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Unprecedented Outcomes for the Hardest to Reach Girls.
OUR OUTPUTS
524 students have enrolled at WISER, and we have a greater than 99% graduation rate
Over 1 million nutritious meals served to students since inception
3,300 textbooks distributed since inception
12,980+ menstrual pads and other menstrual hygiene products distributed
17 students trained as peer SRH counselors
40,000+ hours of psychosocial support have been provided
OUR IMPACT
3x the number of WISER girls are more likely to qualify for higher education than students from other schools in Kenya
100% pass rate/qualification for tertiary education for KCSE exams in the Class of 2021
101,344 school days saved due to menstrual hygiene product access
less than 5% pregnancy rate among students during the COVID-19 crisis
43,000 students have received peer-led SRH education
15,000 people have access to clean water because of WISER
OUR PROGRAMS
RESOURCE PROVISION
WISER provides students with everything they need to thrive and learn, including school supplies, books, uniforms, and a safe environment.
...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 local teachers and university quality enrichments in STEM and the arts.
...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.
HEALTH
WISER’s students receive comprehensive healthcare including preventive medicines and vaccines, menstrual hygiene supplies, and treated mosquito nets.
...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 (SRH)
WISER provides comprehensive, fact-based, and affirming SRH training including HIV testing and counseling and contraceptive information.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
WISER expands access to healthcare services and education, agriculture and nutrition training, and WISER student-led SRH education to the Muhuru Bay community.
WATER
WISER manages the only clean water system in Muhuru Bay, serving 15,000+ community members including several schools and the local health clinic.
TESTIMONIALS
MERCY
Mercy Adhiambo, (WISER Class of 2014), represented WISER at the first in-person convening of the Girls Opportunity Alliance, an organization of the Obama Foundation whose goal is to lift up the work being done around the world to empower adolescent girls through education. She shared with leaders in the field at the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago about how WISER’s holistic approach to girls’ education is changing Muhuru Bay, and she is committed to continuing the work that changed her life.
Quote: “I want to mentor others, act as a role model, speak to people, and help people the way I was helped. To see something in others that they cannot see.”
BEATRICE
Beatrice (WISER Class of 2019) spent her time at WISER not only dedicated to her studies, but also leading WISER’s Family Planning and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) outreach. There, Beatrice led WISER students in teaching primary school students training modules related to their sexual health and wellness. This holistic health intervention empowers both the primary school students, who receive vital health information, and students like Beatrice, who learn how to use their education to generate local impact for youth.
Quote: “Here in Muhuru Bay, we are the school which is supplying the SRH to people. There is no other school doing that.”
LINAH
Linah Samrah (WISER Class of 2018) watched WISER’s very first class celebrate their graduation as a child in 2013, and she was determined to match their accomplishment one day. Now, Linah is not only a WISER graduate, but has just finished the WISER alumni internship program--gaining work experience while being mentored by WISER faculty. She plans to pursue a university education in clinical medicine.
Quote: “I want to specialize mainly in surgery, because it’s not something a normal doctor does. It’s something you have to study. And only a few surgeons are women, I want to be one of them.”
WINNIE
Winnie Bellah (WISER Class of 2014) was in primary school when she noticed something disturbing: girls in her community almost never finished secondary school. But Winnie was among the first class of students at WISER, and she not only finished high school, she finished university, too. Now, she’s teaching at a primary school just down the road from WISER, showing her students what is possible through education.
Quote: “I think it’s good for WISER alumni to give back. We are supporting others so that they can rise up, the same way we rose up because of support from others.”
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