About WISER_Revised | Wiser Girls Kenya

The Highest Outcomes

for the Hardest to Reach Girls

The Challenge:

Only 8% of girls in the region complete secondary school

The Challenge:

70% of girls are child brides

The Challenge:

80% of girl experience gender-based violence

The Challenge:

Muhuru Bay has the highest maternal mortality rate in Kenya

The Challenge:

Girls experience a 400% higher HIV infection rate than boys

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Meet the WISER Key Staff

Our Impact

Global data shows that educated girls transform the health and economic development of their communities and countries.

Poor, rural girls are often missing from education, causing their communities to stay poor and sick.

WISER partners with rural communities to produce the highest academic and health outcomes for the hardest to reach girls, empowering them to drive community change.

Two WISER graduates, wearing many garlands around their necks and graduation gowns, embrace one another and pose for a photo.

>99% graduation rate of students

60% of alumni
work in STEM

A large group of WISER girls laughing amongst one another, as they sit in an assembly.

100% passing rate of the KCSE exam

WISER girls laughing and smiling as they hold cups of clean water.

7,000 people with access to clean water

250,000 school days with hygiene support

Group of WISER girls holding up a poster about condom negotiation.

43,000 pupils with SRH education

Our WISER alumni, like Nimon, are the ultimate testimony to the longevity of WISER’s impact – not only in Muhuru Bay, but across Kenya and the world.

“It’s hard to guess what I’d be doing without WISER – I only know I’ve finished school without sickness, home worries, and pregnancy. I’m convinced WISER changed my life.”

— Sarah, WISER alumni currently earning a B.S. in Agricultural Economics

“When I came to WISER, I was finally recognized. The way that they are working- it’s quality. Teachers here have passion. I know I’m going to succeed, because with WISER, I feel ready.”

— Velma, WISER Class of 2019

“I want people to know that they can change the life of a WISER Girl that never knew what would happen in her future. Their support will never be wasted.”

— Josephine, WISER Class of 2015

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. In 2025 The Follow Your Dream Foundation became the fiscal sponsor of WISER in the US, providing pro bono the administrative functions required in the US, similar to how WISER started with Duke University.

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.