BEADS for Education

Girls access to quality education is limited due to cultural norms/practices which have been followed for 100’s of years.  We empower the cultural, community and school leaders to research and embrace the impact  quality education has for girls from primary school through the university.  We provide the online technology for them to research these issues and realize the impact well-educated girls have on their families, community and the nation.  Well-educated girls educate all their children with a quality education, earn more money, improve the standard of living for their families, address the effects of climate change, and have better health care. These girls inspire the community to provide their girls with a quality education. When scaled globally, this solution will lead their families, communities and nations out of poverty.

Girls are denied access to any education and especially not a quality education. A quality education will prepare them to compete in the 21st century. We work In the Maasai community in Kenya, Africa, where less than 50% of girls enroll in school and only 10%  enroll in secondary school. Girls are married off at an early age (13) to older men who are not of their choice. They are also subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Education is not a priority for girls and women in the Maasai Community. According to the UNESCO’s 2014 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, millions of girls are still denied opportunity to access quality education. There are 52 million girls in sub-Saharan Africa not enrolled in school.  The 2018 World Bank report on missed opportunities outlines that while 89% of girls complete primary education, only 77% complete high school.  In low income countries typical of the sub-Saharan Africa, the numbers drop to below 2/3 to finish primary education, and only 1/3 finish high school.  Poverty and cultural norms remain the key factors determining whether a girl can access quality education. Our solution addresses both these issues.

Only with the committed support of the leaders of the culture, community, school administration will girls be able to receive a quality education. The support of the leaders is needed to change negative cultural practices such as female genital mutilation.  After researching these issues online, the stakeholders will demand a quality education instead of rote memorization where students parrot the answer back verbatim.   They will demand creative and critical thinking. They will demand that the students are armed for the 21st century with digital literacy via   Ebooks, online classes, offsite learning through online applications and online research. During the Corona virus pandemic all our students learn online with various applications. Follow this link -  https://hundred.org/en/innovations/online-learning-in-remote-areas

In 2013, BEADS opened a high school to provide Maasai girls with a quality education.   Girls who complete the our program graduate from the university select their own husband, become the sole wife, marry later, have fewer children, educate all of their children, help their families financially, have better health care.  University graduates work as doctors, teachers, accountants and open their own businesses. With each further year of school, a woman earns more money.  This promotes gender equality and the opportunity for greater self esteem. 

This solution directly impacts  the Maasai community and especially girls.  In Kenya,  the cultural norms have been against educating girls.  BEADS for Education recognizes that in order to improve girls’ education, we need to bring on board the custodians of traditions and culture as they influence and lead the entire society. BEADS engages community and elected leaders, elders, youths and warriors. BEADS seeks the help of the local authorities to locate girls with deserving cases. Providing the leaders with the ability to research and decide which cultural practices should be changed is the most important step. One of the cultural norms of female genital mutilation was researched by the leaders and their decision was to stop the practice. We hosted over 10 coming of age ceremonies without female genital mutilation hosting over 7000 people.  Now parents host the same ceremony for their daughters without female genital mutilation.

This solution addresses the problems brought about by cultural norms and poverty. Well-educated educated girls will carry the new norms forward.  An educated mother is 70% more likely to get a job or create one. Together, these factors can raise the socioeconomic standards of the society and a nation at large. 

Many Maasai girls in Kenya are married as young as 13 and many never attend school. This is the cultural norm. We educate the leaders to embrace the importance and impact of  girls' education. The leaders also research the negative impact of not educating their girls - a sentence to poverty for their girls and their families.  By demanding a quality education including digital literacy, the leaders and parents are preparing the girls to be well equipped for the demands of the 21st century. The success of our college graduates inspires the community to send more girls to school.

Many organizations approach with a very viable solution but don’t  involve the stakeholders in the development of the solution.  Often the stakeholders have needs that an outsider can not possibly forsee.  Additionally, for the solution to work, the stakeholders must either invest money or time into the solution in the very beginning of the project to demonstrate their commitment to the long term success. A USA government group built a well for women who were walking hours daily to obtain their water. It seemed like a great idea, but the women destroyed the well because their favorite activity was walking with their friends to fetch water.  Our initiative to provide online learning was led by our leadership of principals, teachers, parents and the students.  Students live very remotely often in mud huts with no electricity and definitely no internet.  For the online learning to be successful the community, leaders, principals, teachers and students must be committed to the project. As the corona virus and the lockdown in Kenya continues, most of our girls are in class online from 9 to 4 working with their teachers.  Most schools in Kenya are not having success including Moi Girls School, Enkii Boys, Olkejuado Boys High School to name a few.

 Our solution is powered by the following existing technologies; E-book learning, teaching computer skills and online learning technologies. E-book technology allows our students to travel the world and empathizes with other people’s way of life. .  We also use our technology  to teach creative and critical thinking skills.  https://hundred.org/en/innovations/develop-creative-and-critical-thinking. Teaching computer skills is the backbone of our solution.  These skills improve the capacity of our girls to engage in and successfully participate with Ashoka Changmaker Schools aroung the Students zoom and use FT for these exchanges. https://hundred.org/en/innovations/every-girl-a-changemaker. We are committed to making every girl a changemaker. Online learning technology plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap created by the pandemic. It gives learners options which would otherwise not be there.  With out the organized class schedule and teachers' mentoring many parents would consider arranged marriage as the society’s best alternative for girls. WhatsApp learning powered by community based support allows learning to continue despite all schools being since March 2020 in Kenya. https://hundred.org/en/innovations/online-learning-in-remote-areas 

During this pandemic, we have managed to keep learning going. WhatsApp is a common technology, together with Camscanner App- it allows the students to use their phones to scan assignments received via WhatsApp and send to their teachers.

• Group Chat: In group chats, our students (as a class) engage in scheduled interactions with teachers. Student engage in research projects assigned to them by teachers. They do research individually. The following day, they present and discuss their findings in group chats. We have five different groups, for grades 9, 10, 11, 12. The teaching staff  has another group to discuss the stuents' work and progress. 
•  Unlimited Messaging: Short structured questions from the students are immediately addressed through the unlimited WhatsApp messages.
• Voice notes – Teachers record their lessons on concepts then send to students who are able to reply using either another voice note recording or a text message.

For some students who have better internet connectivity, there are;

• Video chats/lessons- Teachers schedule video exchange with students where they hold discussions in their respective subject areas. A teacher schedules for a video conference with his or her students.
• Numerous video clips exchanges are used as teaching aids to facilitate learning. There are also lengthy voice notes exchanges 

The main problem is access to quality education among the girls in Massai community. This problem persists due to poverty and cultural practices.  if I am successful, girls will be successful individuals who can live independent lives and support their communities. They will marry men of their choice and have a manageable family. As women in their society, they will make education to their children-both boys and girls.

The logic diagram (to include inputs, outputs and both short term and long term outcomes)

INTERVIEW WITH THE STAFF

‘In Kenya, although many women have the right to education, equal access to quality education remains a problem.’ - Tim, Principal Tembea Academy

‘For women in the Maasai Community to achieve economic independence, education is the key’. -- Diana, Teacher, Tembea Academy.

‘At Tembea Academy, we provide quality education through which character is formed, intellect is expanded and the strength of the mind increased. The goal is to make a girl able to stand on her own feet.’-Ofisi, Senior Teacher Tembea Academy.

If you are wondering what it takes to transform a society in one generation, and protect children from hazards of poverty and cultural oppressions, It is Education of the girls-  Sunda, Deputy Principal, Tembea Academy.    

BEADS for Education has been supporting Maasai girls’ education in Kenya since 1998. We have over 500 girls that we have educated from primary school through the university. These young women are successful members of their communities and continue to be part of our alumnae support group. We are presently educating 43 girls at the university level. Our high school, which opened in 2013, supports the education of 125  girls annually. We opened the high school to provide the girls with a quality education rarely available in Kenya.  Each of these girls and young women serve as role models for younger students to finish their university education and become successful members of their families and communities. Our statistics indicate that each girl/young women reaches 100 girls and community members. Our conclusion is that we have directly impacted more than 50,000 people. We will continue to support over 200 girls education annually from primary school through the university. 

We work in the Maasai cultural regions of Kenya. Our goal for the next year is to host 10 workshops with 100 stakeholders to enable the leaders to research and embrace  the importance of quality education for girls.  We would reach 1000 people next year.  Our goal is to prepare them to address the challenges to meet the 21st century. Education must focus on creative and critical thinking, avoidance of rote memorization, and digital literacy. Our goal for the next 5 years is to continue to expand this program depending upon the success.   

In the next year,, we would like to begin workshops for cultural/community leaders, school administration, parents to provide online research access for them to embrace the positive impact for girls' to enroll in quality education.  And also for the leadership to realize the negative impact of not educating their girls.  Workshops would also focus on quality education focusing on creative/critical thinking, interactive and student centered teaching methodology.  Computer literacy, online learning, Ebooks and zooming with students around the world would also be emphasized.  All of the above are presently being taught at our high school with great success. We would like to provide these skills and knowledge to many more people. 

By running 10 workshops hosting 50 leaders we would reach 500 leaders.  These leaders in turn would reach another 100 participants totaling 5000 people educated on these issues. If this pilot progam is successful during the next 5 years, we would continue running 10 workshops annually and encourage the graduates to do the same.

This program will definitely enroll more girls in school and the leaders and parents will demand a quality education. 

Two main barriers are poverty and cultural norms that deny girls quality education. 

All educated leaders, school administration, and teachers have during their 16 years of education been taught using  antiquated curriculum and teaching methodology. The methodology is rote memorization and to parrot the answer back verbatim. This style of education even includes the teachers colleges. Reading anything except the text books is not included in the curriculum until 11th and 12th grade when the students read two books each year. 

Enrolling girls in school requires funding and especially to enroll them in a school with a quality educaiton.  The cost of a quality school is about $1600 per girl.

Five day workshops also require funding to cover teacher salaries and room and board for the participants @ $500 per workshop. 

We have a very close connection with the cultural leadars and the community since we have been supporting their girls' education since 1998. We bellieve this relationship will enable us to influence many more people to support girls' education.  Our relationship with the stakeholders will also enable them to embrace that a quality education is critical. This relationship has already resulted in the leadership to address detrimental cultural practce of female genital mutilation. Together we have hosted 10 coming of age ceremonies without FGM reaching over 7000 people. Our plan is to continue this project in other regions of Kenya. 

Our college graduates serve as role models and mentors in the community.  Their example of being successful young women who financially help thier families, educate all their children, and have secure careers leads the community to see the value of educating girls.  Every year more of the girls graduate from college and expand their influence.

In 2013, BEADS for Education opened our own high school in Kenya to address the issues of curriculum and teaching methodology. We have an extensive teacher training program and many workshops and classes for school administration, teachers, parents and girls enrolled in our program. 

We continue to expand our financial support for girls' education and workshop programs by keeping our supporters up to date about our progress and the girls' success stories.  Many supporters recommend our organization to their family and friends realizing more donors for BEADS for Education.

We are an independent organization.

We have 12 full time teaching staff working on this solution.  During the pandemic the staff has been working their regular classes from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. on a daily basis using online applications.  Cultural leaders, community leaders and parents are volunteering to support this process. 

We are well-positioned to deliver this solution because we have been supporting girls' education in Kenya since 1998. Several of the girls who graduated from BEADS for Education program work for us as teachers, our accountant, vice principal, outreach and development project coordinators.  Our school staff have been employed many years and are committed to our program of quality education and enrolling more girls in school. Our high school is a boarding school for 125 girls annually.  Community and cultural leaders have also been working with us since 1998 and are  highly commited to supporting quality education for girls. As more of our students graduate from colleg they become role models and for their families/communities.  The awads and achievments of our girls speaks volumes to the community that girls should receive a quality education.  Two students were honored at the U.N.'s International Day of the girl, three students have been selected as Yale Young African Scholars, the Ministry of Tourism awarded one of our students the best student of the year, one girl has become an Ashoka Young Change Maker.

One of our teachers has developed an innovation for HundrED for online learning in remote areas.  His IT skills are taught to our students preparing them for digital literacy 

We teach a student centered interactive curriculum that emphasizes critica/creativel thinking. These are the skills the students need to become problem solvers for their families, communities and the nation. We are ready to share our skills with school administrators and teachers. 

We work with HundrED.org and organization that seeks innovations to improve all aspects of teaching. Our innovations are published on their website  include online learning for remote areas, girls as changemakers for their communities problems (climate change and environmental degradation) and developing crital/creative thinking skills.  https://hundred.org/en/innovations/online-learning-in-remote-areas  https://hundred.org/en/innovations/every-girl-a-changemaker  https://hundred.org/en/innovations/develop-creative-and-critical-thinking

We work with Ashoka developing girls leadership skills. We also work with Yale University and two of our girls have been selected for their leadership conference.

The Segal Family Foundation has been a financial supporter of BEADS since 2010. They also provide best practices for running projects and fundraising.

In sub-Saharan Africa more than 52 million girls do not attend school  If they do attend, they do not receive a quality education. We serve the marginalized Maasai girls population In Kenya. Maasai girls often marry as young as 13, to a much older man, undergo female genital mutilation and bear as many children as possible.  This is a sentance to poverty.  We support Maasai girls' education from primary school through university.  Enrolling in a school that provides quality education costs about $1600 per year. 125 of these girls attend the BEADS for Edcuation high school Kenya. We support 43 young women who are in college. Over 500 girls have been through our program.

Graduates of our program usually marry later, avoid FGM, choose a career, earn more money, have fewer children, educate all their children, assist their parents and siblings financially. They become role models for the community to embrace the importance of well-educated girls. Our graduates include doctors, chemical engineer, geologist, teachers, and accountants to mention a few. 

In 2013, we opened Tembea Academy to provide a quality education.  We focus on critical/creative thinking. Our methodology is student centered, interactive, and interdisciplinary. Digital literacy is critical to meet the demands of the 21st century.  Most schools in Kenya  use rote memorization methodology. Answers are correct if they are parroted back verbatim.  Our style of education prepares our students to be critical thinking and problem solvers to meet the issues that will face them and the nation. 

We are primarly funded through sustained donations since 1998. Many of these donors have continued to date with their sustained dontaions. We have several major donors that make annual donations. Approximately $400,000 is realized annually through these sustained annual donations.

We receive an annual unrestricted grant from the Segal Family Foundation of $70,000. 

Other indivdual donors (who do not want their names to be listed) provide annual grants of $30,000.

The stamp of approval to be selected by MIT as a Solver Team would immensely  elevate our donors respect. It would provide new donors with great confidence in our work. The media and confernce exposure would provide the opportunities to develop new donors especially beginning the process of a long term endowment to secure our school and programming.

Professional support from MIT staff would be invalauable with technical support for online learning, developing a more intensive program for critical thinking, developing a monitoring and evaluation program and review of marketing and media exposure plan.

Although all of the sciences are taught most girls feel they are not capable. MIT could help us to develop a STEM program which would involve the girls in a much more meaningful was. A good STEM program would give the girls the confidence that they are capable. 

Working with other Solve Teams would provide more expertise following their successes. It would also be helpful to know what programs did not work and why.

MIT faculty to develop a STEM program, improve our critical thinking program, and support for our computer literacy program.  This help will improve our teaching at our high school.

MIT faculty to help with long term business development, monitoring and evaluation plan.  Developing our skills more in these areas would definitely advance our progress.

We have a very close connection with the cultural leadars and the community since we have been supporting their girls' education since 1998. We bellieve this relationship will enable us to influence many more people to support girls' education.  Our relationship with the stakeholders will also enable them to embrace that a quality education is critical. This relationship has already resulted in the leadership to address detrimental cultural practce of female genital mutilation. Together we have hosted 10 coming of age ceremonies without FGM reaching over 7000 people. Our plan is to continue this project in other regions of Kenya. 

Our college graduates serve as role models and mentors in the community.  Their example of being successful young women who financially help their families, educate all their children, and have secure careers leads the community to see the value of educating girls.  Every year more of the girls graduate from college and expand their influence.

In 2013, BEADS for Education opened our own high school in Kenya to address the issues of curriculum and teaching methodology. We have an extensive teacher training program and many workshops and classes for school administration, teachers, parents and girls enrolled in our program.

We are planning to develop a STEM program to provide the best science curriculum available.