Compassion offers Maasai girls a better future

The Maasai tribe is one of the most recognisable tribes in the world, but many of the cultural practices carried out by the group continue to suppress women and even endanger their lives.

Through a network of local churches in Kenya, child development charity Compassion is challenging many of these damaging traditions and offering young girls from the Maasai tribes an opportunity to fulfil their potential.

One of the practices Compassion Kenya is seeking to change is that of childhood marriage. In Kenya, an estimated 42% of girls are married before their 18th birthday. This has a severely detrimental impact on their education, social and emotional development and their health, with pregnancy being the leading cause of death for girls aged 15 to 18 in the developing world.

Another dangerous custom perpetuated in many tribes is that of female genital mutilation. In Kenya alone, 49% of women are victims of this form of mutilation and the practice is highly prevalent in the Maasai tribe.

Pauline Shonk is a 16-year-old sponsored child who will not face early marriage thanks to her participation in a Compassion project. "I want to shape my future so that I can be of help to myself and others. I want to be a doctor," she explains.

Thanks to the support of her Compassion sponsor, Pauline attends the prestigious Ewaso Najile Girls School, a girls' secondary boarding school that is approximately 70km from Nairobi. Of the 267 students, 21 are Compassion-sponsored girls.

"Other girls [who are not in school] look much older than me," continues Pauline. "They are married and have children at a young age and they face many hardships at home.”

"Illiteracy and lack of exposure has dragged us behind. We have many bright girls who can compete with anyone," says Isaac Teeka, a history teacher at the Ewaso Najile Girls School. "This opportunity to be in school offers them that chance."

By working through local churches who understand local traditions, Compassion can reach out to those who are in greatest need effectively and with sensitivity. It often takes many, many years to see change, which is why the local church is the best vehicle for long-term development.

The landscape of rural Kenya is undoubtedly changing and with a generation of educated and confident young women, it will be better prepared for the future.

Find out how you can support these and other women across the globe by visiting Compassion. And don't forget to mark the United Nation's International Day of the Girl Child on October 11!

Read more about female liberation and empowerment in the upcoming issue of Liberti magazine.