PASTORALIST CHILD FOUNDATION
Education = Empowerment = Equality
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Despite being internationally condemned as a human rights violation, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is still a frightening reality for at least 200 million girls and women alive today. In Kenya, the practice of FGM affects 83% of girls and women in the highly patriarchal communities of Samburu and Maasai Mara, Kenya. Pastoralist Child Foundation (PCF) works to prevent and ultimately eradicate this practice by the year 2030. Many girls in Samburu and Maasai Mara drop out of primary school because they're forced to marry soon after undergoing FGM. Pastoralist Child Foundation promotes the importance of education. We provide scholarships for high performing girls to attend secondary boarding schools and universities. When the girls study and reside at boarding schools, they are free from the pressures of early marriage and can focus on academics.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Educational Sponsorships
Pastoralist Child Foundation provides financial scholarships for girls to attend secondary boarding schools and universities in Kenya.
Educated girls are more likely to stay in or near their communities and become mothers who encourage their children to go to school. Quality girls’ education empowers by giving them choices, alleviates poverty and yields great returns in socio-economics, health, population and politics. Education leads to increased income for girls themselves, but also for nations as a whole.
Education = Empowerment = Equality
In keeping with its sincere and dedicated commitment to the formal education of girls, Pastoralist Child Foundation (PCF) gives like-minded people the opportunity to sponsor students. When you sponsor a girl her life changes forever and her hopes and dreams can become a reality. We enroll students in high performing private boarding schools with great teachers and administrative staff. The annual sponsorship fee of $1,500.00 pays for full tuition, examination fees, transportation, healthcare, school uniforms and shoes, books, school supplies, backpack, mattress, sheets, blankets, pillow, personal toiletries (including sanitary napkins), and a lock box for personal items.
Girls who receive full sponsorships are from very low-income families where many heads of households are single mothers with numerous children. Student candidates are interviewed and must demonstrate good grades, good citizenship, leadership skills, and a willingness to volunteer with PCF during school holidays. The parent(s) and/or guardian(s) of the potential candidate must agree that FGM should be abolished and they will not force her to marry as a child (under the age of 18). Local pastoralist conditions reduce attendance in day schools due to long walks to schools which may be as far as 15 kilometers from a girl’s village, and disruptions of education caused by droughts and the movement of the communities from one place to another for greener pastures and clean water. Many girls who attend local day schools also miss classes because they cannot afford sanitary napkins during their menstruating days. When they’re sponsored in boarding schools they’re provided with the necessary napkins. Boarding schools also discourage the cultural barriers by giving girls a place to escape the relentless pressure for early marriage and motherhood to an environment supportive of girls’ education. Boarding schools provide nutritious meals, health care, structured time for study, and housing for girls who have reached puberty and are at risk of being forced into early marriage.
In Kenya the school year starts in January and there are 3 semesters. The high school curriculum is competitive with subjects such as English, Kiswahili, Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, History, Geography, Computer Skills, Physical Education, Music, Art, Drama. School holidays are in April, August and December. Some students attending boarding schools don’t see their friends and families back home often so they eagerly look forward to holidays!
Sponsors are provided with the school mailing address and email address (if the student has one) of their students. We encourage sponsors to keep in regular contact in order to encourage the student to perform well and assure them they can reach their goals. PCF staff and mentors also stay in regular contact with the girls, school principals, teachers, counselors and administrators.
Pastoralist Child Foundation is committed to the complete education of its students, from primary school to post-secondary education, and eventually university for high performing students. Our strategy is to ensure that PCF-sponsored students remain in school as long as they desire. Our students deserve what they work hard for in order to improve their life outcomes and help the Pastoralist communities.
Sexual & Reproductive Health Workshops
Workshops at the grassroots level for girls, boys, adults, and elders are provided throughout the year. Participants learn about the harmful effects of female genital mutilation (FGM), child marriage, teen pregnancy, sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), HIV/AIDS/STD’s, child rights, gender-based violence, self-awareness, self-confidence, sanitation, and the importance of formal education. They’re provided with the Kenya FGM-Hotline number to report suspected or known incidents of FGM. Adult workshops In addition to 5 excellent facilitators, including an FGM expert, PCF-sponsored girls volunteer and provide leadership and mentorship to the youth. The volunteers also facilitate breakout sessions and group dialogues for their younger peers. Because PCF hosts young students, there’s time for soccer, volleyball, and evening bonfires where they get acquainted, sing, dance, talk about their dreams for bright futures, and encourage each other. The youth are given pens and notebooks and are required to take notes in every class. They’re advised to share their notes with at least 10 people when they return home – be it their peers, parents, relatives, elders, teachers – anyone who is willing to listen and learn.
Workshops are vital because the youth are our future. Up until now speaking up against FGM has been highly unwelcome and taboo. The youth aren’t afraid to take on the responsibility of teaching adults (many of whom are uneducated or illiterate) about sensitive issues like FGM. Many illiterate adults in remote villages are unaware that FGM and child marriage are illegal. The Samburu tribe wants to be part of the global community while simultaneously holding onto their beautiful traditions. They know it’s time to abandon unhealthy, harmful, life-threatening practices that hurt and marginalize girls and women. PCF has started a mini revolution. People are ready to jump on the bandwagon to better education, better economic status, and improved life outcomes.
Women, men, boys and girls now actively protest against FGM in greater numbers. They participate in annual events such as Annual International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (February 6) and public forums. Men have joined our efforts and have become influential anti-FGM advocates.
Reproductive Health Workshops
Adult community dialogues in Samburu and Maasai Mara.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of government officials who publicly support the advocacy effort
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Sexual & Reproductive Health Workshops
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our goal is to eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced early marriage of girls through mobilization and sensitization of whole communities that still practice these harmful vices that prevent girls from reaching their full potentials. The girls in these communities want to be educated and become contributing members of their societies as doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers and other honorable professions, and to be part of the global economy and community. Our goal is to continue sponsoring many more girls to attend school and graduate from high school. FGM can be replaced with Alternative Rites of Passage to womanhood by providing 4 day retreats for girls to learn about FGM, child marriage, sexual & reproductive health, teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS (which can be spread via FGM), sanitation, child rights, the importance of formal education, and other issues that concern youth. To date, Pastoralist Child Foundation has saved over 2,000 girls from undergoing FGM. We are dedicated to ending FGM by the year 2030.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our strategies include mobilizing and educating everyone in the communities. The vices we're addressing are centuries-old traditions that are held in high esteem due to the commitment to and respect for the elders. Therefore, it is necessary to interact with all members of the communities at the grassroots level, especially men and elders due to the highly patriarchal societies, and interact with them in order to institute the changes that the majority of young men and women are demanding. The older generation is warming up to our mission and is willing to listen to their educated sons and daughters. We're making great progress!
We work closely with village chiefs, teachers, religious leaders, former circumcisers, law enforcement, local and national government agencies to ensure the law is enforced - FGM is illegal and we encourage everyone to report suspected and/or known cases of FGM to the authorities and the Kenya FGM Hotline.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Pastoralist Child Foundation's founders, directors and facilitators are dedicated to accelerating the abandonment of FGM and child marriage. They're very well respected, educated professionals and pioneers in educating their communities at the grassroots level. They have seen, first-hand, the suffering girls and women endure as a result of undergoing FGM and being forced to marry without a choice. They're fighting for girls' rights to education and have the support of teachers, religious leaders, village chiefs, law enforcement, local and national government. Workshops are given in the local language by FGM experts.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We network tirelessly to connect with and collaborate with other like-minded individuals and organizations around the world. To date, we've partnered with 5 like-minded organizations and continue to seek other collaborators. We know that in order to eradicate FGM by the year 2030 we must work alongside others, including the United Nations and UNICEF with whom we partner. In September, 2015 we became an official partner of UNICEF-Kenya.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
-
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
-
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
-
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
PASTORALIST CHILD FOUNDATION
Board of directorsas of 05/22/2023
Sayydah Garrett
Pastoralist Child Foundation
Term: 2012 - 2024
Nan Josephson, Ph.D.
Halima Garrett
Threads of Habit
Patricia Conover
Freelance Journalist
Tara Schmitt
US Treasury
Samuel Leadismo
Pastoralist Child Foundation
Barbara Clarke-Ruiz
BCR Swirl
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/22/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.