Education Works in Action: Empowering Girls in Kenya

Kenya Works
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The Golden Achievers Demonstrate that Opportunity Breeds Motivation; Care & Support Funds Are a Lifeline to Better; the CBC Curriculum Roll Out Phases in New Opportunity

Hello Sponsors & Friends!

We are deeply grateful for your continued support, which has transformed the lives of many children who once faced significant barriers to education, safety, and well-being.

Thanks to your partnership and commitment, these children now have the opportunity to grow in nurturing environments, thrive academically and socially, and prepare confidently for a brighter, more secure future. Together, we are not only changing individual lives—we are building stronger families and communities.

A Historic Shift: CBC Curriculum Will be Fully Implemented When School Year Opens January 2026

Kenya’s education system has been undergoing a major transformation since 2023, phasing out the the previous curriculum that grouped pre-K-8th grade in primary school and grades 9-12 in secondary school (high school).

They have been ushering in a new model called the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), where primary school ends after 6th grade; junior secondary school includes grades 7-9, and senior secondary includes grade 10-12.

This transition is more than just a change in grade groupings; it marks a shift in how education is delivered and experienced.

Under CBC, senior secondary learners follow specialized pathways—STEM, Arts and Sports Science, or Social Sciences—based on assessments and student preference. This new approach gives students the opportunity to focus on subjects that suit their individual strengths, with the goal of preparing them more effectively for life beyond school.

Golden Achievers: Empowering Girls in Kenya & Unlocking Potential

Kenya’s national curriculum shift has had a down side, leaving some vulnerable learners behind. Children who couldn’t afford to enroll immediately after finishing primary school in 2023 found no clear way back into the new system in 2025. Rising school costs and cultural barriers deepened the gap, especially for girls in marginalized communities.

Last year, Kenya Works identified a group of 26 Massai girls in exactly that circumstance. Each of the girls faced social and financial barriers that kept them from entering secondary school in 2024. Curriculum changes during their year out of school meant they were locked out of the possibility to enter school as 9th graders in 2025.

Without interventions, they may have never returned to the classroom. With Kenya Works at their side, all were enrolled in high school in 2025. Kenya Works provided intensive tutoring and accelerated learning so they could accomplish a remarkable feat—they are completing both 9th and 10th grade curricula in one year.

In addition to rising to this steep challenge, two have achieved incredible additional results. One emerged as the top 10th grade performer. Another student, Sonia, took her success even further. She attended an African Children’s Pre-Summit academy, then became one of only 10 Kenyan youth selected to represent Kenya at the African Children’s Summit in South Africa.

Their progress is proof of the potential unlocked when girls have opportunity. Their journey shows how access to education transforms lives, restores dignity, and awakens leadership potential.

The 26 girls are part of a pilot initiative Kenya Works launched in 2024 called the Transformative Power of Education (TPE).

TPE scales secondary student sponsorship to large cohorts of girls while engaging parents and the broader community in human rights training. By pairing broad education access with social change, TPE builds a culture of educated girls and stronger, more supportive communities.

The Massai TPE cohort—self-named The Golden Achievers—began with 50 girls in 2024. Now 76 in number, the Golden Achievers primarily attend Baraka Ontooyie Girls Secondary School.

Kenya Works sponsors an additional TPE cohort of 50 girls in another highly marginalized community in western Kenya.

Restoring Hope: Care and Support Funds are a Lifeline in Crisis & Hope for the Future

Your student sponsorship brings so much more to a student’s life than tuition and uniform fees. VICODEC and Kenya Works provide holistic wrap-around services such as feeding programs, mental health clinics, livelihood training, parenting classes and community literacy initiatives. These important services help our students, their families, and the community end poverty, maximizing the impact of your sponsorship.

Care and Support Funds are an important way we collectively plan for and support our communities.

These funds help families like Lydia’s, an ailing single mother of two young, school-aged boys and a baby, who approached VICODEC for a lifeline for her family.

Living in a single-room house and suffering from back problems, she struggled to provide for her three children. She was heavily weighted down that her boys were losing out on a path to opportunity because she could not afford to enroll them in school.

With support from the Care and Support Fund, Lydia’s boys returned to school with new uniforms and supplies, and her family received food baskets and a grant so she could start a small, manageable business.

These combined forms of aid helped restore her family’s stability. Her boys now attend VICODEC school, and her business sustains their daily needs.

Care and Support funds at both VICODEC and Kenya Works provide us the flexibility to help families in crisis. Paired with additional services, they represent newfound hope, dignity, and opportunity to build forward.

Community resources provided by both VICODEC and Kenya Works extend beyond immediate material

aid.

Emmanuel’s family found support through the Kenya Works Community Library, where his sister accessed educational opportunities like free computer classes. She also found mentorship and a listening ear among the staff.

She shared that her brother was on the verge of dropping out of school due to unpaid school fees and trauma at home. The team arranged a home visit and needs assessment which led to direct intervention—Emmanuel was placed in a nearby school, ensuring his continued education and a brighter future.

Thanks to community resources, families like Lydia’s and Emmanuel’s move from crisis and uncertainty to stability and hope. These initiatives have become lifelines—helping children return to class, empowering parents to provide, and building resilient communities filled with opportunity and promise.