Inua Kike’s Somesha Kike program seeks to support motivated women who were not able to sit for and pass their KCSE, with test preparation, social guidance, and a community to successfully receive their papers and use that as a foundation for social mobility to every woman who is ready to learn.
Objectives
- Provide a channel for women to gain necessary papers to enter higher education
- Aid with academic and financial support to see women through entire process of sitting for and successfully completing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE)
- Support women from underprivileged backgrounds to obtain social and economical mobility.
Main Components
- 18 Month Program: September 2020 – December 2021
- Main Components:
- Intensive KSCE prep with tutors: 5x a week
- Monthly Mentorship Program with Motivational Speakers
- Financial Assistance: KCSE Registration fees, Prep Materials, Internal Chama
- Criteria of Somesha Kike Fellow:
- Aged between 18-35.
- Must have not finished high school
- Must come from a disadvantaged background
Why Somesha Kike?
In Kenya, only 36% of the female population between ages 20-29 have completed secondary school
(Global Education Monitoring Report)
Educational attainment is still a challenge for many in Kenya, but most especially for girls and women. In Kenya, only 36% of the female population between ages 20-29 have completed secondary school . This is indicative of not only high barriers to accessing education but also an extremely high drop-out rate, often due to issues such as early childbirth, forced marriages, poverty, and an overall patriarchal culture where women are not as valued to receive education as men. Moreover, the idea of adult reentry in education is not something that is being worked on in Kenya at all. All these dynamics have heavy consequences. It goes without saying that those that drop-out of school miss out on the training, network building, and social credibility that education brings and are likely to earn less in their lifetime, reducing them to low-income jobs and low living standards. Therefore, Inua Kike works to tackle these underlying causes by addressing access to education from an adult re-entry perspective. This can help break generational cycles of not only poverty but educational attainment for the children and family members of the women in our programs.
With their KCSE, the women in our program will be able to find better employment and pursue further studies which can help improve not only their socio-economic status but also that of the wider community. We know from global evidence that investing in women leads to positive returns both financially and socially to the communities in which they live. Attaining their KCSE will also have a strong personal impact of building confidence and personal agency in their families and communities.