As a girl from Enoosaen, a rural Maasai village in southwestern Kenya, Kakenya Ntaiya's fate to be a child bride was determined from birth.
After undergoing female genital mutilation at puberty, she was expected to stop her education and start life as a married woman.
In the Maasai community, FGM means removing the entire exterior of the clitoris. Though the practice is banned in Kenya, most Maasai elders believe it symbolises the transition from childhood to womanhood.
"This was the path of all the women and girls I knew, but I did not want it," Ntaiya said.
"I dreamt of becoming a teacher, wearing nice shoes, and writing on a chalkboard.
"I am deeply proud of my Maasai heritage, but I have always opposed the patriarchal norms that keep women and girls in our community from achieving their full potential."
I always knew that no girl should have to make the kind of sacrifice I did, undergoing FGM, just to continue her education
CUTTING LOOSE
At 12 years of age, just when she was to undergo the cut, Ntaiya made a deal with her father.
"I told him that I would only undergo FGM if I could continue my schooling afterward, rather than get married as was expected. I vowed that if he didn't agree, I would run away, bringing shame to our family," Ntaiya said.
To her surprise, her father agreed, and true to his word, he broke off her engagement and allowed her to continue her education after recovering from the cut.
Another dream formed during high school at Sosio Secondary School: attending university in the United States. This one would be challenging. She would need her community's help and financial support to realise this dream.
So she approached the village elders, promising that if they agreed to help her, she would return home one day and use her education to support the community.
"In the back of my mind, I always knew that no girl should have to make the kind of sacrifice I did, undergoing FGM, just to continue her education," she said.
"It became my life's purpose to ensure no other girl would. I attended Randolph-Macon Women's College and received a bachelor's degree in international studies and political science," Ntaiya said.
"I then pursued a PhD in education from the University of Pittsburgh."
During her PhD, the idea for the Kakenya Centre for Excellence, which would later grow into Kakenya's Dream, a full-fledged nonprofit organisation, began to form.
GIVING BACK
Back home, many girls Ntaiya knew were dropping out of school, being married off and suffering the consequences of FGM. She heard tragic stories about their painful experiences and felt she urgently needed to act.
"I remembered my promise to use my education to support my community. I had forged this pathway to empowerment for myself, and I decided that educating and empowering other girls would be the best way to serve my community," she said.
"I began the process with conversations. I talked with elders, parents and community members, explaining my vision and listening to their feedback and concerns because I wanted the community's support. I opened my first school, the Kakenya Centre for Excellence (KCE I), in 2009," Ntaiya said.
Nearly 15 years later, KCE has grown significantly. Today it is known as Kakenya's Dream, a nonprofit organisation leveraging holistic education, health and leadership programmes to empower girls and transform rural communities.
"We began as a single primary school, KCE I, educating 30 vulnerable girls beneath the shade of a tree while classrooms were being built. As their needs grew and evolved, so did our programmes," Ntaiya said.
Today, Kakenya's Dream operates two boarding schools and several other interrelated education, health and leadership programmes that serve thousands across rural Kenya each year.
Her first 6-acre KCE I campus in Enoosaen was built on land donated by the village elders.
The first classroom opened in 2009, and from 2010-17, the campus expanded, offering art and science facilities, safe dormitories, teacher housing, a multi-purpose hall and a library.
In 2017, she built a second 8-acre campus in Isampin, KCE II. This second campus offers well-equipped computer and science laboratories and true rarities in remote and underserved communities.
Students who graduate from boarding schools become part of a Network for Excellence programme.
"Through the network, we provide tutoring, academic scholarships, mentorship and college and career guidance to ensure our graduates are able to successfully transition to the next phase of their education, adulthood, and financial success," she said.
CHALLENGES FACED
While Kakenya's dream has made many dreams of underprivileged girls in and out of the community come to fruition, some of the biggest challenges experienced were during the Covid-19 pandemic, which registered many teenage pregnancies.
About 36 girls who are beneficiaries of the programme became pregnant, says KCE communications manager Michael Chepkwony.
"The pregnancies happened during Covid-19 in 2020 before schools reopened," he said.
"The organisation created a programme called 'Angaza', where students were issued with solar lamps, food items and homework, every month on unspecified dates between May 2020 and December 2020.
"When students came to pick the provisions throughout that period, we found 36 were pregnant."
Naomi Nanyori, a Form 4 student and beneficiary of KCE, is one of the girls who got pregnant during the pandemic. Fortunately, she was allowed to resume classes after delivering the baby.
"When I found out I was pregnant; I battled with even thoughts of suicide," the 16-year-old, who hopes to be a cardiologist after school, said.
"Luckily it was not over for me. I gave birth on March 7, 2021 and I was allowed to go back to school. I am so grateful to Dr Kakenya because, under other circumstances, this would have marked the end of my education."
Among her greatest support systems, Dr Kakenya credits the village elders who broke with tradition to support her in pursuing an education in the United States and later donated the land on which her first boarding school was built.
The village chief also enforces and supports her school's strict no-FGM or child marriage policy.
Many parents, once against educating girls, are now rallying behind their daughters and serving as champions of Kakenya's Dream's work, convincing others in the community to support girls' empowerment and an end to harmful practices like FGM and child marriage.
"In these and countless other ways, my community has proven that they've put their trust and faith in me to guide change, change that impacts all of their lives," Ntaiya said.
"It's a brave act, and I deeply admire them for their courage in putting their trust in me and supporting the work of Kakenya's Dream."