Highest Outcomes for the Hardest to Reach Girls

WISER works with girls to transcend poverty, HIV/AIDS, and gender-based violence, creating empowered female leaders who drive community change.

Highest Outcomes for the Hardest to Reach Girls

WISER works with girls to transcend poverty, HIV/AIDS, and gender-based violence, creating empowered female leaders who drive community change.

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Meet the WISER Leadership Team

Young children are in a line holding buckets as they wait to fill them with water. There is a sign in the back that says "Muhuru Bay Water Supply Project," as well as some adults watching over.

Two WISER students using tools on an engineering project.

WISER girls talk to and direct a group of visitors with folders in their hands.

WISER girls dancing and laughing as teachers watch and laugh with them.

Our Story

WISER uses a holistic approach to open doors for girls from across Kenya, based on girl-identified needs. WISER originated from a collaboration of women scientists from both Kenya and the US to determine and address barriers to education and sexual health for girls in Muhuru Bay, a remote village on the shores of Lake Victoria, where gender inequity is inextricably linked with health, socioeconomic status, and education. WISER was incorporated in 2007 in Kenya and was a program of Duke University until it became a 501c3 in the US in 2012. WISER continues to work with Duke University scholars and students.

Through community-driven research with local girls, WISER developed a theory of change that reflected the need for an integrated suite of programs to help them thrive. From this theory of change, WISER has grown into a hub of resources, education, and health for the entire community, grounded in its flagship program the fully-residential WISER Girls Secondary School, which opened in 2010.

After 15 years of work, we have touched the lives of tens of thousands of people through our education and health programs, and we strive for more.

What We Do

Resource Provision

WISER provides students with everything they need to be thrive and learn, including school supplies, books, uniforms, and a safe physical and emotional environment.

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All students at the WISER Girls Secondary School live full-time on our campus during the school year and receive all of the resources they need to be healthy, safe, and empowered. WISER believes that it is not enough to offer opportunities for academic excellence if students must also fear for their physiological well-being. By eliminating all physical and monetary barriers and providing psychosocial and emotional support, WISER students have the freedom and peace of mind to dedicate their immense intellectual energy and determination to reaching their full potential.

WISER girls receive three nutritious meals each day with ingredients from our on-campus garden, clean water from our on-campus filtration system, soap and hygiene products, clothing, shoes, and school uniforms. WISER provides each girl with her own bed and mosquito net in our secure on-campus dorms. WISER’s sanitation system ensures all students have access to indoor plumbing, preventing waterborne illness which occurs frequently outside our campus and allowing them to manage their periods.

Girls at WISER participate in “Houses of Wisdom” – small psychosocial support groups of 12-15 students who meet weekly to discuss health and community challenges in a safe environment. All students also engage in staff-led guidance and counselling sessions, one-on-one sessions with our guidance & counselling faculty leader, and bi-weekly school-wide discussions on sexual and reproductive health with a faculty facilitator. WISER has 12 peer counsellors who provide mentorship to their fellow students and facilitate the weekly Houses of Wisdom meetings.

Education

WISER’s secondary school offers unparalleled academic instruction from Kenyan teachers and university-quality programs in STEM and the arts.

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WISER provides quality education at the WISER Girls Secondary School, an all-girls boarding school in Muhuru Bay, during the Kenyan academic school year. We provide all of the academic resources girls need to be successful: textbooks, story books, school supplies, and laboratory equipment. We are particularly dedicated to STEM excellence and provide all of our girls with access to a computer lab, robotics and engineering clubs, and two university-quality science labs where our faculty teach using hands-on learning.

WISER girls build on their classroom knowledge through a variety of experiential learning opportunities. Through regional academic and athletic competitions against other schools, WISER girls demonstrate that girls can compete (and win) against boys, challenging gender norms and building their self-esteem in the process. Through the Science and Engineering club, girls design solutions to community-identified problems and elevate their personal sense of self and social valuation through sharing these solutions with community members. Girls take these projects to regional and then national Science Fairs, subverting expectations for girls in STEM. Through engaging computer skills courses and a coding and design-thinking bootcamp with Kenyan women in STEM, WISER girls will be exposed to role models and overcome traditional barriers to STEM career pathways. WISER girls also participate in communications, environmental, and business clubs to learn inside and outside of the classroom.

Healthcare

WISER’s students receive comprehensive healthcare including preventive medicines and vaccines, menstrual hygiene supplies, and treated mosquito nets.

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All students at WISER also receive free healthcare, essential medicines, HIV tests and other health screenings, reusable sanitary pads and menstrual cups, and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education.

Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

WISER provides comprehensive, fact-based, and affirming SRH training including HIV testing and counseling and contraceptive information.

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The WISER campus is home to more than just classes. Even before our first graduation, the WISER NGO began to implement community health programs. Today, WISER features a sexual and reproductive health outreach program that has trained over 2,500 youth in Muhuru Bay in best practices for disease and pregnancy prevention. WISER also provides mental health counselling to students and has monitored mental health indicators for all students. We distribute sanitary pads to all of our students and every WISER girl receives free HIV counselling and testing. Our campus also hosts community-wide health days every year, bringing in doctors for vision, hearing, and gynecological testing and education.