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Newsletter December 2021

We from Nenkashe Kenya send you warm greetings.

We felt sorry for you that you had had to cancel the fundraising event after putting in so much effort of involving friends, family and well-wishers, collecting items for sale etc. It has been an unpredictable year in many ways.

The school calendar has been chaotic in Kenya where we sometime ask each other which classes are home, which in school and when they are expected to resume and when exams are due. This December is a good example, normally, all pupils and students would have done end of year exams and would be home for Christmas. NOT this year. Only class 4 have had exams. Class 8 and Form 4 will sit for exams in March 2022 which will be the majority of our children. Therefore uncertain when they are expected to join the next step of education. At least the ongoing University students’ calendar has become regular and transition from one level to another has been smooth.

The long absences from school owing to the pandemic especially in 2021 has had adverse effect on the Nenkashe girls. There has been 3 drops out in one year.

 Currently we have 22girls and 3 boys.

The girls are: 5 girls in Primary School, 8 girls in Secondary School, 4 in Vocational Schools, 2 in Colleges and 3 in different Universities.

The Nenkashe Management has long recognized the need for holding seminars which had to be postponed during the high pandemic period and the regulation that came with it but also by the chaotic school calendar.

Out of a 10 days Christmas school break, we managed to hold a 3 day Seminar.

The get together was an emotional and happy reunion for both the girls and the mentors. Unfortunately, not all the girls were able to attend.

It was wonderful to see and talk to the girls and to observe the changes in them. They have become mature young women.

Three of the girls had managed to get temporary jobs while waiting to join vocational schools. Semperuan who graduates in June 2022 as a Food Production Manager managed to get a job for 4 months in order to support her mother who looks after her baby. Commendable.

The Seminar was a great success. The loud cry was that of more frequent seminars which we hope will be possible to hold one in March.

The Kenyan Nenkashe sends warm greetings to the Management, Members and friends of Nenkashe in your continuing support of the Maasai girls.

We sympathize with you for the challenges you have had to go through due to the Covid pandemic.

Please see the attached Seminar Report.

We wish you all a good year.