At Destiny, we believe that empowering women improves not just their future, but also strengthens the whole community. Through our Secondary school Education program led by our associate director Joan Jemutai, we help young women who dropped out of high school for various reasons to achieve high school certificates.
The drop-outs are mostly young women who dropped out due to various reasons including: pregnancies, forced early marriages, poverty where some siblings drop out of school so that they can help school and support younger siblings, prioritizing boys' education over girls'. These young women often end up with poor health outcomes, large families that they can't support and many are abused because of their vulnerable situation.
The specific aims of this program are as follows:
Provide access to education: The primary aim of the program is to provide access to education to young women who have dropped out of high school due to various reasons. By doing so, we aim to empower these women and help them secure better employment opportunities, increase their income, and provide better care for their families. We do this through a combination of online learning platforms like Coursera, Dawati online and live online help sessions.
Support for further education: After attaining their high school certificates, the program will offer support to the students in applying to local and international colleges. By doing so, we aim to ensure that these young women have access to higher education, which will further improve their employment prospects and income.
Provide business opportunities: In addition to education, the program aims to provide business opportunities to the young women through the raising of layer chickens the Chickens of Destiny Program . By providing the necessary training and support, we aim to help the young women start a profitable business that will enable them to support their families. Through these "chickens of destiny", the young women earn entrepreneurship experience, learn marketing skills including use of social media, benefit from economies of scale (e.g., vaccines, feeds and loans), attend seminars and form social support groups. Earning an income from these chicken goes beyond just the money; it gives them a voice in financial decisions in the family.