nairobi, to stay with her sister who
helped her to get a job as a cleaner. She left us behind. My father planned a
circumcision ceremony for me and my sister. My father was planning to give my
sister away to another old man, who had a lot of cows. My father loved cows. He
was given animals and I was taking care of them. When my mom heard that my
sister had been circumcised and was to join her husband, she came home to take
her away from my father but my father refused to let her go. So my mom went to
the local chief, who came with the policemen and took her away. But my father
kept saying that if she refused to be married, he would curse her. He was hiding
me. Because now my sister went away, my father wanted me to marry the same
man. I did not want to be circumcised or go with that man. My mother came for
me and my father said that if I go I will not be his child. He would curse me. After
a month, when schools opened, my mother brought us here [Center] (Faith, Focus
group interview, July 2007).
Despite her family experiences, especially her father’s threats, Faith was thankful to be in

the Center where, unlike her sisters, she had been spared of female genital mutilation

(FGM) and early marriage. She shared that besides the sense of security and belonging

88

that the Center provides, she has an opportunity to do well academically and hopes to

become a pilot.

Lydg

Like Faith, Lydia was in class 7 at Kajiado Girls Center of Excellence. She was
1 7 years old and comes from Magadi, another division of Kajiado district. Her
background experiences echo those of Faith and Rhoda. Her father has three wives and
her mother is the second wife. Lydia revealed that prior to coming to Kajiado Girls
Center of Excellence, she had undergone female genital mutilation and had been given
away for marriage by her father. She disclosed:

You know my father, he loves cattle more than people, more than girls. One day,
he called my sister and me and he told us “I can see that you have grown up, now
I want to circumcise you and give you away for marriage.” At that time I used to
stay with my grandmother. When I heard that we were going to be given away I
kept quiet because I didn’t know what to do. I asked my sister if she wanted to be
married, especially because she was going very far and she said she would go
because she also didn’t know what to do. The following day, we saw the men
coming to our home. I asked my mom if they were the men my father had said
would take us for marriage. My mom said ‘yes, they are going to be your
husbands.’ I tried to tell my mom I didn’t want to be married but she told me not
to worry. She said we should just agree and go, since she didn’t have anything to
tell my father to spare us from being married. (Lydia, Focus group interview, July
2007)

Lydia and her then12 year-old sister were given away for marriage at the same time.
While Lydia’s sister did not want to oppose her father’s decision to be married, Lydia
managed to run away from her husband the next day and sought refuge at her
grandmother’s house. She recalled:
The next morning, my sister and me prepared and we went with our husbands.
My sister is still married but me I stayed there for one day, and I ran away
because I had told my cousins I wanted to go to school. I pretended that I was

going outside to the toilet and I ran away to my grandmother’s place. I walked in
the night. It was very dark. I was not scared of animals more than I was scared of

89

the man, my husband. My grandmother told me to hide because if people knew I
was there, they will be angry with her. In the evening, I heard my uncle talking.
He was asking my grandma if she had seen me. Grandma said, no. Later she went
to my uncle’s house. She was pretending and only wanted to know what those
men who were there had come to do. She went and asked them what they were
doing and they told her they were looking for their lost wife. (Lydia, Focus group
interview, July 2007).

Lydia’s story was strikingly similar to that of Rhoda and Faith, which clearly depicted
girls and women as passive decision makers in matters that directly affected their lives.

All my female respondents seemed to have been trapped in the culture of arranged
marriages and their fathers had the ﬁnal say as to who and when they married. For
instance, they were all given away to men who were much older than them. In the case of
Lydia, she revealed, “That man was about 48 years and I was just 10 years old.” Lydia
was voiceless in expressing her views about the age difference. She said that she watched
helplessly as her hopes and dreams were shattered. However, “the spirit inside me did not
betray me. I wanted to be in school, just like some girls I had seen in my village”.

I realized that Lydia’s determination to wear shoes and plait her hair as she had
seen all girls who go to school do, invigorated her inspiration to run away. With the help
of her uncle, grandma and the local police, Lydia was eventually brought to the Center to
pursue her dreams. Her father was jailed for three months and for the 7 years Lydia had
stayed in the Center, she had not seen eye to eye with her father. “I have never seen my
father since I came to this school. My mother used to visit me in the ﬁrst year but she
stopped. Now, this Center is my school and my home. I hope one day they [parents] will
accept me”. Lydia hopes to become a doctor so that she can treat sick people in her
village. “My dreams are to be a doctor and when I ﬁnish my school, I want my village to

realize that a Maasai girl can be anything a human being is capable of”.

90

Hope

Hope was 16 years old and came to the Center when she was 10 years old. She
was enrolled in class three (3rd grade). Unlike Faith, Lydia, and Naomi, who hail from
Kajiado district, Hope comes from the Sarnburu community, which is outside Kajiado
district. Hope was in class 8 and was preparing to sit for her standard 8 national exams,
Kenya Certiﬁcate of Primary Education (KCPE ). In addition to being the head girl at the
Center, Hope shared that she originally came from a Muslim background before she
converted to Christianity. She revealed that she was so indebted to her rescuer that she
had dropped her really name and taken her rescuer’s name. When I asked her to share
how she came to the Center, she revealed:

I was brought here by a friend, a good Samaritan. It was the time when my mother

was sick. My 2 older sisters and me did not go to school. I was disturbed and I

used to say hi to a lady who was a teacher around my grandpa’s house. She liked

me and one day, she asked me if I could stay with her. I was glad. I stayed with
her and I decided to get saved. She was a Christian and used to go to a local
church. When my parents heard that I had gotten saved, they were not happy.

They were against it and my dad said that he would even kill me. All my family

members were Muslims, but I didn’t like being a Muslim because as a girl, you

don’t have many chances of going to school or even asking anything as boys do.

With the help of my teacher friend, I ended up in this Center 6 years ago. (Focus

group interview, July 2007).

Hope spoke highly of the Center, as “it has given me a second chance in life”. Like
Lydia, Hope had not seen her parents for six years. She confessed that she sometimes
breaks down and cries a lot when she remembers her mother and siblings.

While Hope missed her parents and siblings, she was very categorical when I
asked her if she would want to see them had she a chance. She strongly said, ‘NO’ to my

surprise. She explained that she would want to see them when she’s completed her school

and gotten a well-paying job that would enable her to help them. “I want to complete my

91

school and realize my dreams ﬁrst then I can be able to see them and help them where I
can”, she said. Hope’s explanation was augmented by her teacher, Rhoda, who said that
Hope spoke with pain whenever she shared about her family but it was to her best interest
to keep off them [family] until she is done with her school.

Hope’s case was a bit difﬁcult for us to handle, coming from the Islamic

background. Her parents had already made up their mind to give this girl away

and were even threatening to kill her because she converted to Christianity. So we
thought it was not going to be safe for Hope to keep in touch with them [her
parents]. You might be wondering why she has not written to them or even visit
with her. When she gets out of this place and she is old enough to protect herself
and realizes her dream of becoming not only a human being, but also an engineer,
they will appreciate her more than they see her now, as an object. (Focus group

interview, July 2007)

In the discussion that ensued after Rhoda spoke, Hope made it clear that even
though her parents were not supportive of her, had threatened to kill her for converting to
Christianity and even arranged to marry her off, she had no ill feelings for them. She said,
“When I complete my school and get a good well-paying job, I will help my parents. I
will not neglect them.” Her goal was to succeed in school and have a good career so that

her parents would come to understand the meaning of education. Once she completes her

education, Hope aspires to become an engineer.

_I\la_0m_i

Naomi was the oldest of the four girls I interviewed in the focus group. She was
18 years old and enrolled in class 8. Like Hope, she was preparing to sit for her class 8
national exams, Kenya Certiﬁcate of Primary Education (KCPE). She was quiet and
reserved, but very eloquent when she spoke. She had come to the Center at the age of 11
and enrolled in class 2. She had undergone F GM and given away for marriage by her

father. She had 2 children, who were being take care of by her mother. Whenever she

92

talked of her children, tears welled up in her eyes and she struggled to hold them back.
While she did not seem to regret to have given birth to her children, Naomi was critical of
the Maasai culture that had led to “my present problems. I don’t know why I had to be
married off at the age of 9. I knew nothing. I suffered and it pains me to remember. Not
my mother, not my father, not any of my relative cared about me. They love cows”.
Naomi felt like marriage and cows in the Maasai community are synonymous to
life:
For my people, marriage and cows is all that make up good life. They value cows
so much that they can exchange anything for them. As a Maasai girl, I now realize
that we are so oppressed to the extent that a man had rather talk to a cow than a
woman. Since I came to this Center, I have realized that I don’t have to take all
that comes from a man. I am also a human being before I am a girl. (Naomi,
Focus Group interview, July 2007).
Naomi’s rescue was instigated by a local nurse who attended to her during her second
child’s birth. She had developed complications and the nurse was worried that she would
die if she did not receive specialized medical attention. In the process the nurse got to
know more about Naomi’s plight. She was later rescued and brought to the Center by a
local church through the local District Education Ofﬁce (DEO). Her father was arrested
but later released for old age.
Echoing other girls in the focus group, Naomi underscored the signiﬁcance of the
Center and revealed her dream to become a teacher and role model for many young girls
in her community. “ I want to become a teacher after ﬁnishing school. I like my teachers
very much because they have taught me many things that I did not know. I want to be a
role model for my children and in my village.” Naomi at times viewed her situation as a

blessing in disguise since she “maybe I could not have come to this school if I did not

suffer. I see my pain as good”.

93

From the four student respondents, I garnered that school had taken the place of
what they had all along been told matters in their communities such as cows, husbands,
and unquestionable obedience to the parents, especially the fathers. Their view, since
they joined the Center seemed to have dramatically changed. They seemed to be more
assertive, inquisitive of cultural practices that hinder their educational progress and
impede their social economic development. They singled out the program, Tuseme, which
in their view had helped to empower them to say “NO” at the same time free them from
the bondage of repugnant cultural practices. They all unanimously concurred that the
Center had helped them with boarding facilities that enabled them to participate in
educational activities. Their views are in line with one of FAWE’s objectives, which seek
to undertake an intervention package of effective strategies to address concerns in girls’
education through the creation of girl-friendly environments in the F AWE Centers of
Excellence. An analysis of the Experiences of Girls in a Center of Excellence is provided

in the next chapter.

94

CHAPTER V

ANALYIS

Introduction

In this chapter, I provide a thematic analysis of the data. The themes emerge from
synchronized data of the voices and nuances, perceptions and aspirations, challenges and
opinions of the respondents as well as the contexts upon which they live and operate on a
daily basis. Upon the backdrop of the objectives of Forum for African Women
Educationalists (F AWE), I provide a descriptive analysis of the contexts, Center of
Excellence and local Community. While the views of student respondents serve to
uncover the challenges and complexities of their past experiences and opportunities of
their present and future dreams, those of teacher respondents serve to reﬂect on the
Center’s potential to transform the girl’s experiences into a future full of hopes and
dreams.

This analysis was guided by an overarching research question and four sub
questions. What are the Experiences of Girls in a Center of Excellence in Kajiado district,
Kenya? A majority of these girls are those who either escape or are rescued from cultural
practices such as female genital mutilation and early and prearranged marriages. The sub
questions were:

1. What are the experiences of girls prior to and after their involvement with the

Center of Excellence in Kajiado?

2. In what ways does the Center of Excellence inﬂuence the girls’ current and future

educational goals?

95

3. What strategies does the Center of Excellence employ to support the girls’
educational goals?

4. What is the nature of the relationship between the Center of Excellence and the
community within which it is located?

Based on these research questions, three themes emerged from the data. The ﬁrst
theme, Education and Empowerment, brieﬂy outlines the contexts upon which this theme
is enacted. The contexts include the Center of Excellence and the Community. These
contexts are part of primary jurisdictions that shape and transform girls’ personal, social
and academic lives. It is here that the girls’ hopes are nurtured, dreams unveiled, taboos
broken and conﬂicts awakened as they trek through complex and often-uncertain tension
packed terrain in search of education. The second theme, Hopes and Dreams, attempts to
reveal the girls’ aspirations and career goals. The third theme, The Maasai a Vulnerable
Community, unveils the Maasai community’s socio-cultural and economic aspects such
as their resistance to girls’ education, poverty and HIV/AIDS and their implication for the

Center of Excellence.

Education and Empowerment
This theme is premised on the role of the Center of Excellence and the
Community as major environments that inhibit or empower girls’ personal, social and
academic lives. I use the term empowerment in this study to denote all manner of self-
actualization, self-conﬁdence and awareness that girls achieve by virtue of their exposure
to the Center’s programs. According to Leech (2003) empowerment not only encourages

gender awareness in development projects but also helps women and girls develop

96

abilities to recognize issues affecting them as well as men. The Center of Excellence
serves as an educational catalyst that awakens girls’ consciousness to understand and

tinker with forces of their marginalization with a view to breaking free.

Center of Excellence

 

According to the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE, 2001), a
Center of Excellence (COE) is an educational institution that clearly and effectively
demonstrates a holistic and integrated approach towards addressing problems in girls’
education. This constitutes creating an enabling teaching and learning environment in the
school and ensuring community involvement in female education. The Centers of
Excellence mode of intervention is premised on the conviction that given access, safe and
secure environment to study, girls can truly excel in school just like boys. This belief is
enshrined in FAWE’s mission to:

I. Support innovative action and experimental strategies for overcoming obstacles to
female education.

2. Mobilize civic associations and society as whole to pay more attention to the
needs of girls and women in the planning implementation of national education
policy.

3. Encourage dialogue within governments to improve investment in female
education.

Formerly known as Africa Inland Church (AIC) primary school, Kajiado Girls
Center of Excellence acquired its new name and status in 1999 when P AWE identiﬁed it

to serve as a model school to address the gendered, social, economic and educational

97

disparities that characterize most marginalized communities in Kenya. Using it as a
demonstrative intervention model, FAWE’s purpose for the Center was to provide safety
and education not only to girls rescued from socio-cultural practices such as FGM and
early marriages, but also to all girls from regular and needy families in the community.
At the time of this study, the Center was home to 650 girls, a majority of whom
hailed from the local community. Of the 650 girls, 150 were day scholars (commuted
from their homes each school day) while the majority, 500 were boarders (lived in the
Center when school was in session). According to the school principal, the majority of
these girls were those who had escaped or been rescued from FGM and/or pre-arranged
marriages. Some of the girls’ backgrounds were characterized by poverty and HIV/AIDS.
To address the plight of girls from these adverse backgrounds, part of F AWE’s
strategy for the Center of Excellence was to provide an intervention package whose

objectives included but were not limited to the following:

0 Introduction of a gender responsive pedagogy in relation to teaching
methodologies, curriculum, teacher-student interaction and student participation.

0 Gender sensitization of teachers, students [boys and girls], parents, and
community members.

0 Empowerment of girls for better learning including self-conﬁdence, assertiveness,
and active participation.

0 Impart life skills for personal development and preparedness to combat gender-
based constraints such as violence and HIV/AIDS.

0 Establishment of guidance and counseling desks and services including peer
counseling.

0 Establishment of TUSEME [speak out] clubs for both boys and girls.

0 Provision of additional teaching and learning materials where required with

emphasis on libraries, science and computer laboratories.

98

0 Improve participation of girls in Mathematics, Science and Information
Communication Technology (ICT).

0 Provision of boarding facilities for girls where necessary in cases of long distance
walks to school

0 Establishment of gender responsive school management systems

0 Provision of bursaries for needy girls

0 Linking the provision of school infrastructure to performance.

0 Active involvement of the community in the operation of the school and
combating community based constraints to girls’ education

0 Involvement of Ministry of Education at national, regional and district levels for
facilitation of the process and dialogue on policy implications.

These objectives were to be integrated into the regular school curriculum. The
aim was to increase girls’ levels of knowledge, self-conﬁdence and assertiveness as well
as enable them to claim their rights, control their lives and actualize their ambitions in
life. A holistic approach to girls’ education is cognizant of the community as an integral

partner in education affairs.

The Community

 

Research has shown that communities play a critical role in the education of their
children (Caffarrella, 2000; Epstein, 1995 & 2001; Davies, 1991). As partners and
stakeholders, family and community involvement in schools bring unique strengths,
skills, perspectives and knowledge to the educational process. In some cases, they pose
challenges and constraints to the education of their children. Based on my frame of
reference, structures that churn out barriers to girls’ education and foster gender

inequalities are deeply entrenched in the community.

99

The Maasai community, in which Kajiado Girls’ Center of Excellence is located,
is known for its tenacity to preserve their culture. According to Rhoda, one of the teacher
respondents, educating and empowering girls in the Maasai community is a challenge
since, “girls and mothers are socialized to perform culturally mandated gender roles
linked to the household. For example, girls are taught how to be good wives and make
their husbands happy”. Despite government efforts, through free primary education, to
ensure that all children have access to education, respondents revealed some disquieting
incongruence between parental attitudes and girls’ educational aspirations.

Initially, the community was opposed to the existence of the Center for fear that it
could interfere with and erode their children’s way of life. Rhoda, a female teacher in the
Center who hailed from the Maasai community shared:

At ﬁrst, there was tension between the school and our local parents. When some

of the parents realized that their daughters whom they had given away [married

off] were rescued and brought here, we became enemies. Many of these parents
were men and the so-called ‘husbands’. Sometimes their resistance became
confrontational. There was a time when some men came armed with rungus

[clubs] and swords and we had to look for policemen to protect the Center. They

were demanding to be given their daughters and ‘wives’ back (Rhoda, Personal

Interview, June 2007).

According to Rhoda, this initial resentment and opposition to the Center and particularly
to girls’ education was the Maasai’s way of protecting, preserving and perpetuating the
role of girls and. women in the community. I garnered that girls in the Maasai community
are socialized to be obedient to their fathers and husbands and must accept the fact that
after circumcision, they will be given away to their father’s choice. Like children, girls

and women are voiceless in all matters that affect their personal lives including their

bodies.

100

All respondents unanimously concurred that the Maasai community prefers boys
to girls. One girl captured the other respondents’ disdain for this preferential treatment, “I
don’t like our Maasai culture. Boys go to school and girls remain at home to work with
their mothers in the house, take care of babies or look after the animals and wait until the
day they will be married. I don’t think it is fair for us, girls” (Faith, Focus Group
Interview). Literature has shown that families and communities are trajectories of
children’s knowledge and the socialization they receive forms the basis of their
knowledge acquisition and often shapes how they learn, their ambitions and goals in life
(Epstein, 2001; Davis, 1991). Along this line of thought, it is plausible to suggest that the
Maasai’s cultural preference of boys to girls socialize their boys to continue patrilineal
descent and girls to believe and accept that this is the only way of life.

The girls’ encounter with the Center of Excellence provided a conducive and
empowering enviromnent upon which they not only questioned their community’s
preferential treatment of boys, but also other cultural beliefs and practices that
disadvantaged girls. Their responses indicated that education was the best liberating tool
that answered their questions and concerns. They fell in love with the Center of
Excellence because it provided them with formal education and empowered them to
speak out and make informed choices on matters that affected their lives.

Gleaned from the data, I present below an analysis of some speciﬁc strategies the
Center utilizes to educate and empower the girls. These strategies include: Tuseme,
Rescue center, Holiday program, Reconciliation programs, Gender responsive pedagogy
(Guidance and Counseling and Inclusive learning), hard work and faith and community

sensitization and reconciliatory programs.

101

Tuseme (Lets speak out)

Respondents considered the Center’s programs key in equipping girls with
knowledge, skills and self-esteem they so much needed for survival in and out of the
Center. Mr. Muniu viewed the Center beyond just being a formal educational institution.
According to him, the programs the Center provided were meant, “to educate, empower,
ﬁght and transform gender inequalities”. It is out of this view that Tuseme program
thrives. I gathered from the respondents that Tuseme created a process that sensitized
girls about their marginalization and subordination and enabled them to acquire the
knowledge and skills to analyze and take action to overcome their marginalization.

Student respondents said that Tuseme program was an effective strategy that had
helped them build their conﬁdence, assertiveness and self-esteem. It had signiﬁcantly
enhanced their ability to analyze situations, challenge the systems and decisions that
impact negatively on their welfare. Tuseme had further enabled them to develop into
powerful human beings able to make informed decisions about their “bodies, mind, and
soul”. Faith captured the views of other girls saying:

I was very shy when I was brought here. I used to cry most of the time. I did not

know how to speak English properly. So I spoke very little and contributed very

little in class discussions. Since the introduction of Tuseme club, I am able to
speak more and share ideas with others. Tuseme helps us to speak out our mind

and hearts on issues that affect us. We now know our rights and we cannot keep
quiet any more (Faith, Focus Group Interview, June 2007).

Equating Tuseme and the Center of Excellence with a reservoir of knowledge, the girls

unanimously underscored how the Center and its programs had awakened their conscious

to understand the dangers of some cultural practices in their community. Lydia, observed:
I now know about the dangers of circumcision, the teachers have told us and now
I know I don’t have to accept it. Again as adolescents, my teachers here in school

are just like my parents, they tell us everything. How to care for ourselves, cope
with challenges of being teenagers and in life. We learn how we can avoid

102

sexually transmitted infections [STI], which I could have not known, and even
HIV/AIDS (Lydia, Focus Group Interview, June 2007).

The principal and teacher respondents were also upbeat in their view of Tuseme
as one of the best practices that had led to the empowerment of girls in the Center.
Through Tuseme:

Girls are inspired to express what they see as factors leading to poor academic

achievement, schoolgirl pregnancy, sexual harassment and drop out: and then to

ﬁnd ways through which they [girls] can actively participate in the problem

solving process (Muniu, Personal Interview, June 2007).

Educating and empowering girls under Tuseme framework appealed and allowed me to
envision how ordinary schools and communities that adopt Tuseme approach had the

potential to transform themselves into environments that are academically, socially and
physically gender responsive for both girls and boys. One way to protect girls and give

them voice in a community where they are voiceless was the Center of Excellence’s

symbolic and solemn Rescue Center.

The Rescue Center

Built in the year 2000 with the support of F AWE and other sponsors, the rescue
center, dubbed Emparnat Naisula (home for girls), is revered as a safe haven for girls
who are rescued from FGM and arranged marriages (Appendix C1). According to Wario:

Because some of the rescued girls ﬁnd it difﬁculty to go back home, FAWE put
up the rescue center to accommodate them. It is like a home to them. It has three
wings; the hall, the kitchen and the sleeping wing. When we close school, the
rescue center serves as a home for the rescued girls. They engage in some
vocational work, they do needle work, sewing/stitching and bead work so they
don’t get bored. They also prepare their own meals here. We offer remedial
lessons for those who lag behind in some subjects (Wario, Personal Interview,
June 2007).

I learned that the rescue center was also home to girls who had transitioned from the

Center to either secondary schools or colleges but were still disowned by their families.

103

By the time I was collecting data, the total population of girls in the rescue center was 85:
55 girls attending primary schools, 26 girls attending secondary schools, 2 girls at the
university, and 2 girls attending a vocational training institution. These girls’ parents had
refused to reconcile with them because they had disobeyed their culture to either get
married or undergo FGM.

I further learned that the rescue center is not only equipped with boarding
facilities, but also with a library and a theater hall. The inside walls of the rescue center
were painted with empowering messages on girls’ education. Besides pictures of girls
from Centers of Excellence from other African countries, some catchy posters read, “Say
No to Child Labour!” and “Give us education, it is our right” as well as pictures of chiefs
meeting with girls and their commitment signatures to promote girls education in the
community (Appendix C2). One girl said of the rescue center:

The rescue program is very helpful. The teachers here are so friendly, they take

good care of us when we are not visited, they buy soap for us, they give us clothes

and food to cook for ourselves because we cannot go home. It provides a place for
us to stay. For me it is home (Faith, Focus Group Interview, June 2007).

The rescue center carried with it the aura of a normal home, but there were no parents,
siblings, cows, dogs and chicken running around and about in the homestead. The girls
were like siblings to each other and their stories and experiences weaved them together.
There were those who had been given away, carried out wifely duties and had children of
their own. There were also those who were as young as 8 years, but had been raped,
violated and subjected to cultural abuse, the main one being F GM. The rescue center

carried both their burdens and their dreams.

The rescue center had special facilities that promoted and enhanced the girls’

participation in education and facilitated their empowerment. It provided them with a

104

conducive and safe environment for studying. As part of the package of the rescue center
was a holiday program designed to assist the girls whenever the Center was closed at the
end of the term. Girls in the focus group were ecstatic about the holiday program and

what it entailed.

The Holiday Program

 

The holiday program was designed to cater for girls in the rescue center during
school holidays. It provided girls with training opportunities in income-generating skills
such as baking, making beads, ornaments and weaving. Besides these activities, the
program also provided remedial lessons in subjects that challenged girls such as Science,
Math and Technology (SMT). It is during the holiday session that rescue center hosts
various visitors from donor agencies, Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs), local
women’s groups as well as activists and well-wishers. I gathered that during their visits
they donate clothing, food and other supplies to support girls in the rescue center.
Occasionally, they take these girls out for special trips or sponsor their Christmas.

Through skits and theatrical performances, the girls use the theatre hall in the
rescue center to communicate with visitors and their community about their plight. It is in
the theatre hall where girls share their experiences prior to coming to the Center and
showcase their abilities and transformation. According to Mr. Muniu, “the girls use the
theatre to research on factors that lead to high dropout rates, analyze the problems,
express the outcomes in theatre performances and conduct post performance discussions
with the school and the community to arrive at viable solutions”.

I learned that some of the girls who had ‘graduated from the rescue center’

through successful reconciliation with their families had become advocates for girls in

105

their villages who were experiencing the same repressive cultural practices they had
undergone. Rhoda, a female teacher respondent who hailed from the Maasai community
observed that while the rescue center had created awareness among girls, its ‘graduates’
had become activists in their villages enlightening their peers on the dangers of F GM and
early marriages. She said:
In fact most of these ‘graduate girls’ when they go home they talk to their sisters
and other girls, they empower them. They tell them to refuse to undergo FGM and
incase of anything they should run here where they are safe. They tell them to
make sure they see the District Commissioner, the chiefs and anyone who can
help them get to the Center. And once they come here we receive them, and make
sure that they are safe. We give them uniform and it becomes hard for one to
identify them from the rest (Rhoda, Personal Interview, 2007).
It was not only the ‘graduates of the rescue center’ that had taken advocacy roles to their
communities, but all girls who attended the Center of Excellence were perceived to be
activists of gender inequality in their villages. On this View, Mr. Muniu shared:
Our girls here, have been so sensitized that even when they go home over the
holidays, they know of girls who are threatened for marriage or FGM, they advise
them to come here. What we have agreed is, when a girl comes, then the local
chief should come and get the details of the rim-away girl and go to the parents to
know if indeed the girl has been forced to these practices. The chief is our legal
shield and this has worked for a number of girls (Muniu, Personal Interview, June
2007)
Mr. Muniu indicated that a number of girls in the rescue center had ‘graduate girls’ and
‘girl activists’ to thank for their rescue.
It was discemable that the holiday program through its activities and services not
only provided opportunities for the girls to feel safe and protected from harmful practices,
but also enabled them to realize and explore their academic potential. Given the

magnitude of trauma and abuse girls in the rescue center had endured, I viewed the rescue

center as a therapeutic facility where they gradually found healing and gathered enough

106

skills to move on. Cognizant of the fact that school cannot replace the role of family in
children’s education and their general deveIOpment, the Center of Excellence established
reconciliation programs targeting parents, families and communities as equal partners and

stakeholders in girls’ education.

Reconciliation Programs

With the help of FAWE, the Center had initiated reconciliatory seminars and
sensitization workshops in the local community to enlighten them on the importance of
girls’ education. The seminars encouraged parents especially fathers to support the
education of their daughters, something they were culturally against. Emphasizing the
importance of the seminars and workshops, Mr. Muniu said:

I believe the workshops and seminars have created a very positive response. The

community can now associate with what we are doing here. And now that they

see what we do, we tell them to take their turn. We make sure they know that we
are not against their culture, we tell them their culture is rich and good but there
are some things in the culture that we need to change that affect girls. Because we
talk to them, they are now seeing sense of why girls also need education, but I say

it has not been easy (Muniu, Personal Interview, June 2007).

With the understanding that the Center’s role was not to change the Maasai
culture, the respondents underlined the gradual change of cultural mindsets among
community members. The involvement of provincial administration ofﬁcials such as
district ofﬁcers, local chiefs, and ofﬁcials from the Ministry of Education and children’s
rights ofﬁce gave currency to the need for girls education and ensured that parents and
other community members understood and respected children’s rights. While it is

difﬁcult to get such high level ofﬁcials all at once, the Center often uses local chiefs to

sensitize the local community. According to the Center’s principal, chiefs in Maasai

107

community are among the most powerful opinion leaders who can serve as effective
intermediaries in mobilizing and communicating with the Maasai at the grassroots level
about various aspects of development.

A review of one of the documents, Minutes on Community Mobilization, showed
that in 2005 the following took place: (1) most chiefs were reporting no cases of early
marriage of school going girls in their areas (2) fathers were physically bringing their
daughters to school, something they did not do before (3) 30 out of 58 girls who had been
rescued from early marriages and FGM and housed at the rescue center had been
reconciled with their parents and (4) the school had recorded only 3 cases of pregnancy in
four years as opposed to an average of about 5 per year prior to 2002. The latest
workshop, which was held in 2006, involved 47 chiefs from 7 divisions of Kajiado
District. The goal of the workshop was to: review the challenges of the rescue program,
strategize how to improve the reconciliation process, listen to the views of the rescued
girls and how to put the strategies into an action plan.

Through reconciliation programs, it is apparent that the education of girls ought to
go hand-in-hand with the education of the community. Reconciliation programs provided
rare opportunities for girls to question and critique their community’s cultural practices
and parents, especially mothers got as chance to share their views and concerns. This was
also one of the platforms that development agencies, community based organizations and
churches employed to sensitize the community on issues of ’HIV and AIDS as well as
poverty.

Reconciliation programs created a new understanding of the role of girls’

education in the community. Such understanding was premised on the dividends of girls’

108

education as captured by Rhoda, “when they [parents] see a woman chief, a woman
teacher and a woman district officer, they are persuaded to believe that through
education, their daughters too can be ofﬁcers”. The arduous nature of the reconciliation
process created in girls an urgent need for them to work hard to reﬂect their families
sacriﬁces and support. They understood that their success in school hinged on hard work

and faith in God.

Hard Work and Faith

A recurring theme that cut across all respondents was hard work and faith.
Teacher respondents pointed out that the Center was ﬁrmly grounded on its religious
founding and its motto, Determination and Dedication to Excellence, instilled in teachers,
students and other staff the virtue of hard work and freedom of worship. Mr. Wario stated
that the Center’s strong spiritual aspect was one of the ways girls could ﬁnd healing
through love, forgiveness and care. Given the abuse, pain and trauma that characterized
most girls’ past experiences, prayer, sharing and talking about God was part and parcel of
the Center’s daily routine. According to Wario:

We give our girls a lot of pastoral care. The teacher in charge allocate one or two

people from either AIC or another church to talk to the girls especially on

Wednesdays when we have assemblies. In these assemblies, teachers use the Holy

Scriptures to instill virtues such as love, caring, and forgiveness. I believe that

when these girls leave here, the spiritual aspect is catered for. You cannot miss

one or two that stray but the majority are brought up in the knowledge of God
(Wario, Personal Interview, June, 2007).

The girls concurred that their faith in God had seen them through the pain and suffering
in the hands of their parents and ‘husbands’ and was working for their success in the

Center. Their sense of love and caring is captured in the program, Girl take care of Girl

109

where they voluntarily help newly rescued girls with basic items like soap, uniform, and
sanitary towels. In the words of Hope:
Like other girls here in the Center, I did not have anything when I was brought
here. Other girls shared their items with me. So, we share what we have and I
believe this will help us when we go out there because we already know what it

means to share and care for one another. This is what God wants for us (Hope,
Focus Group Interview, June 2007).

The spiritual aspect was a critical and necessary component of a holistic approach to
educating girls.

The girls’ understanding of the concept of sharing as taught in the Center was a
departure from what their communities had led them to understand. Lydia noted, “I now
know that I don’t have to share my future husband or allow myself to be shared”. Their
focus was to earn better grades that could lead them to join good secondary schools.
Student respondents attested to the encouragement they received ﬁ'om their teacher
saying:

The teachers are encouraging. They tell us to work hard. Before I came to this

school I knew nothing. What I knew was to look after a baby. I was just there,

waiting to grow up and have my ears pierced and wait to get married or be given

away. Now I know that school is important to me and I can be anything I want to
be (Lydia, Focus Group Interview, June 2007).

Mr. Muniu stated that majority of girls who sat their Kenya Certiﬁcate of Primary
Education (KCPE) scored an average of 350 points out of 500. In 2006, “we had 92
candidates who sat for KCPE and all of them passed and are in secondary schools”. Mr.
Muniu further shared that the day before I interviewed him, he had taken the last girl to a
secondary school after a well-wisher decided to sponsor her. He said of the girls, “ she
scored good points in her KCPE exam and she is an orphan. She was selected to two
schools previously but we did not have money to pay for her tuition. To make matters

worse, she is HIV positive. Her parents are dead. She got it [HIV] from her parents”.

110

The eye-catching academic, spiritual and extra-curricular trophies displayed in
Mr. Muniu’s ofﬁce exempliﬁed their faith and hard work (Appendix C3). He was
particularly proud of one: “This trophy here [showing it] I was given last year for
admission, retention and completion. We are a school that admits and retains most of our
girls”. I thought the trophies were a constant reminder to the girls who were in and out of
Mr. Muniu’s ofﬁce that the Center’s core objective was to harness their potential and
equip them with knowledge and skills to navigate the hardy terrains of life in and out of
the Center. The contribution of teachers was central in the theme of hard work and faith.
Their professional development to create a gender responsive environment for girls to

achieve was captured in the model, gender responsive pedagogy.

Gender Responsive Pedagogy (GRP)

All 21 teachers in the Center of Excellence had undergone training on how to utilize a
Gender Responsive Pedagogy (GRP) model as part of a holistic intervention to make
teaching and learning processes gender responsive. Teachers from Centers of Excellence
from three countries namely; Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda in collaboration with FAWE
developed GRP. According to Mlama (2005), “they used their own school experiences to
identify issues that needed to be addressed and they developed a gender responsive
handbook for teachers. They piloted the handbook in their own schools for all subjects
offered” (p.13). A review of the GRP teachers’ manual revealed areas that teachers laid
emphasis for its effectiveness. They included:

0 Lesson planning

0 Teaching and learning materials

111

Language use in the classroom

Classroom set up

School management system and

Strategies of combating sexual harassment and management of sexual maturation.

I asked the principal to describe changes he had observed since the teachers had

started using GRP manual. He explained that the practical application of GRP manual

had produced very encouraging results along the following areas:

Raising the awareness of the teachers on the gender constraints to learning.
Equipping the teachers with concrete skills on how to eliminate the gender based
constraint to the teaching and learning processes

Equipping the teachers with skill for new teaching methods, which apply not only
to gender but to the overall improvement of the quality of their teaching
Equipping the teachers with the skills to identify gender stereotyping in teaching
and learning materials such as textbooks and visual aids and the skills to produce
gender responsive materials instead

Promoting innovation and creativity in the teachers in the bid to come up with
gender responsive teaching methodologies, teaching and learning materials
Introducing a gender friendly atmosphere in the school among teachers and
students, both inside and outside the classroom

Improving the quality of teaching and learning overall leading to better
performance by both boys and girls (Muniu, Personal Interview, June 2007).

Mr. Wario also shared his experience before and after GRP training:

Most of the teachers are GRP trained and even those who come here on transfers
are quickly sensitized through assemblies and staff meetings so that they get to
know how to deal with girls with special needs. Initially, we did not know how to
handle girls having problems with their menstrual periods — maybe they do not
have sanitary towels, or they are uncomfortable due to menstrual pains. Even if
we understood what it was, we did not take it serious until we underwent a series
of seminars including GRP training. I remember one time we were in groups and
Dr. Mlama [FAWE Executive Director] asked us to talk about girls’ problems.
We talked about other things and she asked us if we ever think of these girls when
they have their periods, when they miss class during those four days or maybe a
week, multiply those days per term or even per year, they come to over a 100
days. Now, when a girl tells you that she wants to go out during a class session,
you simply understand and they have other problems, we encourage them to
speak out (Wario, Personal Interview, June 2007).

112

Rhoda was categorical in her views about the beneﬁts of GRP training on students with
special needs including those that were physically, emotionally and visually challenged.
I learned that the Center had embraced an inclusive learning model, where girls
with unique needs and disabilities were encouraged to learn alongside ‘normal/regular’
students. Mr. Muniu said:
We emphasize inclusive learning. We have girls who are physically challenged,
some with visual impairments and other who are either orphans from HIV and
AIDS or other causes and other children from broken families due to divorce or
separation of parents. We have girls who are grossly abused and some who come
from poverty stricken families. It is really not easy but we try to help them within
our ability. We have a unit for the visually impaired and 2 special education
teachers. We have one teacher who is trained in guidance and counseling. In fact

all of us here are trained through in-service to help girls with emotional problems.
(Muniu, Personal Interview, June 2007).

The Integrated Unit for the Visually Handicapped (Appendix C4) was equipped
with resources such as Braille system. Teacher respondents admitted that handling of
students with special needs was challenging since it needed a lot of training and
resources. With no proper government policies to support children with physical,
emotional, and learning impairments in rural areas, Mr. Muniu observed, “These children
are the ones who may never have come to school because of negative attitudes or beliefs
that they cannot learn. This community [Maasai] does not believe that such children have
a right to education and should attend school”. The Center’s guidance and counseling
department coordinated support services for needy and challenged girls in the Center.

Like most Centers of Excellence in sub-Saharan Africa, Kajiado Girls Center of
Excellence had a functional guidance and counseling program that attempted to address
speciﬁc needs of girls. The program had one trained counselor, who was a retired nurse.
She had in turn in-serviced teachers and trained peer-counselors among students. So,

there were counseling teams amongst teachers and students. G & C activities included a

113

weekly session for all girls focusing on HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, pregnancy,
girl/boy relations - all conducted through debates, Tuseme and ﬁlm/video/drama. I
further learned that G & C provided necessary medical treatment and referral services to
girls suffering from HIV and AIDS and as well as those who were rescued and had severe
bodily and mental injury. The program had led to successful integration of girls into
normal school life of hitherto psychologically injured and traumatized girls rescued from
forced marriage and FGM.

Based on the respondents’ views and experiences in the Center and its
empowerment strategies, it is logical to construe that the Center had enabled the girls to
expand their worldviews. It had led them to understand the deeply entrenched gender
inequalities within their communities and empowered them to confront cultural biases,
which deprived them of educational opportunities and violated their human rights. They
were cognizant of the beneﬁts of school, delaying marriage and having fewer, better-
nourished and educated children. They realized that once they are educated, they have
more chances of being productive, earn better pay, and participate in social, economic
and political decision-making. Their exposure to the Center had led them to develop
appreciation for not only the person they were and could become, but also have prospects
for their future and ﬁght for opportunities that could transform their lives and that of their
villages. While I listened to the respondents’ description of opportunities and challenges
in and out of the Center, I wondered how the government supported both the girls and the

Center of Excellence.

114

Role of Government

One of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals to which Kenya is a
signatory, is to ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling.
In line with this goal, the government of Kenya introduced Free Primary Education in
2003 to cater for a large number of children who were locked out of school because their
families could not afford. As a sign of good will and commitment to alleviate bottlenecks
that impede girls’ participation and achievement while in school, the government in 2004
struck an agreement with manufacturers to drop all taxes on sanitary towels for women.
Along free primary education, respondents identiﬁed other key strategies the government
uses to support the Center and the girls. These include: The Children’s Act of 2001,
Bursary schemes, Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and World Food Program. I

explain them below from the respondent’s lens.

Free Primary Education (F PE)

There was consensus among respondents that the introduction of Free Primary
Education (FPE) in Kenya was a positive development agenda for disadvantaged and
marginalized groups. Like in other schools around the country, the Center of Excellence
had experienced an inﬂux of students from the local community and beyond. Many
students, who took advantage of FPE and enrolled in the Center, came from poor
families. In the words of Rhoda, “Most of these girls were locked out because either our
culture [Maasai culture] does not believe in educating girls or because of poverty”. The
principal observed of free primary education:

It has brought many children to school. In this community in fact people are very
poor. I am sure some parents are relieved once they bring their daughters here.

115

There was a time when there was drought and all the animals were killed because
of the drought. You ﬁnd that there was no food at all and some of the parents
brought their girls here because they thought they might get food and even they
might receive support, that is, get a sponsor to pay for their education (Muniu,
Personal Interview June 2007).

I learned that the government paid all teachers in the Center and provided textbooks and
other supplies although they were not sufﬁcient. Teacher respondents however indicated
that the number of needy girls in the Center surpassed the resources the government
allocated it. They singled out Constituency Development Fund and bursaries as
signiﬁcant sources, but were not enough to cater for most girls’ fees especially those who

entered secondary schools.

Constituency Development Fund

Constituency Development Fund (CDF) was established in 2003 through the CDF
Act with an aim to control imbalances in regional development. It targets all
constituency-level development projects, particularly those that aim to combat poverty
and promote education at the grassroots level. The fund comprises an annual budgetary
allocation equivalent to 2.5% of the government’s ordinary revenue and 10% of this
allocation supports educational programs in each of the 210 constituencies in the country
(Institute for Economic Affairs, 2006).

Mr. Muniu was concerned that politicians, who least understand the plight of most
schools and the students they serve, controlled CDF program. Neither school principals
nor teachers were part of the CDF committees. Individual parents made application for
each child and the school principal conﬁrmed that the applicant was a student in his/her
school. Mr. Muniu wore many hats. Besides being the Center’s principal, he was a

guardian for the rescued girls. He said of CDF:

116

There are few of our girls who beneﬁt from CDF. When I submit the names, I try
to seek help for those girls in standard 8 [8th grade] who are about to join form
one or those who are already in secondary school. You know in this constituency,
there are many needy students. I might submit 10 names and only two students
are considered. Some girls get sometimes Ksh. 5,000 [$70] or Ksh.10,000 [$140].
The average fees a student pays in secondary school annually is Ksh.25,000
[$370]. While what I get is not enough, it helps them to stay in school, it makes a
difference in the life of a needy girl (Muniu, Personal Interview, June 2007).

Another source of support comes in the form of bursaries and scholarships from
the govemment, NGOs, individuals and well-wishers. For instance, Secondary Education
Bursary Fund (SEBF), which was established in 1993/4 through a presidential
pronouncement, aimed to cushion the country’s poor and vulnerable groups against the
high and increasing cost of secondary education. By so doing, it ensured that this cadre of
students had increased enrolment in and completed secondary school education. Like
CDF, the amount allocated to each beneﬁciary does not cover a student’s entire annual
fees and so, “unless there is some other monies from well wishers, our girls in secondary
schools end up coming back here to the rescue center for fees, which is not there”, said
the principal.

The role of friendship and well-wishers as understood in the Center signiﬁed hope
for girls education. As if to speak for all respondents, the principal captured other their
views, “I don’t know what we could have done without friends”. He illustrated:

A few parents are willing to sell their cows and pay fees for their daughters.

Those [girls] that are rejected by their parents are the most needy. We have to

look for sponsors to cover their fees. This is where friends and well-wishers are

critical to our Center. In fact like this list, [waving a list of girls], these are needy
girls that I have to get fees for. This other list [showing another list of 12 girls]
shows the names of girls who are sponsored by a friend from US. Her name is

Sandy. She came to the school and she was touched by the needs of these girls.

She fundraises for these kids, she pays their fees and for their upkeep (Muniu,
Personal Interview, June 2007).

117

I also garnered that the government had started a kitty for local boarding schools in rural
Kajiado district with a view to increasing the community’s participation in education.
“There are 7 boarding schools in this area. This money comes from the Ministry of
Education. We use part of this money to pay our workers and school fees for girls who
enter secondary school”, said Mr. Muniu. While he appreciated the initiative of this kitty,
he was concerned of its sustainability given the fact that national elections were a few
months away from being held.
One fundamental thing teacher respondents were certain was not going to change
is the enactment of Children’s Act of 2001, which is:
An Act of parliament to make provision for parental responsibility, fostering,
adoption, custody, maintenance, guardianship, care and protection of children; to
make provision for the administration of children’s institutions; to give effect to
the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Aﬁican
Charter on the rights and welfare of the child and for connected purposes
(Government of Kenya Laws, 2006).
The Act outlawed cultural practices that are considered harmful and infringes on the
child’s welbeing and human rights. It is noteworthy that during reconcialtion seminars
and community sensitization, children’s ofﬁcers form part of the facilitation team. With
this Act, the Center had a legal framework to use local law enforcement agencies such as
chiefs and administration police to protect run-away girls and offer security to the Center.
Before the Act, “chiefs were notorious in grabbing and marrying young girls as their 2'”,
3rd or even 4th wives. Now they risk loosing their jobs and getting imprisoned if girls are
given away in their area. So they have to join the govemment’s campaign to wipe out the

menance of early marriages and FGM”, said Wario. The chiefs were also used by the

Ministry of Education to assist the World Food Program (WF P) in distributing food to

118

villages that experienced famine. WF P was the major supply of the Center of

Excellence’s food security.

World Food Programme (WFP)

 

Kajiado district falls under the govemment’s category of arid and semi arid lands
(ASAL), which are mainly deﬁned by endemic poverty, low economic growth and food
insecurity. As a pastoralist and marginalized community, Kajiado’s inhabitants often
experience food shortages and need supplemental food assistance to survive. Kajiado
Girls’ Center of Excellence was one such beneﬁciary of the WFP. Given the inﬂux of
girls in the Center due to free primary education, the principal said that WFP had stepped
up their supplies of rice, beans and corn to feed the girls.

While all the support the government extended to the Center was crucial, none
was as fundamental as the Children’s Act. It was a viable tool that targeted the contexts
that created and perpetuated cultural practices that held the girl child back. The Act
targeted parents and communities and sanctioned them to send their children to school.
Coupled with free primary eduation, the Children’s Act had the potential to change the
way schools and communities viewed and build conversations on gender, power and
culture. I thought that a ‘compulsory component’ to read ‘free and compulsory primary
education’ would also put pressure on parents, families and communities to take charge

of their children’s education as a basic right.
Hopes and Dreams
The aspirations and dreams of student respondents in this study are captured

through their experiences and backgrounds, which they believed will be fought and

119

shaped by one tool, education. As already observed elsewhere in this study, the girls’
backgrounds were characterized by early marriages, FGM, poverty, HIV /AIDS as well as
a culture that prefers boys to girls. In their view, the Center, which is an oasis of hope,
carries their dreams. It holds the key to the tools that they will need to navigate their
traumatizing backgrounds with a view to transforming them. One girl in the focus group
spelled out her dream saying:

My dream is to be a doctor and when I ﬁnish my school, I want my village to
realize that Maasai girls can make it in life. I know that when some of them see us
wearing this green uniform [pointing to her green uniform], think that these big
girls need not to be in school, they need to be married. I want to shame those who
believe that girls are there to be married. I want to work in our community to treat
people in the community who are not able to go anywhere for treatment. I will
show them that girls wako na power mob sana [girls have a lot of power] (Lydia,
Focus Group Interview, June 2007)

For Naomi, being a teacher and role model for girls in her community was a more
satisfying dream. She too shared:

I want to be a teacher. I want to be an example, a role model for my kids and
other girls in our community who think they can’t make it. Sometimes you cannot
listen to everything the people in the community say. You make a choice. For me
I have made a choice to stay here and when I complete my school, I know life will
be better for me than it is now (Naomi, Focus Group Interview, June 2007).

Knowing that she did not have anything to fall back on if she did not perform well in
Kenya Certiﬁcate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam and proceed to high school, Hope
said of her aspirations:

I want to become a great woman in this nation. Then I will help girls get an
opportunity to be in school. School will change many girls’ lives. I want to
become an Engineer. I want, when I get good money, to start my own school that
will give girls a chance to speak out, to be girls and have an opportunity to be
looked at as worthwhile human beings right from the families, villages, and
communities and in the nation at large. I know I will get support from many
people around the world to reach this dream. This is my greatest dream. I want to
go back and help my parents. Help them know that education is key, vital to our
family and fundamental to development of any kind (Hope, Focus Group
Interview, June 2007).

120

Hope expressed concern over her siblings and parents because she had not seen nor
communicated with them for six years. She did not want them to know of her
whereabouts until she entered college. Her father had driven her out of home, yet she was
very emphatic about forgiving and helping them once she completed her education.

Like the rest of the student respondents, Faith believed that only through
education would she get a chance to be a pilot and serve as a role model for her
community. She strongly argued that her success in education would give her community
a reason to change their attitudes regarding girls’ education. She argued:

I want to continue with my school and eventually become a pilot. If I become a

pilot someone else will learn from me. For your information, I am not

circumcised. They [Maasai community] will need to know that even an
uncircumcised girl can do anything and everything that she wants to do. My

circumcision for now is education (Faith, Focus Group Interview, June 2007).

In the same vein, Lydia connected the critical value of education as a development tool in
the community. She shared:

If people get educated and go back to the village they can help to improve the

conditions of their people and many will be encouraged to go to school by seeing

what they do. I know when people in my village see me succeeding in school and
becoming a doctor, they will see the difference with those who didn’t go to school

and I think will make them think and change their stand about educating girls like
boys (Lydia, Focus Group Interview, June 2007).

These girls’ views show that their dreams and aspirations are cognizant of their
backgrounds, but also strongly believe that education holds the ultimate key to their lives
and community transformation.

Every student respondent seemed to have adopted a reconciliatory tone and
attitude towards their families and community but not their system of beliefs. For

instance, Naomi’s father had given her away at the age of 9 before she was rescued at the

121

age of 11. Although she blamed her father for her woes, she struck a forgiving tone
saying:

I want to help my dad although he is against my education. I want him to know
that education is as good as the cows he received when he gave me away. I want
to help my sister, even if she is not educated. I will be there for them. I don’t
believe in failing. My dreams are living. I cried when my sister gave birth to her
child. I shared with her before she gave birth that I don’t want to live a life like
the one you are living. Her husband beat her all the time, demanding food, milk
the cows and what have you. I will not allow myself again to be given away. My
sister can also break away and come to school. I will help her. She is only 17
(Naomi, Focus Group Interview, June 2007).

When I probed the student respondents on what they thought of girls in their
villages who did not have a chance to be in school, they unanimously said that their
culture does not support girls’ education. But, they pointed out, “it will take people who
are educated to change that belief”. They thought that the community’s position had led
most girls to discount themselves and had accepted such position without questioning or
critiquing it. One girl in the focus group had the following advise for them:

I tell them not to despise themselves. I will tell them school is very important.
Even if they see us wearing this uniform and we stay in school for many months.
Being in school for months is about our lives. I want to ﬁnish school from here
and go to high school. I know God will open a way I go to a good school, get a
sponsor and my life will be better. I will tell them school is now free they need to
think about going to school if they get a chance. Since I came to school, I know
many things, which they don’t. (Faith, Focus Group Interview, June 2007).

Another girl had this advise:

I will tell them the importance of education. Education means a lot to me. Once
you are educated, your mind is expanded. You don’t have to succeed with better
grades to live a better life. With education, you can know how to wash yourself
and your children. You are not going to get children [give birth] without a plan.
You can avoid making bad choices that will affect your life. Like you now, you
are at university, you can get a job and earn your own money. You can take a
plane and go anywhere when you are educated. You cannot compare yourself
with those uneducated women in the village, who are beaten by their husbands
everyday and they think that is right. Education helps a lot because it makes one
know the world better (Hope, Focus Group Interview, June 2007).

122

These perspectives echo studies, which point to the relationship between girls’ education
and its impact on the socio-economic development of their families, communities and
countries. Investing in girls’ education pays off not only in terms of higher rates of school
attendance, attainment, and completion, but also improves the status of women within
families, the local community, and the political arena (USAID, 2002; Summers, 1992;
Psacharopoulos and Patrinos, 2002; Schultz, 2001; Behrman, 2003).

The dreams and aspirations of student respondents get tested when they are about
to transition out of the Center. For instance, they were all worried about their education
sponsorship, the kind of high schools they would join, loss of steady family-like support
they were enjoying at the Center and the possibility of dropping out of school. These
formed the core of the challenges they foresaw affecting them once they completed their
education in the Center. Below are some of their perspectives:

Lydia:

I worry a lot about what is going to happen to me if I don’t get a sponsor for my

secondary education.
Naomi:

I worry about that too. I want to ﬁnish school from here and go to high school. I

know God will open a way I go to a good school. If I get a sponsor my life will be

better because I will not have to worry about school fees.
Faith:

I want to have one sponsor. A sponsor I know. A sponsor I can communicate

with. I can tell her or him my problems and I can share my school results. I can

get advise from the sponsor. Now, the ones I have, I don’t even know their

address. I don’t know where I can write and say thank you. I don’t know if they
will continue sponsoring me next year when I join form one [9th grade].

Besides student respondents, teacher respondents acknowledged that once the
girls leave the Center for high school, they face insurmountable challenges. The principal

reiterated the power of friends and well-wishers. He said:

123

We have so many needy girls. We may not offer much as far as school fees is
concerned. We try to look for sponsors to pay for these girls’ education. Besides
all the help we get from F AWE, which sponsors about 18 or 19 of our girls in
secondary school, we have a few well-wishers who support one or two girls.
These are people we talk to, people who have come here and have been
overwhelmed by these girls’ needs have decided to assist one or two girls. Like
now there is a girl in Alliance Girls High School whose tuition is paid for by a
well-wisher (Muniu, Personal Interview, June 2007).

The repertoire of the Center’s ﬁiends, according to Mr. Muniu, included ofﬁcials
from the Ministry of Education. From his talk, I realized that it took along time to access
and build meaningful relationships with such ofﬁcials around issues and educational
needs of the girls afﬁliated with the Center. In his words, Mr. Muniu said that an ofﬁcial
from the Ministry of Education had recognized his efforts by observing that he had seen
many principals go to his ofﬁce not to talk on behalf of their students but for their own
children. The ofﬁcial had offered to help him ﬁnd placement in secondary schools for a
signiﬁcant number of girls. It was unfortunate that before Mr. Muniu presented the list,
“the same ofﬁcial had become a victim of the high turnover the Ministry of Education is
well known for”. Sustainability of promises such as the one from the ofﬁcial of the

Ministry of Education remained a challenge.

Challenges

My interview with the students as they talked about strategies of realizing their
dreams and hopes revealed a number of challenges in the Center, some which prompted
me to probe the principal and teacher respondents. The girls pointed out that they were
congested both in the dormitories and classrooms, had inadequate toilet facilities, and felt
that their security in the dormitories was not guaranteed. One girl captured the concern of

others beseeching:

124

We don’t have toilets in the dormitories. So, girls use their plastic basins to empty
themselves at night. It is worse when one wants to go for long call. We have to
call the matron [she does not live in the dormitory] to take us out to the pit
latrines. Many girls experience problems. Sometimes, I have been forced to go
and wake up the matron when there is a major problem, like sickness. We have
asked our principal to do something about this, before it gets worse (Hope, Focus
Group Interview, July 2007).

Lack of toilet facilities in the dormitories was particularly a painful and
embarrassing challenge for the principal. He acknowledged that FPE, which had led to an
upsurge of students in the Center, had constrained available facilities and resources.

It is true we don’t have enough facilities. We need toilets in the dormitories. We

also need to put up a dormitory to accommodate more girls. Sometimes, it hurts

me when a girl comes and we are not able to give her a place to sleep well

because our facilities are over stretched. If we have a dorm the ministry will give
us more teachers (Muniu, Personal Interview, June 2007).

He shared with me the recommendations from a previous Board meeting, which clearly
had stated the need to build toilets in the dormitories, erect additional classrooms and an
extra dormitory only when funds were available. He was happy to that a well-wisher had
donated some money to build toilets in 5 of the dormitories and he expected construction
to begin any time.

Hope, a student respondent, seemed to hit on an issue that the rest of the students
in the focus group seemed to be aware of, but were reluctant to say. She revealed
disturbing cases that involved older girls sharing beds among themselves or with younger
girls. She said:

Sleeping twos has further created another problem. There are a few cases where

some girls have quietly complained that this is a problem. A couple of weeks ago,

I handled a case where an older girl was touching a young girl inappropriately

during night. I am sure these girls [pointing to the rest in the focus group] know of

cases where bigger [older] girls are romantically involved. I fear for the younger

girls. I don’t know if the ofﬁce knows about this, but I guess they do. But me I

sleep alone in a dormitory meant for 35 but now holds 60 girls (Hope, Focus
Group Interview, June 2007).

I25

Rhoda, one of the teacher respondents, echoed Hope’s observation stating that congestion
in classrooms and dormitories was a crisis that had been exacerbated by free primary
education. She warned:
The classrooms are overcrowded, they are now holding over 50 students instead
of 35. The dormitories are congested too, the girls are sharing beds, which I think
is not good especially for young girls. Even the Rescue Center, which is meant to
be home to rescued girls, has now one wing open for use by all other girls. And
there are consequences that come with this situation; malaria, chicken pox or any

other infection and many of them get sick/affected because of the overcrowding
conditions (Rhoda, Personal Interview, June 2007).

My observation, as I went from one classroom to another, conﬁrmed that indeed
classrooms were congested and there were wide age disparities among students. Much
older girls, some who had been married and were young mothers were sharing
classrooms with very young girls. According to the principal, academic ability and not
age determined the placement of girls once they arrive in the Center. They pay less
attention to the dynamics that come with age differences both in classrooms and
dormitories.

As an unintended consequence, student respondents, all who were in senior
classes complained that they were not allowed to study beyond 8:45pm. They were
required, just like standard one girls, to sleep by 9:30pm when the lights both in
classrooms and dormitories are switched off. One girl captured the mood of the rest:

Those of us who are preparing to sit for KCPE [exam] are forced to sleep early

like standard one girls. I feel that we should be left to extend our studies for a

short period of time. I am preparing to be the best KCPE girl in the nation. But I

worry if I, and those who are older like me, will meet this huge goal if I cannot be

left to extend my studies beyond 9:30pm. I now use my torch [ﬂash light] to read
(Faith, Focus Group Interview, July 2007).

126

Without downplaying student complaints, Rhoda who was cognizant of the problems in
the Center said that challenges in the Center were nothing compared to the challenges and
torture the girls went through in their homes and villages. I probed her on student safety.
Although the security of the Center and safety of the girls was assured, a chilling
revelation from student respondents indicated that their safety in the dormitories had
serious risk implications. It emerged that ﬁve of the seven dormitories were locked from
outside during the night. My visit to one of the dormitories revealed that windows were
high and tightly grilled and until somebody opened the door from outside, it was virtually
impossible for anyone from inside to get out in case of an emergency. One student
shared:
We are locked from outside and sometimes I wonder what will happen in case of
an emergency, such as ﬁre. I understand that it is all about security but I believe
that there should be emergency exists instead of locking the doors from outside.
There should be a way of catering for our needs especially at night, when we
cannot go out to the latrines, which are far away from the dorm. We need to have

toilets, even if it is one in each dormitory (Lydia, Focus Group Interview, July
2007)

This description reminded me of two infamous and tragic cases of school ﬁres in
Kenya in which dormitories were razed down and students’ lives lost. One of the tragic
cases occurred in 1998 at Bombolulu Girls Secondary School where a dormitory ﬁre left
26 girls dead. Another dreadful case was in 2001 at Kyanguli Boys High School where
64 students died in a dormitory inferno at night in similar circumstances. Investigation on
both cases revealed that both dormitories were locked from outside and with no
emergency exists, students were trapped in what was paradoxically considered a secure
place. These sad reminders prompted me to revisit the safety issue with the Center’s

principal.

127

The principal affrrrrred that the Center’s Board had reviewed its safety rules and
recommended that matrons for each dormitory be hired and required to live within the
dormitories. With the assistance of the Minister of Education, who happened to come
from the Maasai community, they had arranged to fundraise to build two more
dormitories to ease congestion as well as complete a library. I felt like Mr. Muniu was
overwhelmed by the Center’s challenges, but he said that he had faith in himself, his staff

and in student, who gave him a reason to wear many hats and keep the Center moving.

The Maasai: A vulnerable Community

For purposes of this theme, I use the term vulnerability to depict how some
aspects of the Maasai culture hold the community hostage thereby making it susceptible
to the impact of social, economic and political pressures that deeply challenge its
peoples’ daily survival. By so doing, I hope to explicate the Maasai community’s
perceptive stance towards girls’ education, poverty and HIV/AIDS in relation to the
Center.

Throughout the interview process, I gleaned from respondents that the girls’
backgrounds had a direct impact on their education. For instance, student respondents felt
that their community’s belief in large families and preference of boys to girls had
marginalized them and suffocated their right to education. Below are some of the girls’
responses regarding their families:

Faith:

We are a family of 6, 5 sisters and 1 brother. I am the last-bom but my father has

3 wives. My mother is the second one. The ﬁrst one has 9 children. The third one

who is very young has 2 children. All of us are 17. I am the only girl in school. I

thank my mother for bringing me here.
Lydia:

128

Naomi:

Hope:

I come from a large family, my father has 3 wives and my mom is the 2nd wife.
I have many brothers and sisters. All of us are 16.

I also come from a large family. My father has 2 wives. My mother is the 1S” wife
and there is a 2nd one. I have 3 sisters and 2 brothers. My other mother has 4
children, in total we are all 9.

I have 2 older sisters who never went to school and 3 brothers. My sisters are
married. I remember when my father took me out of school to be circumcised, my
2 brothers who were going to school were waiting to fetch cows from my
marriage to continue with their school. Since I was brought here, 6 years ago, I
have not seen my brothers or sisters or my parents. I miss them.

While these girls strongly believed that education is the liberating tool, the large

families that characterized their family composition had created a competing environment

that disadvantaged them. Such environments had led to their lack of empowerment to

challenge and effectively ﬁght the forces of their oppression, discrimination and unequal

treatment. Growing up in such structures, systems, values, attitudes and practices in

which they were always the underdogs, it was discernible that before they came to the

Center,

the girls had often internalized their inferiority and accepted it as given.

Respondents agreed that such internalization had put pressure on most girls to conform to

their community’s belief in F GM and early marriages. One girl said:

Some girls in our community undergo FGM mainly because of peer pressure.
They fear to be ridiculed by their peers. But there are those who stand ﬁrm and
don’t mind what others say. They feel like they have to belong to the group of
their friends. It is also bad (FGM) because it is like it gives them a license to sleep
with any man they want, since they are now women (Faith, Focus Group
Interview, June 2007).

Augmenting Faith’s view, Rhoda shared:

Yes, FGM is still done here. I remember there was a girl who was secretly taken
to the hospital and a nurse did it, they took her home and kept her there but
somehow the girl managed to escape and came here [Center]. You know one
other problem is peer pressure, when most of the girls realize that all their friends
have gone through it, they also want to go [conform] because they don’t want to
be labeled, or considered a girl [little child], because she cannot talk or share
anything with the others (Rhoda, Personal Interview, June 2007).

129

These perspectives explain the cultural pressures both girls and parents ﬁnd themselves in
when they support practices such as FGM and early marriages in order to cushion their
families and daughters from social stigma. In this case, FGM becomes a double-edged
sword in that it elevates the girls and their families’ social and economic status, but also
predisposes them to health risks, physical harm and denies them access to educational

opportunities.

Origin of Maasai’s Resistance to Girls Education

 

Mr. Muniu and Ms. Rhoda attempted to explain the origin of Maasai’s resistance
to girls’ education. Their resistance dates back to pre and post-colonial period when the
British alienated their fertile land and pushed them to unproductive reserves. They lost
vast grazing ﬁelds for their animals and wandered from one place to another in search of
water and/or pasture. Since then, it is hard for the Maasai community to embrace
anything whose origin is from the mzungu (white man), including formal education,
which was started in Kenya by the Christian Missionary Societies (CMS). Ever since,
their investment is reﬂected in large herds of cattle and large families. The value of the
girl child is recognized in terms of the number of cows (dowry) her family accrues when
she is given away for marriage. According to Rhoda, “Marriage cannot take place until a
girl is circumcised. There is no Maasai man who can stand the ridicule of the community
if he marries a woman who is not cut”. In this environment, the girl child and indeed the
Maasai community is caught in social, economic, historical and cultural trajectories that

do not conform to the dynamics of the contemporary society.

130

Rhoda, who in chapter four I described as the rescued who became the rescuer,
embodies a new generation that is gradually but ﬁrmly engaging their communities to
unlearn some retrogressive cultural practices that spell doom to the girl child. From the
time she was a young girl, Rhoda had struggled to shake off her father’s tenacity to get
married to a man of his choice. She ﬁnally gave in to her father’s cultural demands after
completing college. She got married as a second wife to a man older than her father. Her
marriage however, did not last as her father had espoused because, “neither the man nor
myself was happy. So, I asked my father to break that thing [marriage]. As a teacher, I
was posted to this Center as a rescued woman and now I am rescuer of girls in the same
situation”. Rhoda indicated that were it not that she was educated, she could still be held
captive by her culture. This is the arduous path that girl respondents seemed to be aware
of and ready to trek. However, poverty, which is inextricably related to Maasai’s nomadic

lifestyle, cut across respondents’ experiences and posed a major challenge to the Center.

Poverty

Poverty, both at the individual and society level, is a disadvantage to the
education of children in developing countries (Mulugeta, 1998). In the Maasai
community, poverty causes families to prioritize their needs and often girls’ education
takes the bottom rank. Rhoda narrated a case of a girl aged 9, who was traded [given
away for marriage] for grass during drought. I learned that it is during such difﬁcult times
that most girls are given away as a means to replenish their families’ livestock. Mr.
Muniu also recounted cases where some parents had brought their daughters to the Center

not for education, but to get something to eat. He said, “Three years ago, there was severe

131

drought here [Maasai community] - most animals died for lack of water and pasture,
there was no food and so some parents brought their girls here because they thought they
might get food”.

I garnered that poverty in the context of Maasai community, means not having
large herds of cattle, many wives, children and enough food. Inadequacies in these areas
coupled with little value placed on girls’ education means that many girls are more likely
to miss educational opportunities. However, the upsurge in student enrolment in the
Center, due to Free Primary Education, was a testament that many parents are willing to
send their children to school but they cannot afford. Provision of school uniform and
other basic school supplies for the girl child was a challenge to most parents. For
instance, Mr. Muniu, observed:

In the Maasai community, things like sanitary towels are not an issue to women in

the community. Now that these girls are here, do we continue with what they do

at home or you change? I have to go out and talk to people to donate sanitary
towels. Girls could miss school because of their periods. Today, thanks to well-

wishers that is taken care of unless we talk of other issues like pain that come with
their periods (Muniu, Personal Interview, June 2007).

In the course of collecting data for this study, I encountered an 8-year old regular
(operated from home) girl, Kaleche in standard one. Kaleche wore a patched tattered
green uniform. Her toes peeped from her conspicuously oversize and worn out shoes. She
struggled to walk in them. I learned that she usually borrowed shoes to wear to the toilet.
Kaleche reminded me of my days in primary school. We were not allowed to wear shoes.
Occasionally during weekends, I could sneak out with my sister’s shoes. They were
oversize but I was happy to wear them. All that belonged to me was a pair of sandals,
which I remember one day a teacher conﬁscated in school. I always longed for the time

when I could have my own shoes. I visualized myself in Kaleche’s shoes and I was

132

gripped by emotion. I learned from Mr. Muniu that Kaleche’s step-father had neglected
her because she was not his biological daughter. Surprisingly, Kaleche had a sister in the
Center who was fairly groomed. I sought Mr. Muniu’s permission to buy Kaleche shoes
and other basics I learned she lacked. Just like Kaleche whose face beamed with joy at
the sight of a new pair of shoes, I was overjoyed for the opportunity to fulﬁll her dreams,
new shoes and other basics (Appendix C5).

In the context of poverty, I garnered that in order to increase girls’ access,
participation, retention and achievement in education, the government and other
development agencies ought to address poverty in rural areas. Respondents intoned that
due to poverty, girls’ education does not make it to the family’s prioritizing table. Even
those girls who may complete their primary education, their chances of transitioning to
secondary schools are greatly diminished due to poverty. Only sustainable sponsorship
beyond primary school is a sure way of most girls realizing their education dreams and
aspirations. Besides poverty, HIV/AIDS posed another challenge to the Center and the

Maasai community. This was detrimental to girls’ education.

HIV/AIDS

Student respondents shared that they knew girls in their villages who had not seen
the inside of a school or had dropped out of school to care for family members who were
dying of HIV and AIDS. The Center had a few cases of girls, suffering from HIV
infection, who were taking antiretroviral medicine. When I asked Mr. Muniu to describe
the extent to which HIV/AIDS was a problem in the Center, he seemed not worried about

the 4 cases he had in the Center, but of “several cases of parents in this community who

133

are dying of HIV/AIDS”. He shared that once they undergo FGM, girls are allowed to
freely engage in sex to qualify to be considered women and this put them at risk of
infection.

The Maasai’s age-set system and the culture of sharing had put pressure on the
youth to conform to their community’s culture. Once boys undergo circumcision, their
culture encourages them to embrace sharing especially within the age set. While the
culture of sharing is good, it becomes toxic when it is extended to sharing
wives/husbands, thereby creating a suitable cyclical environment for HIV/AIDS to thrive.
Rhoda had this to say about the concept of sharing in Maasai community:

Sharing is a Maasai way of life. We share everything, whether it is food from the

same bowl, milk from the same calabash or even wives, whom we share and have

children with. Even the young people after circumcision are given a lot of
freedom to freely engage in sex. They are encouraged to use their youthful energy
so that as they grow older they can settle down (Rhoda, Personal Interview, June

2007).

In the context of sharing, the Maasai way, where “there is no such word as rape”, I
deciphered that girls are more susceptible to HIV infection, more likely to drop out of
school due to pregnancy and blamed for these eventualities.

All student respondents further confessed to knowing a person in their community
who had either died or was suffering from what they suspected to be effects of AIDS;
They had scanty information on HIV/AIDS infection and prevention. They seemed to
know little about condoms and they were reluctant to talk about them. However, one girl
shared her experience:

Long time ago, me and my sister saw some men carrying those things [condoms]

and when we were playing, I found a balloon and me and my sister played with it.

I never knew what it was until my brother told us to throw it away and not to
touch it. He never really told us what it was. I thought it was my balloon that I had

134

found. One day my brother’s wife told us not to pick up condoms and then I
started hearing about them (Lydia, Focus Group Interview, June 207).

From their responses, it was evident that much of what they knew about HIV and AIDS
was what their teachers had taught them.

The Center supplemented teaching of HIV and AIDS with resource persons
afﬁliated with FAWE, Churches and Ministry of Health. When I asked the girls to share
what they were taught, they all answered in a chorus saying, “Abstinence - They tell us
to abstain from sex and be faithful to our husbands when we get married after we
complete our education”, said Faith as the rest nodded their heads in afﬁrmation. My
observation indicated that the girls were uncomfortable initiating discussions on issues
related to HIV and AIDS but were eager to listen to and participate in discussions if
somebody else deliberately involved them. I probed them on how their teachers involved
them to which they said, “they just tell us”. My interview with teachers conﬁrmed that
they told the girls “how to take care of themselves, how to abstain”. I wondered how
these girls could acquire knowledge and develop attitudes and skills that support the
adoption of healthy behaviors, without an interactive teaching and learning process.

While teaching young girls about abstinence and ﬁdelity in marriage is no doubt a
good moral lesson, I further wondered how realistically such information was going to
help girls navigate cultural practices that do not recognize or listen to their voices. I
thought the Center’s curriculum needed to balance between information about HIV and
AIDS, ways to cope with the disease and life skills for girls. Research shows that
HIV/AIDS prevention programs that have balanced knowledge, attitudes and skills
related to HIV transmission have proven more effective in actually changing behavior

than those that have focused on information alone (Ongaga, 2007). Life-skills-based

135

programs have proven more effective in delaying the age of ﬁrst sexual intercourse and
increasing safe sex behavior among sexually active youth (e.g., increasing use of
condoms, reducing number of sexual partners) (UNICEF, 2005; Kelly, 2000).

To move from an informational model to an empowering model in the context of
HIV and AIDS, would so much depend on how the Center broadens its empowerment
programs to involve the local community to reﬂect on their cultural, social and economic
values with a view to transforming them. By so doing, the Center will not only have
targeted girls alone, but the contexts upon which they (girls) and boys operate. This will
also mean that government programs and development agencies working in rural areas
such as Kajiado, would have to mainstream or incorporate into their interventions and

programs, empowerment strategies that meaningfully involve local communities.

Summagy

In this analysis chapter, I have attempted to uncover themes that cut across
respondents’ shared messages regarding girls’ experiences before and after their exposure
to the Center of Excellence. I show how invisible girls are in the Maasai community and
how the Center of Excellence elevates and empowers them and serves as an oasis of hope
for their community. Besides being a formal education institution, the Center is a safe
haven for girls especially those who run away or are rescued from early marriages and
FGM. Based on the respondents’ lens, I argued that the only sustainable key to ﬁghting
vicious and cyclic locks ranging from poverty to HIV/AIDS to gender inequality, lies in
education for all and empowerment of girls. In the next chapter, implications,

recommendations and conclusion for this study are presented.

136

CHAPTER VI

IMPLICATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND CONCLUSION

Introduction

In this study, I explored the experiences of girls in a Center of Excellence in
Kajiado district Kenya. I speciﬁcally sought to understand their experiences prior to and
during their involvement with the Center. Besides understanding their educational goals,
I also wanted to ﬁnd out strategies the Center utilized to empower them. Student
respondents revealed their heartbreaking lived experiences through narratives,
perspectives, and opportunities and attested that education holds the key to their social,
economic and cultural emancipation. The ﬁndings revealed challenges and opportunities
that many Maasai girls face to access and achieve in education. While the challenges
paint a wider picture of the community’s socio-cultural and economic struggles, the
Center epitomizes opportunities and shines rays of hope for girls and their community.

In this chapter, I draw on the reﬂections from the study especially the analysis
chapter to state the impact of the Center, give recommendations as they relate to other
studies on girls’ education, implications for further research and conclusion. I also
present my brief reﬂection on the study. As observed in chapter ﬁve, the following
themes, which shape and deﬁne the experiences of girls in the Center of Excellence,
emerge from the data;

1. Education and Empowerment, which outlined how the Center of Excellence was
transforming the perspectives and lives of many disadvantaged girls in the Maasai

community. For the girls, the Center with its empowering environment was a safe

137

haven and it served as a reservoir of knowledge and skills upon which they would
build a solid ground for their future as well as question their community’s cultural
beliefs and practices that disadvantaged them.

2. Hopes and dreams, which focused on the personal aspirations of the girls in and
beyond the Center of Excellence. The girls believed that education was the
ultimate key to realizing their dreams.

3. The Maasai: A vulnerable community in which I underscored Maasai’s cultural
practices and the challenges such practices pose to the education of girls. I
attempted to capture their vulnerability by underlining the concomitant effect of
dry and economically unreliable climate and poverty.

It is on the framework of these themes that I state the following implications.

Impact of the Girls’ Center of Excellence

In the long term, the Girls Center of Excellence in Kajiado continues to serve the
local Maasai community by enlightening and sensitizing them on and about issues of
education, HIV AIDS and poverty reduction. Through its outreach programs;
reconciliation seminars, chiefs’ meetings, drama and skits, the Center’s enlightenment
shines a liberating light on the local Maasai community to shun FGM and early
marriages. Through these avenues, I believe that the importance of education for both
girls and boys is recognized and sustained. It was rewarding to learn that government
efforts, through local chiefs and children’s ofﬁcers, the community is gradually
supporting girls’ education and changing their perception of viewing them as economic

assets.

138

The local chiefs also serve as the govemment’s eyes, in the local community, to
monitor, enforce and ensure that girls and boys go to school under the Free Primary
Education policy. Coupled with reconciliation programs, the Center ensured that parents
were on board in supporting their children’s education. These efforts, according to the
interviewees, had reduced instances of F GM and helped rescue many girls who had been
married off at a tender age. At the same time, girls who had a chance to be in the Center
were passing on, to their siblings, an empowering message that carried the importance of
going to school, shunning F GM and resisting early marriage.

In the long run, the local community is hoped to have a sense of ownership for the
Center of Excellence, which they once viewed as an intrusion on their way of life. Over
and above, the Center’s programs, which are enshrined in their motto, mission and vision,
make the Girls Center of Excellence an icon of change in the Maasai community with

respect to girls’ education. The implications of such iconic interventions are huge.

Implications and Recommendations

Promote and increase investment in girls ’ education in rural and marginalized areas
This study echoes other studies (Kakonge, 2001; Psacharopoulos & Patrinos,
2002; Shultz, 1993; Cotton, 2000; Coclough et a1 2000; Chege & Sifuna 2006) that
reveal dividends of and call for increased girls’ participation in education not only within
the Maasai community but also in other rural environments. Kajiado Girls Center of
Excellence in Maasai community presents a rare demonstrative gender responsive
opportunity for girls to access, participate and perform in education. This study’s student
respondents’ seemed to be increasingly motivated by various deﬁcits in their community

to embrace education as a means to improve their lives and that of their community. They

139

all envisaged career aspirations as teachers, doctors, pilots or accountants, which they
said could empower and propel them to critique and question their community’s practices
that hinder girls’ education.

Research has shown that educating girls in rural areas enables them to challenge
some of the cultural practices that disadvantage them, and how they may be contributing
to such oppressive processes unknowingly (Egbo, 2000; Mlama, 2005). Although
ﬁndings of this study do not guarantee that education alone can eliminate deep-seated
cultural ideologies that perpetuate gendered norms that disproportionately impact girls
and women, I argue that education for girls in a broad sense serves to remove them from
the periphery to becoming active participants.

Like many other studies whose focus is on gender equality and girls’ education
(Colclough, C., et al, 2000; Kabila & Masinjila, 1997; FAWE 2000; Gordon, 1995; Herz
& Sperling, 2004), this study underscored the importance of girls’ education not only as
an empowerment tool but also as a potential solution to mitigate a broad range of societal
problems such as poverty, HIV/AIDS and child mortality. Increasing girls’ chances to
gaining educational opportunities in rural areas would boost both their quality of life and
that of their families and communities. In the context of HIV/AIDS, research has shown
that HIV education and prevention skills should be introduced to children at a younger
age, that is, before they get involved or engage in any form of sexual activity, which may
make them susceptible to the risk of HIV infection (Kirby et al., 1991; Kelly, 2000;
White & Ballard, 1993). This complements the argument that participation in primary
and secondary schooling is a critical factor in protecting young people, especially girls,

from the risk of HIV infection.

140

Research on HIV and AIDS in Kenya show that youth aged between 15-24 years
are mostly affected (KDHS, 2004; UNAIDS, 2002) and of this, girls are most vulnerable.
Data from this study indicated a growing threat of HIV/AIDS not only in the Center, but
also in the community. The fact that the Center was already serving girls infected and
affected by HIV was indicative that both the Center and community need strong
HIV/AIDS education and awareness programs. My observation and interaction with
student respondents revealed that they had limited informational knowledge about
HIV/AIDS and lacked strategies and skills to utilize the same information in certain
circumstances. In this context, skills based education should be designed to help youth
develop the knowledge, attitudes, values, interpersonal relations, critical and creative
thinking, decision making and self-awareness skills to enable them to make sound health-
related decisions (IPAR, 2004).

Since I did not observe or garner information of any in-school program that
comprehensively attends to HIV and AIDS, it is my view that the Center in partnership
with local organizations should roll out life skills education programs that include
speciﬁc skills to reduce risk of HIV infection. This may include skills on how to use a
condom or how to refuse unwanted sex and skills on how to negotiate on underlying
structural drivers of HIV. Since most of Maasai community’s cultural practices are
understood to propagate gender norms that dictate the prevalence of FGM and early
marriage in rural areas, there is need for a concerted effort both at the local and national

level to address this trend.

141

Local approach

At the local level, attitudinal change is imperative not in terms of getting rid of the
culture but designing culturally sensitive strategies to transform or discard some aspects
of the local culture that are detrimental to the welfare of girls, women and the entire
community. Therefore, targeting the local community with a view to sensitizing them to
cultivate a positive image of girls is likely to lead to change of attitudes in support of

their education and subsequent empowerment.

National approach

At the national level, one strategy for addressing and promoting girls education in
rural and marginalized areas is through universal basic education. While Kenya has done
well in this area by introducing free primary education, it is my view that it should also
be compulsory. There is need for the government of Kenya to enact a compulsory
component of free and basic education, which will create pressure and tie parents to
sending their children to school regardless of their cultural, economic and social
inclinations. Herz and Sperling (2004) argue that if education is not made mandatory, the
decision to educate children falls to the parents, who incur costs now and who cannot
capture much of the beneﬁts, since they accrue across a child’s lifetime and to society as
a whole. Therefore, a determination based solely on the cost-beneﬁt calculation of
parents may lead to a nation’s underinvesting in education.

Free and compulsory education is likely to create an impetus for both the
government and local communities to work together to expand structural and boarding

facilities such as dormitories and classrooms to accommodate more students especially

142

girls in rural areas. By so doing, the government will have created critical policies aimed
at increasing girl’s retention and participation in educational programs in school. This
shows that investing in girls’ education calls for multifaceted approach that incorporates
policy makers, national leaders, local opinion leaders and non-govemment organizations
such as churches and those that are community based.

Strengthen community mobilization and advocacy programs through meaningful
partnerships

The fact that education, in the long term, serves as a cornerstone in transforming
lives of vulnerable and underserved groups in rural communities cannot be
overemphasized. While the government of Kenya bears the primary responsibility for
managing the education system, meaningful involvement of numerous stakeholders and
partners inside and outside government is necessary to expand and improve the range of
basic education opportunities on the scale needed in rural areas. Such effort, obviously
calls for strong and continuous support at the political level, while action needs to take
place in each and every rural community. For instance, creating partnerships with
organizations working in rural Kajiado to be cognizant of the value and relevance of
girls’ education and include it in their development agenda is a critical step.

Meaningﬁrl partnerships can facilitate dialogue on issues that cut across the core
spectrum of the community such as the threat of HIV/AIDS, poverty, and children’s
rights including education. In my view, partnerships in these issues might:

o Assure advocacy for implementation of any existing laws, policies and
regulations regarding harmful cultural practices that endanger children and

deprive them of the right to free and basic education.

143

0 Provide mechanisms for care and support for vulnerable children in schools,
families and communities due to the impact of HIV and AIDS as well as
instability in families

0 Promote development of, and training in, life skills-based approaches geared to
combating the impact of HIV and AIDS among adolescents in schools as well as
in the community.

Besides involving local development agencies to address girls’ education, it is
also imperative to mobilize and work with families and communities. The success of the
Center in sensitizing the community through reconciliation programs is an indicator that
given a rationale, families and communities can transcend their cultural mores to support
the education of their children, both boys and girls. For example, my parents became
more involved in my education and school affairs when I, as a girl passed my secondary
level exam. Based on this and what I have observed since then, I have come to learn that
high levels of parental and community participation are associated with improved school
performance.

In the course of collecting data for this study, I thought of what it will take to
establish more Girls Centers of Excellence in the whole country instead of having ‘one
island of excellence’ in the whole country. While FAWE has helped establish Centers of
Excellence in some countries in sub-Saharan Aﬁica to enable disadvantaged girls
optimize their educational potential, I thought that it is imperative for Ministries of
Education, to work towards mainstreaming best practices that ensure creation of gender
responsive school environments to beneﬁt all students in rural areas. These may include

transforming some rural schools into Centers of Excellence and training and equipping

144

more teachers with skills for empowering girls and boys for gender equality through the
Tuseme and Gender Responsive Pedagogy models.

To foster the development and implementation of gender responsive school
environments, it would be critical for education policymakers to consider gender equality
as an integral dimension of teaching and learning. This will necessitate the training of
head teachers in leadership traits, gender-based violence in school, gender budgeting and
analytical skills. Further, it may include providing more scholarships to needy girls,
allowing those who get pregnant to go back to school after delivery, ensuring their safety
and security through construction of schools close to homes and provision of boarding
facilities. In addition, review curricula for gender responsiveness, increase the number of
female teachers to provide role models and provide gender responsive school
environment including separate toilets for boys and girls.

By so doing, the government will have adopted F AWE’s programmatic objectives
to: (1) Increase access particularly of rural girls, the very poor, the geographically and
culturally isolated and marginalized (2) Continue to stimulate policy reform particularly
ensuring gender provision in EF A and education policies and plans (3) Strengthen the
capacity of teachers in Centers of Excellence to acquire skills needed to promote girls’
access, retention, and performance and (4) Inﬂuence the replication and mainstreaming

of practices in girls’ education into the national education systems and practice.

Implications for Policy
In order to achieve the goals of universal education for children especially in
developing countries, policymakers will need to address the economic, social, and

cultural barriers that keep children, especially girls in poor rural areas out of school.

145

Research is replete with evidence that investing in girls’ education delivers high returns
not only for female educational attainment, but also for maternal and children’s health,
more sustainable families, women’s empowerment, democracy, income growth, and
general productivity (Herz & Sperling, 2004; F AWE, 2000; UNICEF, 2003).

Based on severe deﬁciencies in educational access and quality, policies that have
led most countries in sub-Saharan Aﬁica to introduce free primary education are hinged
on funding promises and commitments in the context of Millennium Development Goals
(MDG) and Education for All (EF A). This international commitment comes with
increasing scrutiny and monitoring mechanisms that require countries like Kenya to ﬁnd
more effective and cost-effective means to delivering basic education. The introduction
of free primary education in Kenya creates an impetus for the Ministry of Education to
come up with strategic policies and outreach programs that endeavors not only to meet
the needs of the Maasai families and communities, but also harness their potential to
address problems of their children’s education.

Kajiado, like most rural communities in Kenya, is under-developed and so
designated as a semi-arid zone based on regional climatic rating. Despite continued
government efforts to ensure development in such areas, this region still lacks some of
the basic social necessities such as water, health services, electricity and roads. This
trend, as is understood in Kenya, is attributable to inequalities in the regional distribution
of national resources. To ensure substantive socio-economic change for such regions,
there is need for speciﬁc measures to be put in place to promote equitable distribution of

national resources. Pertinent to such measures is a clear policy framework that will

146

provide means for measuring what works in such areas to reduce poverty and increase
educational opportunities for all children.

However, many rural communities such as the Maasai are unlikely to unlearn and
relearn some aspects of their culture until some new understanding, through some form of
education, is established in their communities. In the context of education, this means
implementing educational policies meant to increase access, retention, participation and
achievement from the grassroots level. Elmore (1997) has elaborately written about
bottom-up policy implementation [Backward mapping] in a way that validates the local
contexts and its variations.

Elmore argues that Backward Mapping begins not at the top of the
implementation process but at the last possible stage, the point at which administrative
actions intersect private choices. It begins not with a statement of intent, but with a
statement of the speciﬁc behavior at the lowest level of the implementation process that
generates the need for a policy (Elmore, 1997). Being cognizant of and localizing FGM
and early marriages as two intertwined bottlenecks that affect the education of girls in the
Maasai community, gave F AWE a rationale to establish Kajiado Girls Center of
Excellence. Creating policies and programs that take advantage of Free primary
Education and meaningfully involve rural communities to understand their socio-cultural
contexts in relation to their children’s education would be a viable way of starting to

tackle girls’ education at the grassroots level.

147

The study in relation to GAD theory

With a view to addressing gender and development issues, GAD framework calls
for the formulation of more gender-sensitive interventions, programs and empowerment
policies that require the involvement of both men and women as beneﬁciaries and agents
(Leach, 2003). In the Center, tenets of GAD framework are manifested in reconciliation
and sensitization programs whose purpose is to involve all stakeholders to support girls’
education. These programs include; Tuseme, Girl Help Girl Policy, Gender Responsive
Pedagogy, Holiday programs and the Rescue Center. Of great importance is the
government’s requirement of the provincial administration through local chiefs, district
commissioners and education ofﬁcers to monitor and enforce policies that outlawed
FGM, early marriages and promote Free Primary Education. Therefore, the Girls’ Center
of Excellence through its programs and policies continues to provide opportunities and

meet both practical and strategic needs of the girls.

Contributions to Research

Through the respondents’ voices, this study unraveled an understanding of
underlying socio-cultural, economic and academic transformation both in the Center and
within the Maasai community that greatly enhance or impede participation and
achievement of girls in education. While the Center of Excellence equipped the girls with
educational tools and empowered them to understand themselves in the context of their
community’s socio-cultural milieu, the community on the other hand seemed to gradually
come to understand the dividends of investing in education. The relationships between

the Center of Excellence and the local Maasai Community as well as religious

148

organizations and community based development agencies have the greatest potential to
inﬂuence economic changes, cultural evaluation and monitoring the advancement of
girls’ education. Since this study was restricted to the Center of Excellence, its
contributions are limited to what I garnered in the Center and its relationships with these
constituencies.

On the larger context, this study adds to the conversation that speaks to education
stakeholders and policymakers on the need to create safe and gender responsive school
environments for all children. I hope, therefore that this study provides policymakers and
other educators with helpful insights that enables them to acknowledge, review and
change inherent school-based and socio-cultural impediments that infringe on children’s
rights including the right to education. Although I do not expect every public school to be
a Center of Excellence, I hope that the characteristics of a gender responsive school
environment as demonstrated by Kajiado Girls Center of Excellence serves as a model
intervention worth adopting. On this context, this study creates a framework on which to
design, implement, monitor, and evaluate policies that might engender aspects of social

justice including diversity, gender, equity and culture.

Recommendations for Further Research
As already observed elsewhere in this study, the Maasai community was initially
opposed to the establishment of the Center of Excellence because it was understood to
take away their daughters, who were a dependable family and community resource.
However, data showed that this view was changing gradually with the help of different

strategies including sensitization and reconciliation programs. The enrolment of girls in

149

the Center became exponential when free primary education was introduced. Having

these facts in mind, it is important that ﬁrrther research be carried out to understand:

1.

The extent to which poverty and not cultural practices becomes a dominant factor
that impedes girls’ education in the Maasai community.

How the Center of Excellence can harness the potential of parents and students
who are successfully reconciled as well as female role models from the
community to build awareness and consensus on the social and economic
advantages of girls’ education.

What the place of boys’ education in the Maasai community? What do the boys
do with their education?

Mechanisms that can be created and sustained to support the funding aspect of the
girls that complete their education from the Center and proceed to secondary
schools. Data from this study indicated that the Center’s principal, Mr. Muniu had
taken a self-initiated responsibility to seek funding from individuals and
organizations to support these girls.

How girls who complete their studies from the Center but fail to join secondary
schools are rehabilitated. Mr. Muniu indicated that most of the girls who sit for
KCPE attain grades that would earn them admission into secondary schools, but
largely lack consistent ﬁrnding to continue their secondary education.

Ways that the Ministry of Education can mainstream some aspects of the Center
of Excellence in public educational institutions. This might include fora to explore
personal and controversial issues that students may feel uncomfortable discussing

in their families and communities.

150

7. The impact of a Center of Excellence in a mixed (boys and girls) school in a
similar setting.

8. How having only female teachers impact the academic performance and
empowerment of girls. Data from this study show that there were only two male
teachers and the rest of the 21 other teachers were females. Does having an almost
female dominated staff work well for girls’ education?

9. How do girls negotiate the tension between their culture (Maasai Culture) and the

western conception of ‘the place of girls’?

Reﬂections

From my observation, I learned that the Center of Excellence is an interdependent
institution that thrives on the will of non-proﬁt organizations, the government, the
community as well as well-wishers. The girls know that without well-wishers and the
support of their families, their transition out of the Center is difﬁcult. They, therefore
treated any visitor to the Center with respect and courtesy for this is one way of winning
the hearts of many visitors to support their course. That is how Kaleche won my heart to
buy her a new pair of shoes and other basics that she needed. Despite the cultural
backgrounds and trauma that many girls had been subjected to, they were happy and went
about their routines like nothing had happened to them. I feared that they had gone
through a lot to open up and share their experiences.

Coming from a different ethnic community, which is geographically and
linguistically distant from the Maasai community, I considered myself an outsider when I

went to the Girls’ Center of Excellence to conduct this study. However, I learned, from

151

the interviews, how remarkably similar the girls’ experiences were to mine. The sight of
girls in uniforms, their demeanor and speciﬁcally their show of respect for teachers,
elders and guests reﬂected a sense of discipline and familiarity that is too vivid from my
primary school years. It did not take me long to remember, follow and fall into the daily
routine in the Center as was characteristic to my experience in primary school. In the
course of my interview, the Center held Monday morning assemblies, prayers and staff
meetings, all, which were part and parcel of the Center’s culture. While these cultural
norms are characteristic of many schools in Kenya, witnessing their enactment in the
Center evoked in me shared values, beliefs, understanding and meaning.

Contrary to my assumption that the Center was just like any other regular
primary school where girls take a low proﬁle and are not expected to perform as well as
boys, I encountered a group of unique, highly motivated, self-conﬁdent and goal-driven
girls whose quest for knowledge was well beyond my expectations. They exhibited a
strong sense of urgency and readiness to confront their challenges in bid to redeﬁne and
refocus their lives. Their spirit and hope for a bright future evoked memories of my
primary school years when most girls were not motivated to stay in school. In my time,
good academic performance was synonymous to boys whereas girls’ good academic
performance was considered an act of chance. Unlike my girl interviewees whose
educational challenges revolved around access, retention, and performance, mine
primarily centered on performance. Utilizing both their stories and challenges and my
educational opportunities, challenges and exposure, I encouraged them to make optimal

use of the Center’s facilities, well-trained and gender-sensitive teachers as well as

152

conducive environment to excel academically and become beacons of change in their
communities.

From my primary school times, my father used to tell me that the power to change
my life was in my hands. Despite his support, I did not wish away the cultural challenges
such as domestic chores: fetching water, ﬁrewood, taking care of babies and cooking, but
worked hard in school whenever I had a chance to make it better. I shared my experience
with the girls and reminded them that their challenges notwithstanding, they had a viable
and well-meaning environment that they could capitalize on to transform their lives. All
they need, I told them, was to develop the resilience and cultivate an indomitable sense of
urgency that I witnessed in their faces and way of doing things. Their lives were being

deﬁned in the Center and their future was in their hands.

Conclusion

This study revealed economic and social conditions that were eye opening to me.
The climatic conditions of the Maasai people in and around Kajiado depicted an area and
a people in dire need of assistance. This study made me strongly believe that
retrogressive cultural practices notwithstanding, improving living conditions in rural
areas represents a key challenge for educational progress. Data showed that the girls’
experiences in the Center was helping them learn more about their rights, give them a
voice, dream and work towards joining college, and advance their own and community’s
social and economic welfare.

The girls’ dreams and aspirations are unlikely to be realized without convincing a
larger Maasai community that educating their children, especially girls holds the ultimate

key to improving their livelihoods. This necessitates that implementation of education for

153

all children ought to be integrated within all aspects of sustainable rural development
through multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary strategies and programs. It is within this
framework that the community would understand the rationale of supporting girls’
education as a basic human right along strategies meant to alleviate poverty and improve
health and social services.

Carrying out this study provided me an opportunity to observe, view and
understand, insights, perspectives, opinions and ideas as well as broader and deep-rooted
challenges that forestall the education of girls not only within the Maasai community but
also in many rural and marginalized environments. I gained an insider outlook although I

went in as a n outsider to the community

154

APPENDICES

155

APPENDIX A

APPROVAL LETTER FROM HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION PROGRAM,

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY, CONSENT AND ASSENT LETTERS

156

 

OFFICE OF
REGULATORY
AFFAIRS

Human Research
Protection Programs

BIOMEDICAL s HEALTH
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW
BOARD (BIRD)

couuuumr RESEARCH
INSTITUTIONAL REVEW
BOARD (came)

socrAt SCIENCE]
BEHAVIORAL I EDUCATDII
InsrrrurIOIIAt REVIEW
BOARD Israel

202 Old: Hal

East Lansing. Michigan
48824-1046
517-355-2180

Fax' 517432-4503

mwhumanresearchmsuedu
;IR8 a BIRB; IRB@msu.edu
CRIRB: cn'rb@msu.edu

 

MSU I: an aﬂirmanva-acuon
punt-oppormnlty IMIImIIon

MICHIGAN STATE

UNIVERSITY

Initial IRB
Application
Approval

May 30, 2007

T01 Reitumetse MABOKELA
425 Erickson Hall

Category: EXPEDITED 2-7
May 30. 2007
May 29. 2008

Re: IRB 0 07-066
Approval Date:
Expiration Date:

Title: EXPLORING THE EXPEREINCES OF GIRLS IN A FAWE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN

KAJIADO DISTRICT. KENYA.

The Institutional Review Board has completed their review of your project. I am pleased to advise you that
your project has been approved.

The committee has found that your research project is appropriate In desim. protects the rights andweltare OI
Iiumen meets. and meets the requirements of MSU's Federal Wide Assurance and the Fedora Guidelines
(45 CFR 48 and 21 CFR Part 50). The protection of human subjects Inresearch Is a partnership between the

IRS and the Investigators. We look forward to working with you as we both IullII our responsibilities.

Renewals: IRB approval isvalld untllthe expiration date listed above. Iiyou arecontinuing yourproieci. you
must submit an Application for Renewal application at least one month before expiration. If the project is

completed. please submit an Application for Permanent Closure.

Revisions: The lRBmustIevlewarryclraIroeslnmeprOject. pI'IorIohithtion Olthechenge. Pleasesrbmlten
Application forRevlstontohaveyourchangesreviewed. lfchangesaremadeatdretlmeofrenewalmiease

Include an Application forRevIsIon with the renewal application.

Problems: II Issues should arise during the conduct of the research. such as unanticipated problems. adverse
events. or any problem that may increase the risk to the human subjects. notifythe IRB Office promptly. Forms

are available to report these Issues.

Please use the IRB number listed above on any forms submitted which relate to this project. or on any
correspondence with the IRB Ofﬁce.

Good luck In your research. If we can be of further assistance. please contact us at 517-355-2180 or via email
at W. Thank you for your coooeration.

Sincerely,

Peter Vasilenko. PhD.
SIRB Chair

C: Mary Ombonga

1272 Deer Path Lane
East Lansing. MI 48823

157

Consent Form for Parents/Guardians
Dear Parent/Guardian:

My name is Mary Ombonga. I am a Ph.D student in K-12 Educational Administration at
Michigan State University, USA. I come from Nyamira District. I am presently involved
in research that seeks to explore and understand experiences of girls enrolled in Kajiado
Girls Center of excellence. The information I will gather will; (1) be part of completing
my Ph.D dissertation requirement at Michigan State University and (2) will assist
education stakeholders to improve facilities in the Center and create more gender
responsive Centers in the country to encourage more girls to participate in education.

Kajiado Girls Center of Excellence Head teacher, some teachers, and a few students will
provide me with some information. I request your permission for your daughter to
participate in this study because she has been attending school in this Center for the last 3
years. With your permission, your daughter along with others will participate in 45-60
minute individual interviews. The interviews will seek to understand the students’
experiences in school and their future dreams. The interviews will be conducted during
out-of-class hours so that the child’s in-class contact hours are not interrupted.

The identity of your child will remain conﬁdential. The interview may be tape-recorded.
Reports and research ﬁndings will not permit associating your child with speciﬁc
responses or ﬁndings. Your child’s privacy will be protected to the maximum allowable
by law. I will keep the data in a locked cabinet that will be accessible by my dissertation
chairman (Dr. Mabokela) and myself only.

Your child’s participation in this study will be strictly voluntary and you and/or the child
may withdraw at any time without penalty. If you may have questions or concerns about
your child’s rights in this research, contact the Center’s Head teacher or the primary
investigator Dr. Reitu Mabokela (517-353-6676), e-mail: mabokela@msu.edu, regular
mail: 425 Erickson Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824. If you or your child is dissatisﬁed at
any time with any aspect of this study, you may contact — anonymous, if you wish - Peter
Vasilenko, Ph.D., Chair Human Research Protection Programs by phone: (517) 355-
2180, fax: (517) 432-4503, e-mail: IRB@msu.edu, or regular mail: 202 Olds Hall, East
Lansing, MI 48824, USA.

I ask you to sign this consent form to indicate that you are aware of the purpose of the
research and are willing to allow your child to participate.

Thank you

Child’s Name

 

Parent/Guardian Signature Date

 

 

158

Students’ Assent Letter

Project Title: Exploring the Experiences of Girls in a FAWE Center of Excellence in
Kajiado district, Kenya.

Dear Student,

My name is Mary Ombonga. I come from Nyamira District. I am a student in Educational
Administration at Michigan State University, USA. I am required to write an
examination, which involves talking to students like you. I am therefore requesting you to
talk to me about your experience here in school. Your experience might include the
things you like and dislike both here in school and at home and what you could like to
become once you complete your education from this school. I want to assure you that you
will not be punished or be in trouble for talking to me and you are free to withdraw from
talking to me at any stage of our conversation without any penalty. I will not use your
names nor share the information you give me with your parents, teachers or other school
ofﬁcials.

If you agree to talk to me, I will assign you to a group of other students totaling about 5
and then we will talk as a group. If you will not want to be assigned to a group, I will talk
to you individually. Our talk will last approximately 45-60 minutes. With your
permission, I will tape record our conversation. I will keep all the information you give
me such as recorded tapes and notes in a locked cabinet.

If you may have questions or concerns about my request to talk to you please feel free to
contact your head teacher or my teacher. My teacher’s name and address information is:
Dr. Reitu Mabokela, Tel: (517-353-6676), e-mail: mabokela@msu.edu, regular mail: 425
Erickson Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824 USA.

Thank you.

I ask you to sign this form to show that you are aware of the purpose of our talk and that
you are voluntarily willing to participate in our talk. Please check your Options and sign.

 

 

Talk to me individually Put me in a group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Reitu Mabokela. Mary M. Ombonga
Professor, Michigan State University Ph.D Student, Michigan State University

Educational Administration _ K-l2 Educational Administration
College of Education, 425 Erickson Hall 1272 Deer Path Lane

East Lansing, MI 48824, USA East Lansing, MI 43323, USA
(517) 353-6676 Fax. (517) 353-6393 (517) 853-9396

mabokela@msu.edu nyamwega@msu.edu

 

 

 

Signature Date

 

 

Please initial here if you agree to be tape recorded.

159

Consent Letter for Administrators.

Project Title: Project Title: Exploring Experiences of Girls in a FAWE Center of Excellence
in Kajiado district, Kenya.

Dear Sir/Madam:

My name is Mary Ombonga. I come from Nyamira District. I am a doctoral student in K-
12 Educational Administration at Michigan State University, USA. I am writing to you
because I am conducting a study entitled, Exploring Experiences of Girls in a FAWE
Center of Excellence in Kajiado district, Kenya.

I am asking you to participate in an interview that seeks to understand how the Center
inﬂuences the girls’ educational goals and its relationship with the community. The
information I will gather would help to inform FAWE, policy makers and other education
stakeholders to design gender sensitive programs that can beneﬁt girls to realize their full
educational potential in this Center as well as in other educational settings around the
country. I further will use the information as part of completing my Ph.D. program at
Michigan State University, USA.

You will be interviewed once for approximately 90 minutes. With your permission, I will
take notes and tape-record the interview in a way that your identity will remain
conﬁdential. Reports and research ﬁndings will also be written in a way that conceals
your identity. Your privacy will be protected to the maximum allowable by law. I will
keep the data in a locked cabinet that will be accessible by my dissertation director (Prof.
Reitu Mabokela) and myself only. Your participation in this study is strictly voluntary
and you may withdraw at any time without penalty.

1 ask you to sign this consent form to indicate that you are aware of the purpose of the
research and are willing to participate. Should you have any concerns or questions
regarding this study, please contact Prof. Reitu Mabokela. (517-353-6676), e-mail:
mabokela@msu.edu, regular mail: 425 Erickson Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824. If you
have any questions or concerns about this study regarding your rights as a study
participant, or are dissatisﬁed at any time with any aspect of this study, you may contact
— anonymous, if you wish — Peter Vasilenko, Ph.D., Chair Human Research Protection
Programs) by phone: (517) 355-2180, fax: (517) 432-4503, e-mail: IRB msu.edu, or
regular mail: 202 Olds Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.

 

 

 

Sincerely,
Dr. Reitu Mabokela. Mary M. Ombonga
Professor, Michigan State University Doctoral Student, Michigan State University
Educational Administration K-12 Educational Administration
College of Education, 425 Erickson Hall 1272 Deer Path Lane
East Lansing, MI 48824, USA East Lansing, MI 48823, USA
(517)353-6676 Fax: (517) 353-6393 (517) 853-9396
mabokela@msu.edu ryamwega@msu.edu

 

 

 

I voluntarily agree to participate in the study.

Please Sign: Date:

 

 

 

 

 

160

APPENDIX B

INTERVIEW PROTOCOLS

161

Ni—e

(A)

10.
ll.
12.

13.

Interview Protocol for Students

 

Tell me something about yourself?

When did you join this center? How did you know about it? Who brought you
here?

Do you like it? If yes, what do you like about it?

Do you have friends here in school? What about at home? What kind of activities
do you do with your friends when you are at home? When you are not in class,
what do you like doing?

Are your parents happy that you are in this center? How often do they come to see
you here in school? Who comes, mom or dad? If they come to see you, what do
you talk with them? What do they bring to you? Do they ask you what you are
doing in school?

Do you know girls or boys from your community that do not go to school? If yes,
what do they do instead?

Do you know of a girl or a friend who wants to be in this center but has not? If
yes, describe reasons as to why she is not able to be here.

When you close school at the end of the term, do you help your parents do some
work? If yes, what kind of work? If you have brothers, how do they also help?

In our communities, we have a lot of ceremonies. Can you tell me of any that
happens in your community? Do you like them? If yes, what do you like in them?
If no, what don’t you like about them?

How have you changed since you joined this Center?

What are your dreams once you get out of this Center?

If you had a chance to talk to those girls and boys who do not go to school, what
could you tell them? What could you tell their parents?

Is there anything you could like to share with me about yourself that we have not
talked about?

162

Interview Protocol for administrators

What are the experiences of girls prior to and after their involvement with the FAWE
Center of Excellence in Kajiado?

Tell me something about yourself?

How can you describe the history of this Center? Why was this center
established?

How can you describe the students who attend this Center?

Without naming names, describe a typical background most of these students
come from?

Do you think these students are happy being in this Center?

What do you consider as your most important accomplishment for the girls from
the time they join the Center to the time they leave?

In what ways has the Center inﬂuenced the girls’ current and future educational

goals?

How would you describe the curriculum that you/staff use in this Center? (How is
its delivery different from public schools?

What kind of challenges do you face working in this Center? If any, how do you
overcome them?

Do you experience student dropouts? If any, what triggers it?

HIV/AIDS is a dreaded disease that has claimed many lives in the world. Do you
have any of such cases among students or teachers? Or even in the community? If
so, how do you as a Center respond to such cases?

Describe where most of the girls, who complete their standard 8, go. Does your
support follow them once they transition from this Center?

What strategies does the Center employ to support the educational goals of the

girls?

What makes this institution a Center of Excellence? Can you describe the types of
services that the Center provides for the girls and the community.

How do you involve the students’ parents in their children’s education?

If I were to listen to a parent in your ofﬁce/school talking about his/her child,
what am I likely to hear?

Describe how this Center beneﬁts from the church. What other organizations help
this Center? How do they help?

How can you describe the govemment’s role in this Center?

What is the nature of the relationship between the Center and the community
within which it is located?

Describe how the community perceives this Center.

163

Do you think the relationship between the Center and the community or parents
can be improved?
What inﬂuence/impact has the free primary education has had on this Center?

Who are members of the board?
Do you have Parents Teachers Association (PTA) and annual parents’ meetings,
as is the case in most public schools?
If you had one thing that you could tell the following stakeholders about the
vision, and the reality of the way things are today in this center and its students,
what could that be?

0 The parents/community

0 Students

0 Church

0 Government (ministry of education)

164

APPENDIX C

PICTURES FROM THE SITE

165

 

C l: Emparnat Naisula Rescue Center

166

 

Usiniajiri. Nipeiaite

1

Ewe us educating, at 3.3 car 0

Tupatie elimu, ni, halti yetu.

 

Chiefs Meeting to promote girls education I

167

 

C2: Chiefs Reh150utons'd. sgeinaturs to supprto Girls Education.

168

 

1’s office

incipa

d Extra-curricular trophies as displayed in the pr

lean

Academ'

C3

169

 

lcapped

it for the Visually Hand'

Integrated Un

C4

170

 

C5: Kaleche getting some help to put on shocks and her ﬁrst new pair of shoes.

171

REFERENCES

Abagi, O. (1997). Status of Education in Kenya: Indicators for Planning and Policy
Formulation. Nairobi: IPAR Special Report.

African Gender Institute (2003). Available online at:
http://web.uct.ac.za/org/agi/gwslinkshtm, Accessed on January 5, 2006

Amin, S. Selim, N. & Waiz, N. K (2006). Causes and consequences of early marriage in
Bangladesh, background report for workshop on pro- grams and policies to
prevent early marriage. Dhaka: Population Council

Anyango, O. & Abagi, O. (2005): Schooling, Education and African Schools. [Online]
Retrieved on September 21 2006 from:www.hrw.org/reports/200l/safrica/

Avotri, R., Owusu-Darko, L., Eghan, H. and Ocansey, S. (1999) Gender and primary
schooling in Ghana. Sussex: Institute of Development Studies, October.

Bellamy, C. (2004). The State of the World ’5 Children 2004: Girls, Education and
Development, United Nations Children’s Fund, www.unicef.org/soch4/.
Accessed on January 5, 2007

Bennell, P., K. A. L. Hyde, et al. (2002). The impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the
education sector in Sub-Saharan Africa : a smthesis of the ﬁndings and
recommendations of three country studies. Sussex, Centre for International
Education University of Sussex Institute of Education

Boler, T. and P. Aggleton (2005). Life skills education for HIV prevention: a critical
analysis. [Online]. London, Save the Children and ActionAid International.
Retrieved on March 15, 2006, From:
http://www.campaignforeducation.org/resources/FebZOOS/life skills paper.pdf

Brock, C. & Cammish, N. (1998). Factors affecting female participation in education in
seven developing countries’, Revised edition, DFID Education Research Series
Serial No 9, London: Department for International Development

Bussey, K., & Bandura, A. (1999). Social cognitive theory of gender development and
differentiation. Psychological Review, Vol. 106, pp.676-713

Chege, F. & Sifuna, D. (2006) Women and Girls education in Kenya. UNESCO
Chimombo, J. and UNICEF. et al. (2000). Classroom, school, and home factors that

negatively affect girls education in Malawi : a report. [Lilongwe], Centre for
Educational Research and Training.

172

Chimombo, J. & E. Kadzamira. (2001). Community sensitization and mobilization study
in Malawi. [Zomba, Malawi], University of Malawi, Centre for Educational
Research and Training.

Colclough, C. (1994). Under enrollment and low quality in African primary schooling:
Towards a gender sensitive solution. Working Paper No.7. IDS, University of
Sussex, UK.

Colclough, C., et al. (2000). ‘Gender inequalities in primary schooling: The roles of
poverty and adverse cultural practices’, International Journal of Educational
Development, 20/1: 5—28

Cotton, A. (2000). Community action in support of girls’ education: the Cambridge
female education trust program (CAMFED) in Educating Tomorrow by Thody,
A. & Kaabwe, S. (eds)

CRC (1989). Report on the Convention for the Rights of the Child. UNICEF

Dabrowski, R. (2001). Nairobi Women Rescue Maasai Girls and Street Children in
Adventist News Network (ANN) [Online]. Retrieved on September 12, 2006 from
http://news.adventist.org/data/2001/O4/0988733334/index.html.en

Davies, D. (1991, January). Schools reaching out: Family, school and community
partnerships for student success. Phi Delta Kappan, 72 (5), 376-3 82.

Davison, J. & Kanyuka, M. (1990). An ethnographic study of factors affectingithe
education of girls in southern Malawi. Zomba, Malawi, Chancellor College,
University of Malawi.

Denzin, N. K. and Y. S. Lincoln (2000). Handbocﬁr of qualitative research. Thousand
Oaks, Ca1if., Sage Publications

Dollar, D & Gatti, R (1999) Gender Inequality, Income, and Growth: Are Good Times
Good for Women? Gender and Development Working Papers No. 1, May 1999.
Accessed on 9/26/2005 at http://www.worldbankorg/gender/prr/wp1.pdf

Dunbar, C. Jr., Rodriguez, D., Parker, L. (2001). Race, subjectivity, and the interview
process. In J. Gubrium & J. Holstein (Eds), The handbook of interviewing (pp.
279-298). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

ECA (2004) 'The challenges and prospects of achieving MDGs in Africa, mimeo, ESPD.
Education: Three Countries’ Efforts. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Egbo, B. (2000) Gender, Literacy and Life Chances in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cleveland,
Buffalo, Sydney: Multilingual Matters.

173

Elimu Yetu Coalition (2003) Gender and Education in Kenya since World Education
Forum 2000- A Case Stuaj/ of Nairobi, Kajiado and T haraka Districts. EYC
2003, Nairobi, Kenya

Elmore, R. F ., with the assistance of Burney, D. (1997). Investing in Teacher Learning:
Staff Development and Instructional Improvement in Community School District
#2, New York City. New York: National Commission on Teaching & America’s

Future: Consortium for Policy in Education.

Elson, D. (1992). From survival strategies to transformation strategies: women ’s needs
and structural adjustment. In Beneria, L.; F eldman, 8., ed., Unequal burden:
economic crises, persistent poverty, and women’s work. Westview Press,
Boulder, CO, USA.

Epstein, J. (1995) School/Family/Community Partnerships: Caring for the Children We
Share. Phi Delta Kappan 77 (701-12)

Eshiwani, G (1981). Background paper to Report on Educational Research and
Development in Kenya. Nairobi: Bureau of Educational Research, Kenyatta
University

Eshiwani, G. S. (1985). Women’s access to higher education in Kenya: a study
of opportunities and attainment in science and mathematics education. Journal
of Eastern African research and development 15, 91-110.

Forum for African Women Educationalists. (1995). Girls and African education :
research and action to keep girls in school. Nairobi, Kenya, F AWE.

FAWE (1998). Female Education in Mathematics and Science in Aﬁica (FEMSA),
Students’ attitude to the teaching and learning of SMT subjects by girls in primary
schools: the experience of the pilot phase, FEMSA Dissemination Report No. 11,
Nairobi:

Forum for African Women Educationalists. (2000a). Girls’ Education in Aﬁica: The
FA WE Response. Nairobi: F AWE.

F AWE, (2000b). Girls Ambition and Dreams. The news magazine about the education of
girls and women in Aﬁica. Retrieved on February 24, 2005, from
http://www.fawe.org/pub]ications/Information/Newsletters/FNews8-1 .pdf

F AWE, (2001). Creating an Enabling Environment for Girls in schools. The news
magazine about the education of girls and women in Africa. Retrieved on
February 25, 2005, from:
http://www.fawe.org/publications/Information/Newsletters/FNews9-1 .pdf

174

F eagin, J ., Orum, A., & Sjoberg, G. (Eds), (1991). A case for case study. Chapel Hill,
NC: University of North Carolina Press.

Floro, M., & Wolf, J.M. (1990). The Economic and Social Impacts of Girl ’s Primary
Education: Three Countries’ Efforts. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Forum for African Women Educationalists. (1995). Girls and African education :
research and action to keep girls in school. Nairobi, Kenya, F AWE.

Gachuhi, D. (1999). The impact of HIV/AIDS on education systems in the Eastern and
Southern Africa Region, and the response of education systems to HIV/AIDS:
Life Skills programmes. Prepared for UNICEF ESARO and presented to All Sub-
Saharan Africa Conference on Education for AIIAEF A), Johannesburg

Gachukia, E. (1992). The education of girls and women in Africa : issuels] and concepts.
[Nairobi], Forum for African Women Educationalists.

Glesne, C. and A. Peshkin (1992). Becoming qualitative researchers : an introduction.
White Plains, N.Y., Longman.

Glesne, C. (1999). Becoming qualitative researchers : an introduction. New York,
Longman.

Global Campaign for Education (2004). Learning to survive: How education for all
would save millions of young people from HIV/AIDS. Retrieved March 16,

2006.[On1ine]: www.campaignforeducationorg

Gordon, R. (1995). Causes of Girls' Academic Underachievement: the Inﬂuence of
Teachers' Attitudes and Expectations on the Academic Performance of Secondary
School Girls, Harare: HRCC, University of Zimbabwe

Govemment of Kenya (1964). Kenya Education Commission Report, Part I . Nairobi:
Government Printer.

Government of Kenya (1995). Country Position Paper - World Summit for Social
Development. World Bank.

Henderson, A., & Berla, N. (Eds). (1994). A new generation of evidence: T he family is
critical to student achievement. Washington, DC: National Committee for

Citizens in Education, Center for Law and Education

Herrera, L. (1992). Scenes of schooling: Inside a girls’ school in Cairo. Paper in social
science no. 15. Monograph, American University of Cairo press.

Herz, B. & Sperling, G. B (2004) What Works in Girls’ Education: Evidence and Policies
from the Developing World. Council on Foreign Relations, New York.

175

Herz, B. et al. (1991). Letting Girls Learn: Promising Approaches in Primary and
Secondary Education, Washington, DC, World Bank.

Human Rights Watch (2002). The Case of Kenya. [Online]. Retrieved on September 10
2006 from: http://en.wikipedia.orglwiki/Humantrights in_Kenya

Hyde, K. A. (1994). Program on Research Priorities for the Education of Girls and
Women in Africa (African Academy of Sciences) (1995). Priority research
themes on female education in Africa. Nairobi, Kenya, Academy Science
Publishers.

IBRD and World Bank (1996). Leveling the Playing Field: Giving Girls an Equal
Chance for Basic Education: Three Countries ’ Eﬂorts. Washington, DC: World
Bank.

ICRW (2003) ‘ICRW policy advisory on child marriage’, International Centre for
Research on Women, [Online] www.icrw.org/docs/childmarriage0803.pdf,

accessed May 10, 2006

Ifelunni, Ike (2000). Breaking the barriers to girl students’ poor academic achievements:
Nigeria in Educating Tomorrow by Thody,A & Kaabwe, S. Juta &Co. Ltd.
South Africa.

lntemational Center for Research on Women (2004). When Marriage Is No Haven: Child
Marriage in Developing Countries. What Works To Keep Girls Safe. Washington
DC. Retrieved on November 15’ 2005 from;
http://www.icrw.org/docs/2004 info_childmarriage.pdf

IPAR (2004) Gender aspects in HIV/AIDS infection and prevention in Kenya, IPAR
Policy Brief 10(12), Nairobi: IPAR

J oshi, G.P.& Anderson, J. (1994) ‘Female motivation in the patriarchal school: An
analysis of primary textbooks and school organization in Nepal and some
strategies for change, Gender and Education 6/2

Kabira, W.M. & Masinjila, M., (1997). ABC of Gender AllaL/SISI Forum for
African Women Educationalists (F AWE). Nairobi.

Kakonge, E., Forum for African Women Educationalists, et al. (2001). Report on girls’
education in Waiir and Mandera Districts of Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya, Forum for
African Women Educationalists

Kelly, M. J. and International Institute for Educational Planning. (2000a). Planning for
education in the context of HIV-AIDS. Paris, Unesco, International Institute for
Educational Planning (IIEP). Retrieved on May, 26 2006 from:
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/OO12/001224/1224056._mif

176

King, E. M., & Hill. A.M., (1993). Women’s Education in Developing
Countries: Barriers, Beneﬁts, And Policies. Baltimore: John Hopkins University
Press.

Kinyanjui, K. (1974) The Distribution of Educational Resources and Opportunities in
Kenya. University of Nairobi: Institute of Development Studies Discussion Paper
No.208

Kirby, D. et al. (1994). School-based programs to reduce risk behaviors. A review of
effectiveness. Public Health reports 109(3): 339-3361

Kvale, S. (1996). Interviews: an introduction to galitative research interviewing.
Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage Publications

Leach, F. (2003). Practising Gender Analysis in Education. Oxfam GB publishers, UK.

Leach, F. (2003) (with V. F iscian, E. Kadzamira, E. Lemani and P. Machakanja) An
Investigative Study of the Abuse of Girls in African Schools. London, Education
Research Report No. 54. Department for International Development. UK

Leach, F. (2002) School based gender violence in Africa: a risk to adolescent sexual
health. In Perspectives in Education: Special issue on HIV/AIDS, Vol 20, 2,
pp.99-112

Leach, F., Machakanja, P. & Mandoga, J ., (2000). Preliminary investigation of the abuse
of girls in Zimbabwean junior secondary schools. DFID, Education Research
Series. Serial No 39, London.

Lewnes, A. (2005). What strategies work to stop female genital mutilation/cutting?
Innocenti Research Center UNICEF

Lincoln, Y. S. and E. G. Guba (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, Calif., Sage
Publications.

Locke, L. F ., W. W. Spirduso, et al. (2000). Pmosals that work : a guide for planning
dissertations and grantjroposals. Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage.

Lockheed, M., & Verspoor, A. (1991). Improving Primary Education in Developing
Countries. New York: Oxford University Press

Loﬂand, J. and L. H. Loﬂand (1984). Analyzing social settings: a g1_iide to qualitative
observation and analysis. Belmont, Calif., Wadsworth Pub. Co.

Mackie, G. (2000). “Female Genital Cutting: The beginning of the end,” pp. 253-281, in

Shell-Duncan B. and Hernlund Y. (eds), Female “Circumcision” in Africa:
Culture, Controversy, and Change, Lynne Rienner Publishers: London.

177

Mackie, G (1996) Ending Foot binding and Inﬁbulation: A Convention Account.
American-Sociological-Review; 61, 6, Dec, 999-1017. [Online] Retrieved on
October 14, 2007 from: http:wawfgmnetwork.org/articles/mackie1998.html

Maimbolwa-Sinyangwe, I. M.& Chilangwa, B. Y. (1995) Learning from Inside the
Classroom: A Research Report, UNICEF & MOE Zambia.

Masterson, J. M.; Swanson, J. H. (2000) Sustainable solutions to female genital cutting
involve empowerment, participation and respect for culture. International Center
for Research on Women (ICRW), USA

Mensch, BS. and CB. Lloyd. (1998). “Gender differences in the schooling experiences
of adolescents in low-income countries: the case of Kenya,” Studies in Family
Planning 29 (2): 167-184. New York: Population Council.

Mills, E. (2002). “Hazel the dental assistant and the research dilemma of (re)preseting a
life story: The clash of narratives.”

Mirsky, J. (2003). Beyond Victims and Villains: Addressing Sexual Violence in the
Education Sector. The Panos Institute, London. Retrieved on October 10,
2007 from:
http://www.panos.org.uk/resources/reportdownload.asp?type=report&id=l 060

Mlama, P & Colclough, C (1999). Empty desks, empty futures: the curse of classroom
gender gaps in Insight. Issue No. 29. IDS, University of Sussex. UK.

Mlama, P. (2005) Gender and Education for Rural People in Africa. Policy
Lessons, Options and Priorities. F AWE, Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

Molyneux, M. (1985). Mobilization without emancipation: women’s interests, state and
revolution in Nicaragua. Feminist Studies, 11(2), 227—254

Moser, C.(1993). Gender planning and development: theory, practice and training.
Routledge, London, UK

Mulugeta, E. (2004). Swimming Against the Tide: Educational Problems and COping
Strategies of Rural Female Students in Ethiopia. Eastern Africa Social Science
Research Review [Online], 20(2). pp7l-97 Retrieved on Dec 12, 2006 from:

http://www.ajol.info/viewarticle.php?id=l4562 .

Namuddu, C. (1993). Of FAWE's agenda: possible choices for impact. [Nairobi], Forum
for African Women Educationalists.

Nyati-Rwamahobo & Mabuse, M (2000). Maintaining girls’ commitment to education in

Botswana: a teen mother project and peer counseling in Educating Tomorrow by
Thody, A & Kaabwe, S. Juta & Co. Ltd.

178

Obermeyer, C. (1999). “Female genital surgeries: The known, the unknown, and the
unknowable,” Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 13(1): 79-106.

Obura, A. P. (1991). Changing images : portrayal of girls and women in Kenyan
textbooks. Nairobi, Kenya, ACTS Press.

Obura, A., et al. (1992). Report, Republic of Kenya : Basic education for all: Issues and
strategies: 1991-2000 and beyond. Nairobi, National Committee on Education for
All, Kenya National Commission for UNESCO, Ministry of Education in co-
operation with UNICEF Kenya Country Ofﬁce and UNDP.

Ochwada, H. (1997) politics and gender relations in Kenya. A historical perspective of
opportunities and attainment in science and mathematics education. Journal of
Eastern African research and development 15, 91-110 Africa development 22,
121- 139

Ongaga, K. O.(2007) Head Teachers’ Experiences and students’ perceptions in
Implementing HIV/AIDS Education Programs in High Schools in Rural Kisii
district, Kenya. (PhD Dissertation, Michigan State University, 2007)

Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Newbury Park, Calif.,
Sage Publications.

Patton. M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks,
Calif., Sage Publications.

 

Patton. M.Q (1985). Culture and Evaluation, New Directionsfor Program Evaluation ,
No. 25. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Patton, M. Q. (1997) Utilization-Focused Evaluation: The new century text. Beverly
Hills, CA: Sage.

Psachoropoulos, G. & Patrinos. H. A. (2002). Returns to investment in education: a
further update. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2881. Washington,
DC: World Bank.

Raynor, J. and R. Chowdhury (2004). A National Assessment of Girls ’ Secondary Stipend
Programmes in Bangladesh, Dhaka: study commissioned by DfID, Bangladesh.

Sarkis. M. (2003) Female genital cutting (FGC): an introduction. The Female Genital
Cutting Education and Networking Project. Available at:
http://www.fgmnetwork.org/intro/fgmintro.html Retrieved on October 19, 2006.

Schultz, T.P. (1993) Returns to women’s schooling. In Elizabeth King and M. Anne Hill,
eds. Women’s education in developing countries: barriers, beneﬁts and policy.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

179

Shefﬁeld, J .R. (1973) Education in Kenya: A Historical Stuay. New York: Teachers
College Press.

Shell-Duncan, Bettina and Ylva Hernlund (2000). Female “Circumcision ” in Africa:
Culture, Controversy and Change, Lynne Rienner Publisher, London.

Stake, R. E.(1995) The Art of Case Study Research, Thousand Oaks: Sage

Stromquist , N.(1994). Gender and Basic Education in International Development Co-
operation, UNICEF Staff Working Paper No.13,

Stromquist, N. (1989). “Determinants of educational participation and achievement of
women in the third world: A review of the evidence and a theoretical critique,”
Review of Educational Research 59(2): 143—183.

Subbarao, K., & Raney, L. (1995). Social gains from female education. Economic
Development and Cultural Change, 44 (1): 105-28

Sultan, M. (1994). ‘Women’s struggle against tradition in Bangladesh’, Convergence,
XXVII

Summers, Lawrence H. (1992) Investing in All the People: Educating Women in
Developing Countries. The World Bank, Washington DC.

Swainson, N. et al. (1998). Promoting Girls ’ Education in Africa. The Design and
Implementation of Policy Interventions. London: Department of International
Development (DfID).

Swainson, S., Bendera, R., Gordon, B. & Kadzamira (1998). Promoting girls’ education
in Africa: The design and implementation of policy interventions — Education
Research Paper No. 25, 141

UN (2000) United Nations Millennium Declaration. United Nations, New York.
Retrieved on March 24 2006. From:
http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/aresS52e.htm

UNAIDS. (2002). “Preventing HIV/AIDS.” June 21. Geneva: UNAIDS. Retrieved on
April 24, 2005. From: http://www.aegis.com/news/unaids/2001/UN01063l.htrnl

UNESCO (1991). World education report. Paris.
UNESCO (2000) Education For All (EFA) Assessment. UNESCO [available online]

UNESCO (2003) Guidelines for implementing, monitoring and evaluating gender
responsive EFA plans, UNESCO, Bangkok.

180

UNESCO (2003). “Gender and Education for All, The Leap to Quality; EFA Global
Monitoring report”, UNESCO, Paris.

UNICEF (1999). The State of the World’s Children 1999: Education, New York:
UNICEF

UNICEF (2000). Women and girls: education, not discrimination. Paris:

UNICEF (2001), Early Marriage: Child Spouses, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre,
Florence

UNICEF (2002) Gender, Sexuality and HIV/AIDS in Education (summary report),
Nairobi: UNICEF ESARO.

UNICEF (2003). The State of the World’s Children Report. Girls, Education and
Development. New York: UNICEF.

UNICEF (2004a). Accelerating Progress on Girls’ Education, Operational Strategy,
Eastern and Southern Africa, Nairobi.

UNICEF (2004b). The State of the world's children. Oxford; New York, Oxford
University Press for UNICEF

UNICEF (2005a).The State of the World’s Children: Childhood under threat. New
York.

UNICEF (2005b). Changing a harmful social convention: female genital
mutilation/cutting. Innocenti Research, Florence, Italy.

USAID (1997). Educating girls in Sub-Saharan Africa : USAID’s approach and lessons
for donors. Washington, DC, US. Agency for lntemational Development.

USAID(2003)Education: Advancing Basic Education and Literacy ABEL Project,
Washington DC. USAID. Educational Focus, Vol. 4

Wamahiu, S. P. (1996). The pedagogy of difference: An African perspective. In P. M. C.
Gipps (Ed.), Equity in the classroom: Towards effective pedagogy for girls and
boys (pp. 46-58). Paris: UNESCO.

WHO (1996). Female Genital Mutilation: Report of a Technical Working Group.
Geneva: WHO

WHO (2000), ‘Female Genital Mutilation’,Fact Sheet No. 241. Online: Retrieved on
October 21, 2006 from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/f524l /en/

181

WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA (1997), Female Genital Mutilation: A joint statement,
World Health Organization, Geneva, pp. 1—2.

Winegardner, K. E., (1999). The Case Study Method of Scholarly Research, The
Graduate School of America. Retrieved on October 21, 2007 from:
http://www.tgsa.edu/online/cybrary/casel .html.

World Education Forum (2000). The Dakar Framework for Action Education for All:
meeting our collective commitments, Paris: UNESCO

Young, K., Walkowitz, C.& McCullagh, R., (1981). Of marriage and the market.
University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, USA

World Bank. (2000). Effective Schooling in Rural Aﬁica Report 3: Case Study Briefs on
Rural Schooling. Washington DC: World Bank Human Development Network.

182

   

IIIIIIJQIIIIILIIIjjjju