EDUCATION

Family Care ensures all children can access K-12 education, and opens opportunities for youth to reach new heights .

Where we work, most people believe that education is key to success, and cost is usually the greatest barrier to children’s learning. To address this, we help families pay for schooling and guide students on getting the most out of their education.

HOW WE SUPPORT FAMILIES IN
EDUCATION

Academic, career, and sexual health
workshops & counseling

Our education team engages with students through home visits and one-on-one counseling.

They also visit students at schools, and organize student life-skills workshops covering areas like self-motivation, character development, and sexual & reproductive health.

Assistance with school fees & supplies

Partial help for basic education is available from each family’s flexible-use Family Care budget. We cost-share with parents, chipping in what's needed to keep kids in school.

Over time, through success in farming and business, families take on these reasonable costs.

Secondary & university scholarships for top students

These scholarships enable high-performing students to attend top public high schools and pursue university degrees.

Vocational training scholarships open to all youth

All Family Care youth have a chance to study at trade school and gain hands-on skills for (self) employment.

The challenge

For families we serve, barriers to students in the area of education are many. They include:

Cost barriers - lack of funds for school fees, books, and uniforms
Lack of exposure to most "outside the village" careers
Limited support at home due to parents' own very limited education, who may not undertand how best to offer support in academic material they do not comprehend
Economic and social distractions, from child labor for school kids helping their families survive, to high-risk temptations like sugar-daddy relationships or illegal gold mining
Youth cultutre that glorifies quick money, spending sprees, and 'sugar daddy' relationships
Cultural bias toward white-collar professions with few jobs, at expense of hands-on professions with more opportunity
Ever-changing national education systems, with parents and students expected to choose high schools, colleges, and careers through complex online ranking portals unsuited to offline village life

Strengths families can leverage

Cultural belief education is everything, in almost all families
Public schools that are within a few miles' walk of most households
A life of challenges that many young people see as escapable only through good education

Our holistic approach to this complex problem

Family Care support helps parents afford basic education. UKR then offers extra help, so youth can get hands-on skills and top students can seize their big opportunities.

Our social work and education teams engage with students through home visits and one-on-one counselling. They also visit students at schools, and offer life-skills workshops in areas like self-motivation, character development, and sexual & reproductive health.

We believe in walking together, instead of taking over. And we’ve learned that families’ financial involvement also leads to higher levels of parental engagement in students’ academics. Over the course of their three-years in Family Care, families take on an increasing share of education expenses and are asked to chip in toward any scholarship students’ studies

I believe education is an equalizer, and all social classes should access it.

Jones, who is studying under a UKR scholarship for a Bachelor in Education

Education team busy as ever

UKR's four-person Education Department has not been short of things to do. Lydia, Grace, Andrew, and Jack have been running workshops, visiting students at their homes and schools, and meeting with all scholarship recipients as they return to school for Term 2.

UKR high schoolers score big

The results are out from December’s high school exit exams, and all 44 of the UKR’s scholarship recipients passed. What’s more, 15 of them achieved results that will qualify for university degrees! Congratulations to all on graduating!

Youth from our new families join vocational programs

The first six youth from our new families joined vocational training programs late last year. The program offers fees and required tools to all interested young people from the families in Family Care.

Meet some of our newest university scholars

Immaculate’s interest in nursing was formed during visits to the hospital years ago, when her grandmother was needing care. After she completes her Diploma and secures a job, Immaculate aims to become a nurse in charge, and eventually to work overseas where nursing jobs are in high demand. And one day, she plans to establish her own medical clinic in Kenya.

Life skills for college students

The eduction team organizes life skills workshops for vocational, college, and university students under UKR scholarships. Typically, the events bring in partner organizations to engage students in their areas of speciality. The most recent workshops, pictured below, focused on the topics of financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and safely navigating online opportunities.