Our Mission, Approach and Impact
The S.H.E. College Fund provides full scholarships for post-secondary education, as well as mentoring and life skills training, to young women who are or have been residents of Safe Houses in Narok County and who have successfully graduated secondary school. The Fund also fosters as many student-donor relationships as possible, in the knowledge that cross-cultural human connection will change the lives of all.
“I dream of being an inspiration to everyone who will look at being like me one day.”
Our Unique Approach
The S.H.E College Fund differs from most other scholarship organizations for young women in Africa, because it is our intention to fund as many Safe House students as possible for one to four years of higher education, regardless of her grades in Secondary School. Most other organizations extend funding only to students with the best grades.
Our application process takes a global view of each candidate, offering opportunities for her to showcase her unique gifts, to talk about her passion for pursuing higher education, her skills and competencies, her determination to create positive change in her community, and her hopes for the future. Through essays and an extensive in-person interview, and informed by character references from school and local officials, we take the time to get to know each applicant as a whole person.
The significance of this difference cannot be overstated. The S.H.E. Fund students come from remote areas of Narok County where men and boys generally oppose educating girls. Candidates for S.H.E. College Fund scholarships are often the first females in their families to attend school. Their mothers never had this opportunity, so they have no idea how to support their daughters or to value her hard work. Completing homework, reviewing lessons, committing concepts to memory, and studying for exams are not considered integral to women’s role. It is not surprising, then, that many girls from these areas do not do well on the standardized tests that determine their eligibility for future opportunities.
These young women, coming as they do from impoverished areas of Narok County where patriarchal norms are deeply entrenched, have enormous untapped potential and, with the right support, will have the greatest future impact on their families, their communities, and our world. Their success in college will produce a far greater return on investment than if we chose to award scholarships only to students with the highest grades. These are the young women who will transform their villages when they return as college educated, empowered professionals to help their families, because they are the ones who come from the areas with the highest poverty and the most deeply entrenched oppression of women.
The Keys to Our Success
Support young women residents of registered Safe Houses of Narok County who have successfully graduated from secondary school to enroll in a college, university or trade school degree program;
Provide these students with scholarships that cover tuition, fees, health insurance, textbooks, necessary instructional equipment and all living expenses at accredited public and private academic institutions across Kenya.
Counsel and mentor students throughout their academic journey, as they make the transition to campus life, navigate program requirements and coursework, explore career choices through internships, ready themselves for the job market and secure their first job.
Build students' competence in life skills which will serve them well in their post-secondary program and as independent adults, from the pragmatic know-how of money management to straight talk on relationships and reproductive health to safe spaces to share about mental health and well-being.
Sensitize students' parents on the value of higher education for their daughter, their family and community so they support her on her academic journey.
Foster cross-cultural relationships between students and Primary Funders; curate inspiring events online and in-person to support connections throughout the global S.H.E. community.
Our Impact
As of June 2023, with the publication of the S.H.E. College Fund Annual Report, we reported the following progress:
Since its inception in 2014, 63 young women of Narok County have been enrolled through the S.H.E. College Fund into college, university and/or trade school degree programs. These are young women who would have not been able to continue their education beyond secondary school without help from the S.H.E. College Fund.
The S.H.E. College Fund has a 97% graduation rate, with 65% earning three or four year degrees and 35% earning one or two year certificates. Forty-one percent (41%) of students enroll in two or more successive degree programs, for example, from a two-year certificate program to a four year degree program.
Seventy percent (70%) of S.H.E. College Fund graduates are now working, with 29% in the public sector, 22% in the nonprofit sector, 21% in education, 14% in health care and 14% self-employed.