A single uniform stands between a Kenyan child and their education.
We believe that education can empower a child to end the cycle of generational poverty. And in Kenya, a uniform is required for a child to attend public school.
Unfortunately, families living in precarity have to choose between food on the table and a uniform on their child. As you might imagine, food is prioritized, and the child’s education, though integral to the family’s long-term welfare, takes a back seat. Watch the video to see why a uniform issue can also become a trafficking issue.
How we're helping.
For fourteen years, we’ve provided uniforms to over thirteen thousand children who can now go to school and have a shot at a future free from dependency. These uniforms have since helped students achieve their dreams of becoming journalists, doctors, teachers, and many students return to their communities after graduating from college to empower their neighbors.
We’ve subsidized the cost of knitting machines for a local business start-up called “Blessed Hands Knitters,” and we purchase the uniforms from them (as opposed to the more affordable option of shipping them in from China). In doing so, we’ve played a small supporting role in bringing electricity, clean water, and an autonomous economy into the communities we partner with.
By forming and working with local leaders, we can identify the families in greatest need over a cup of tea. We ask the guardians to come to the table with 5% of the uniform cost, thus giving agency to the family over their progress, affirming their dignity, and avoiding unhealthy dependency on foreign aid.
The uniform typically lasts the child a year because 1) they grow out of it or 2) the uniform wears out because it’s one of only a few outfits in their wardrobe or 3) they move onto Secondary School (Kenya’s version of High School) which has a different uniform color.
