WISER believes that educating girls
changes the world.
WISER empowers girls and communities through transformative education and wholistic health
Our Mission
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.
The Women’s Institute for Secondary Education and Research (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. Our community-engaged, girl-centered interventions help girls transcend poverty, HIV risk, and gender-based violence.
Our 10 acre campus is in Muhuru Bay, Kenya, a remote village on the shores of Lake Victoria, where gender inequity is inextricably linked with health, socioeconomic status, and education. Girls from similar communities across Kenya come to WISER to live, learn, and thrive on our campus and in our programs.
The Highest Outcomes for the Hardest to Reach Girls
students have enrolled at WISER WIth a Greater than 99% graduation rate
people have access to clean water because of WISER
school days saved due to menstrual Hygiene product access
Our Model
Our Priorities
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.
