WE are a charitable educational trust registered in
Kenya and Germany. We view ourselves as a platform for pooling strategic
support to enable vulnerable girls in rural communities in Africa to remain in
school. We currently operate mainly in Homa Bay
County, South West of Kenya.
Our founding philosophy is built on the urgent need
to boost secondary school transition rates for girls in deprived rural
communities. We view this as an essential component to supporting growth and
sustainable development in these underserved areas.
Homa Bay County is a community of just over 1.2
million people. Over 95 per cent of the population lives in informal rural
settlement and mainly relies on peasant agriculture for livelihood. The County
has one of the highest poverty and infant mortality incidences in Kenya. The
County also has over 25 per cent HIV/AIDS prevalence rates due to a combination
of negative cultural practices and inadequate public health intervention.
Teenage girls are adversely impacted by these
factors. Presently, rural communities in Homa Bay record high levels of teenage
pregnancies and school dropout rates by girls who are at higher risks of
infection and cultural discrimination. MAKLWETA works to reverse this trend by
partnering with local schools and community leaders to identify early the most
promising girls and mobilize support to keep them in school. We believe that by
pooling support regardless of traditional ideological divide, several girls
will get practical opportunity to actualize their dreams in life and eventually
positively contribute to their communities.
The word ‘MAKLWETA’ loosely translates to “please hold my hands” in Dholuo. The Luos are a prominent indigenous African tribe found in Western Kenya along Lake Victoria, Northern Tanzania, Eastern and Northern Uganda, and South Sudan.
The Situation in Homa Bay
Nurturing Team work