Lauren Shepherd is sponsoring www.kakenyasdream.org

Lauren Shepherd is a special person within the Thread Science family, and is personally sponsoring a cause very near and dear to her heart. While in college, Lauren met a fellow classmate named Kakenya with a dream and passion for helping girls from her native country.

Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya

In many parts of rural Kenya, it is tradition for a girl to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) before she leaves school and marries, usually in her preteen years. This is the path Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya’s life was supposed to follow, but she had a different dream. Kakenya negotiated with her father to return to school after undergoing FGM. Several years later, she left her village to attend college in the United States. In return for her community’s support, Kakenya promised to use her education to benefit the entire village. She went on to earn her PhD, during which time she founded Kakenya’s Dream to fulfill her promise.

Over the last decade, Kakenya‘s Dream has grown from supporting a single class, taught in the shade of a tree, to a robust organization with three interconnected, holistic, and girl-centered programs: The Center for Excellence boarding schools, the Network for Excellence, and the Health and Leadership Trainings.

Our Centers for Excellence are all-girls boarding schools, offering our students not only a high-quality education but also a safe, nurturing home, healthcare, and freedom from harmful practices such as child marriage and FGM. After graduating from a Center for Excellence, our students continue to receive support from Kakenya‘s Dream, such as scholarship support, a safe place to spend their holidays, and continued education and mentorship outside of the classroom through the Network for Excellence. The Health & Leadership Trainings program amplifies our reach in the wider community; at weekend and week long camps, girls and boys from other local schools learn life and job skills, including self-defense and public speaking, and receive vital health, rights, and sexual education.

Together, we are changing the lives of girls and bringing new hope to rural communities.

Please Click here to learn more about Kakenya's Dream!