Many families make less than $2/day.
38% of individuals in rural Kenya live in poverty.¹ Living in rural areas puts young women at a greater disadvantage because of fewer job opportunities. Many resort to selling vegetables on the street or other forms of casual labor, but none of these will sufficiently provide for a family. This is why the cycle of poverty is so difficult to break. Learn the facts and statistics about life in rural Kenya for young women.
Most girls drop out of school by 8th grade.
While public school is technically free, students are required to pay for various supplies, which is often too much for families. Less than 25% of women in rural Kenya who went to school completed high school, crushing their opportunities for a better future.² Lacking school fees, girls drop out of school, leaving them with no real option to further their education.
Lydia’s Story
Lydia came from an unstable family living in abject poverty and had to drop out of school in 7th grade. By the time she joined Neema in 2017, she had three children. While there, she received counseling and was able to forgive herself and others who had hurt her. She was a hard worker in class and says she was able to concentrate because her heart was freed.
After graduating in 2019, she started working and saving and eventually opened her own shop. Today, she supports herself, her children, and her parents, and when she gets lots of work, she hires other Neema alumni to work for her! And because of Neema’s alumni program, she’s continuing to receive counseling and support.
Watch this video of Lydia, Class of 2019, sharing her story!
A high rate of teen pregnancies.
40% of women aged 15-19 who have no education have been pregnant, compared to 5% of women who have more than secondary education. Adolescent pregnancies are more likely in poor areas: 21% of women aged 15-19 in the lowest wealth quintile reported to have been pregnant, compared to 8% in the highest.³ Teenage moms face a societal stigma that threatens their chances of further education or career opportunities, making them even more vulnerable.
Faith and her daughter Zasha
Families prioritize their sons’ education.
Reportedly, when families have limited resources, boys are given educational priority since they are considered the future caregivers for the family.⁴ Girls however, despite equal access to education, face barriers such as heavy domestic workloads and adolescent marriage and pregnancies and are, therefore, unable to develop advanced literacy skills or other skills that could lift them out of poverty.
Benta’s Story
Life before Neema was hard for Benta. Her father was unsupportive, and her mother struggled to provide. Benta says they depended on casual labor and had a hard time acquiring food, let alone money for clothes and books. She had no other choice but to drop out of school because it was too expensive. And then she got pregnant with her first child.
The people of her village looked down on her. “They saw me like rubbish,” she says. But after coming to Neema, things changed. “Now,” she says, “[they] respect me…and they use me to encourage their girls.” Since graduating in 2018, Benta continues to receive counseling and support through Neema’s alumni program.
Watch this video of Benta, Class of 2018, sharing her story!
Parents marry away their daughters to get a dowry.
“An estimated 1 in 4 young women were first married or in union before the age of 18 in Kenya. 62% of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 had no education as compared to 8% who had at least a secondary education.”⁵
Parents perceive their daughters as an investment. While there is no standard process, the tribe’s culture will dictate the terms of the dowry. It is generally equivalent to five years of the groom’s salary, paid in monetary or in kind (livestock), often in installments.
Many women in rural Kenya experience violence.
41% of women and girls age 15-49 in the county Neema is in have experienced physical violence since the age of 15.⁶ “Kenya continues to witness social tolerance for violence against women, with 42% of women and 36% of men believing a man can be justified for beating his wife under certain circumstances.”⁷
Women aren’t empowered to make their own choices.
Despite recent measures advancing gender equality, only 29% of women in Kenya are considered “empowered” as of 2020.⁸ To be empowered, a woman has to have viable options to choose — the ability to decide how she will live her life. Rural Kenya is a patriarchal society where cultural attitudes around gender roles and norms exacerbate gender inequalities. It’s also twice as likely for women in urban areas to be empowered in comparison to those in rural Kenya.⁹
What does Neema do to empower these young women out of extreme poverty in rural Kenya?
About Us
Neema provides skills training, counseling, and discipleship to vulnerable young women in rural Kenya. Because of extreme poverty, all of the women at Neema have dropped out of school and lost any hope of a future out of poverty. Some experienced prostitution, trafficking, indentured servitude, and other forms of abuse to get by. About 50% of them have children by the time they join Neema.
Skills Training: Students are taught dressmaking skills and take national certifications throughout their three years at Neema.
Counseling: On-demand individual counseling with trained counselors and weekly group counseling. Counseling sessions extended to students’ guardians’ and alumni. Outreach to local primary schools to offer counseling to other girls and boys from the community.
Discipleship: Daily devotions and study of the Scripture, Alpha Program, the Young Peacemaker Programs, and Bi-weekly visit from chaplain/pastor.
You can make a difference today by supporting these young women and their children. Fight gender discrimination and extreme poverty by empowering women as change makers in their communities!
Make a one-time donation today or consider sponsoring a woman at Neema through our Grace Partnership program.
Support our new campus to help twice as many women!
Sources:
¹Kenya Poverty Report (2021). Individuals (or households if estimated at household level) whose total consumption per adult equivalent was less than KSh 3,947 per month in rural areas and less than KSh 7,193 per month in urban areas, respectively, were considered to be overall poor or live in “overall poverty.”
²KNBS
³UNFPA
⁴UNICEF
⁵UNICEF
⁶KNBS
⁷2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey
⁸UN Women and KNBS
⁹KNBS