Project Title: Nashulai Women’s and Girl’s Empowerment Project

Location: Kenya

Grant Amount: $35,000 (over two years)

Grantee Website: www.nashulai.com

Areas of Impact: Economic Sustainability, Education & Literacy, Environmental Sustainability & Climate Action, Gender Equality, Health

Mission of Nashulai Maasai Conservancy
Nashulai Maasai Conservancy aims to conserve wildlife, preserve culture, and reverse poverty.

Summary
The persistent COVID-19 lockdowns, the accompanying food insecurity, and the collapse of employment opportunities for women are pushing this community to regress to more traditional customs and ways of coping. This project aims to reverse the increases in teen pregnancies, early marriage, Female Genital Cutting (FGC), and gender-based violence by providing sexual health education training, women’s empowerment programs, and advocacy training to create sustainable employment for women.

Why We Love This
Nashulai is a story of how much can be achieved for future generations when a community unites to work together on daunting challenges. Faced with deepening poverty, biodiversity collapse of ancestral lands, and increased economic and social pressures on women and girls, the Nashulai community rallied other Maasai communities in the area. Collectively they seek a future that values tradition and conservation with modern values of gender equality and empowerment for women and girls. This project moves the Nashulai community toward consistent advocacy for the rights of women and girls, reduction in the incidence of Female Genital Cutting (FGC), education on sexual reproductive health, and community support for girls’ formal education and schooling.