In our last post we talked about how 2023 brought the huge blessing of completing and moving to our new location. There is something special about finally being home and we are delighted to report that the girls are doing exceptionally well!

We remain committed to our goal of equipping every young woman with the necessary skills and knowledge to achieve financial independence and self-reliance in the years ahead. So, we turned our focus to the girls’ education, both in and out of the classroom including their spiritual growth.

After transitioning to our permanent location, the girls began attending a different school. It is significantly better than the last, with highly engaged teachers and opportunities for personal development and leadership.

Some highlights of the school year included:

• 5 girls were selected by their teachers to be school leaders.
• 14 sixth-grade girls were ranked in the top 15 of their class of 92 students.
• All 10 of our seventh-graders passed the national standard 7 exam, allowing them to enroll into secondary school.
• 2 girls were enrolled in a school for vision-impaired students, with one of them passing the national standard 7 exam.
• 4 girls started at a private primary school and all received B’s at the end of the year.

We have established a preschool program for our youngest girls and newcomers who require some preparation before they can be enrolled in school. They are taught Swahili, English, and other fundamental preschool skills following the curriculum provided by a private school.

In 2023, we formalized a life-skills training program to prepare the girls for careers and future self-sufficency. We provide training in areas like cooking, baking, sewing and making dairy products like yogurt, butter and ice cream. We also teach computer literacy, money management and other business skills.

Girls who are still in school rotate through these skills on school breaks. And older girls, for whom school is no longer a practical choice, enter our career program, where they focus on the above skills daily and receive counseling to help them choose a career path.

This training put two of our girls, Nemoipo and Yeyolai, well ahead of their peers at the local vocational school that we partnered with. This vocational school is dedicated to training the girls for various roles within the hospitality sector and supports them in securing employment after completing their studies. Yeyolai quickly finished the vocational program, found a job and became MGRC’s first graduate!

We also focused attention on spiritual growth and helping the girls see their worth through God’s eyes. We began at a new church and had a pastor teach a series of Bible studies at our center. We also connected girls with mentors from the Foundation for African Medicine and Education (FAME) who spent time with our older girls on the weekends, providing spiritual guidance, as well as counseling the girls about their futures.

We saw previously shy girls leading songs and reading scripture at church. They study their Bibles at night with their housemates, and we often see girls independently reading in the dining hall. One of our volunteers was delighted to receive letters from several girls who included scripture references in English! We are confident that this foundation will serve them throughout their lives.

We welcomed 10 girls in 2023. In addition, we provided temporary housing for a family of four children until social services found a place that could keep them together, as two of them were boys. We are grateful to be in a position to serve our community. The relationship we have with social welfare led to recognition from local leaders. They were impressed by our unique sustainable strategy, and keen focus on creating individual plans for our girls. Consequently, throughout the year we hosted busloads of charity leaders who came to learn more about how we operate.

Overall, the year 2023 proved to be a remarkable one for MGRC. We express immense gratitude for the tremendous support that has brought us to where we are today.