Thanks to the loan of a generous donor, we were able to build our campus a full year ahead of schedule, enabling Neema to welcome twice as many young women in January 2023. We are grateful for all the individuals who have already donated to the campaign, but we have yet over $125,000 to raise to finish paying back the loan before the end of 2024.
Less than 25% of women in rural Kenya who went to school completed high-school, crushing their opportunities for a better future. They live in extreme poverty and frequently become teenage mothers. We’re on a mission to change that and give twice as many vulnerable young women a path out of poverty through skills training, counseling, and discipleship. Listen to these young women share how our new campus is empowering them to provide for themselves and their children:
Faith says, “I am so glad the campus is so big. We have enough water and no longer sit at the edges of the building for meals. We have a big dining hall. And there’s no mud when it rains because of the walkways.”
Sharon says, “We have space in the dorms, and [the] classrooms are big. Before I was interrupted when I prayed alone. Now I just find a place and pray. Before I wasn’t free to open up in counseling because I feared other staff could hear me. But now I feel free to open up.”
Dinnah says, “[At the new campus], we have space. My baby Elizabeth and other children can play without dirtying themselves with soil. Before, when a baby was learning how to crawl, the space was so minimal. But now we have a big space, [enough for the new] babies next year.”
45% of women and girls aged 15-49 in Kenya have experienced physical violence. 14% have experienced sexual violence. (HRW)
Kenya has the 3rd-highest teen pregnancy rate—1 in every 5 girls between 15-19 is either pregnant or already a mother. (National Council For Population & Development)
Only 8% of girls in Sub-Saharan Africa will finish their secondary school. (Malala)
Neema provides skills training, trauma counseling, and spiritual development to vulnerable young women in rural Kenya. The students at Neema come from extreme poverty and inequality and have experienced prostitution, trafficking, indentured servitude, and/or other forms of abuse.
Email: securingherfuture@neemaproject.org
Or contact Brian McIntire, Neema Board President: brian@neemaproject.org
