From our very first visit, we have remained in awe of the incredible diversity of Kenya’s wildlife and its extraordinary geographical landscape (including Africa’s second-highest mountain peak), not to mention the extraordinary people we’ve met. Little wonder that, each year, tourists flock to Maasai Mara National Reserve to view one of nature’s most spectacular annual events: the migration of one million wildebeest from the dry plains of Tanzania to more fertile grazing in Kenya.
However, beneath its captivating natural beauty and wildlife lies an undercurrent of social issues. Home to 49.7 million people (World Bank, 2017), a large percentage of Kenya’s population still lives below the poverty line. A high population growth rate, with close to 73% of the population being rural and a life expectancy of 67.3 years (UNDP, 2018), combined with a widening income gap over the past 30 years has steadily eroded any gains in education, health, food security, employment and income, especially in rural areas.
Of population lives below the national poverty line (Undata, 2015)
Average number of years spent in school (UNDP, 2018)
Of children aged five to 14 are engaged in child labor (UN, 2011)
We’ve been working with the Maasai, Kipsigis and Kisii communities in Kenya since the early 2000s, helping to co-create sustainable solutions that empower them to build brighter futures for themselves and their families, and ensure the survival of their vibrant cultures. Through WE Villages, we have:
Provided 13,000 Kenyan children with the opportunity to attend WE-supported schools every day
Built over 850+ schoolrooms, libraries, teachers’ offices and kitchens
Constructed Kisaruni Group of Schools, which includes an all-girls secondary school and an all-boys secondary school: to providing Maasai and Kipsigis students graduating from primary schools in our partner communities with access to secondary school through individual scholarships and ongoing support of the Kisaruni Long-Term Sustainability Fund
Opened the doors to two health centres: Baraka Hospital and Kishon Health Centre, which have provided over 125,000 patients with high-quality medical care
In every country where WE Villages operates, we tailor our programs to meet the unique needs of the communities we work with, while still adhering to our five Pillars of Impact. Read how these have been implemented in Kenya.