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Ondati School for Girls

Kisumu, Kenya
In partnership with Teach a Man to Fish

Ondati Secondary School for Girls was established as Kenya’s first 100% financially Self Sufficient Agricultural School for Girls, providing 60 girls from the age of 11 to 22 access to a high quality, relevant education each year.

 

In Western Kenya - where the majority of rural people work in the informal economy and rely on agriculture as their main source of income – extreme rural poverty is still widespread. Schools are few and far between, which makes it particularly hard for girls to access a secondary education.

 

The risks associated with walking long distances through isolated areas, combined with the prioritization of education for boys, means that few girls in the village attend secondary school. In fact there is just one girl to every four boys attending the nearest school.

 
Without access to education, girls in the village marry young and without family planning and most have their first children in their teenage years. They marry much older men due to economic dependency and these marriages are frequently polygamous, adding to the spread of HIV infection in the area.
 
Ondati village is located in one the poorest but most beautiful regions in Kenya. It suffers from the highest HIV infection rate in the country.
 
 
The school’s agricultural activities are used as a platform for teaching entrepreneurial and environmentally sustainable land management to both the students and the surrounding community.
 
All students are able to demonstrate a real understanding of both the theoretical and practical principles behind running a successful natural resource based business. Girls are empowered to achieve greater success and a wider range of life choices – setting up their own business, finding employment or further education.
 
Graduates will be able to support and plan their families and break the cycle of rural poverty in the Ondati community and beyond.

Teach a Man to Fish

Teach a Man to Fish (TAMTF) believes self-sufficiency is vital to providing a quality vocational education that opens up prospects for graduates to earn a decent living, and create jobs for others. Another valuable benefit of maintaining self-sufficiency as a goal is institutional fitness.

 
Self-sufficient schools are denied the complacency of institutions which can rely on regular funding irrespective of performance. Like regular businesses they must adapt, innovate, and constantly renew themselves just to stand still.
 
The discipline this requires serves as an inspiration to students, and ensures of necessity that the education they receive is focussed on skills from which they can earn a livelihood.
 
 
To find out more about TAMTF's amazing work please click here
 
Registered charity no. 1112699

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