How Do I Sponsor a Student in Kenya?

Kenya's primary education is tuition-free, so the barrier for most families is everything around it: secondary school fees, national exam fees, uniforms, shoes, books, boarding costs for students who live far from a school, and sanitary supplies. Those are the costs that quietly end an education.

Sponsorship is structured monthly because schools bill by term. A sponsor who commits monthly makes it possible for a student to be enrolled at the start of term rather than sent home to collect fees.

Because a household under pressure will choose eating over schooling, and it should. Paying a student's fees while the family is still food insecure moves the problem rather than solving it. We pair student sponsorship with a garden tower for the family so the household has a food source that does not depend on the school year, and so the sponsorship is a hand up rather than an ongoing dependency. That approach is described further on our Education program page.

A significant part of it is menstrual supplies. Without them, a girl misses several days of school every month, falls behind, and eventually stops returning. A $15 HopeKit provides reusable supplies that keep a girl in school for two to three years, which is one of the cheapest interventions we know of. See 100 Women of Hope.

• Are fees paid to the school directly, or handed to a family in cash?
• Who selects the students, and on what criteria?
• What happens to the student if my sponsorship ends?
• Will I receive reporting on enrollment and progress?
• Does the program support the family's income and food, or only the student?
• Is the organization a registered 501(c)(3) with a searchable EIN?

Choose the $50 per month education option on our donate page. It is a recurring gift you can change or stop at any time, and because our donation platform charges nonprofits no fees, the full amount reaches the program. If you would rather ask questions first, our vetting checklist for any Kenya charity is at how to choose a charity to donate to in Kenya.