To honour Cynthia Lennon’s Birthday, and due to the great success of the Scholarships for the first 10 girls in Sauri,
The White Feather Foundation will provide funding for another 10 girls.
The Cynthia Lennon Scholarship For Girls in Sauri
The Scholarships are provided in partnership with Connect To Learn, a global education initiative of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, Ericsson and Millennium Promise.
The scholarships cover a full 4 years of educational support for each recipient.
Connect to Learn Progress Report – 2016
Highlights
Connect to Learn (CTL) program in Sauri supports two local secondary schools, Ulumbi and Uranga.
All the girls in Ulumbi secondary school are day scholars and all the girls in Uranga are boarders. The girls’ dormitory was completed in September 2015 with the support from The White Feather Foundation and The Gross Family Foundation.
There are a total of 26 girls supported by the CTL program in Sauri. Of the 26 girls, 11 girls are at Ulumbi Secondary School while 15 are in Uranga secondary school.
In 2016, 10 new scholars were recruited into the program with support from The White Feather Foundation’s Cynthia Lennon Scholarship For Girls. 5 girls enrolled in Uranga school and 5 girls enrolled in Ulumbi school.
Academic Progress
The students supported by The Cynthia Lennon Scholarship For Girls are doing well academically. The education team in Sauri organizes guidance and counseling sessions with the students and their parents twice a year. At each of the schools there is also a female teacher in charge of the CTL program who also doubles as a mentor for the girls.
As part of the program, CTL provides school books and stationery to all the girls. Other needs such as school uniforms and sanitary napkins are also provided. For the day scholars, bicycles are provided to support the students’ travel to and from school.
37 CTL sponsored girls completed their secondary education in December 2015, and sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). 15 of the girls attained University entry grades (C+ and above), while all the remaining 22 girls attained grades that can secure them entry into middle level colleges.
The pass rates for the 2015 CTL candidates was thus 100%.
Prior to 2015, 9 CTL scholars from Sauri had graduated, and all are now enrolled in some form of higher education or employed as outlined below:
Status of 9 CTL Graduates Who Completed in 2013-14:
Enrolled in University: 3 girls.
Enrolled in Vocational Training: 2 girls.
Enrolled in Teacher Training College: 2 girls.
Employed: 2 girls.
We include this overview of recent graduates from Sauri to show that there are high hopes for the future of the girls supported by The Cynthia Lennon Scholarship For Girls.
Vocational and Life Skills Programs
The education team in Sauri organizes life skills programs for the girls each year. The girls are guided through skills development in various areas, including crocheting, cookery, rug making, pastry making, juice processing, soap and detergent making. CTL considers that such skills will be useful to the girls even when they are out of school and can make them independent and inculcate discipline. ICT skills are also taught to the girls as part of their life skills program.
