Empower a girl, transform a community

Kakenya Ntaiya turned her dream of getting an education into a movement to empower vulnerable girls and bring an end to harmful traditional practices in Kenya. Meet two students at the Kakenya Center for Excellence, a school where girls can live and study safely -- and uplift their community along the way. "When you empower a girl, you transform a community," Ntaiya says.

To empower girls,

you need to educate them.

That was my dream.

And so I built a school,

and in the process,
I learned something much bigger.

When you empower a girl,
you transform a community.

School is just a start.

I grew up in rural Kenya

in a small village called Enoosaen.

I was the first of eight children,

and I spent my childhood
helping my mother cook, clean, farm

and take care of my siblings.

Like other Maasai girls,

I was engaged from
a very young age to be married.

But as I reached puberty,

I underwent female genital mutilation,

known as FGM.

This picture shows some of the tools
that are used to perform FGM on girls.

FGM was supposed to mark
the end of my childhood

and, by extension, my education.

But I negotiated with my father
in order to stay in school --

even after going through FGM.

Years later I went to university.

And in order to get
my community's support,

I promised to come back one day
to repay that support.

But years later,
when I went back to my village,

not much had changed.

Girls were still going through FGM,

still leaving school,

still getting married
to men older than their fathers

and still having children
when they're teenagers.

I did not want to see
any more girls go through that.

That's when I knew what I needed to do
to give back to my community.

I built a school just for girls

so that they can be free from FGM
and early marriage.

At my first enrollment --

(Applause and cheers)

At my first enrollment,

I had hoped for 10 girls.

100 came.

(Cheers and applause)

I started to realize
just how big this dream was,

and soon I learned that my school
could be the foundation --

but it wasn't going to be enough.

So that first year,
I enrolled these 30 girls.

Some had been abused, others were orphans,

and some came from families
that are very traditional,

that had never sent any girl to school.

So school started.

Though the girls
seemed excited to be there,

they were having difficulty staying awake.

What was going on?

They had a teacher, they had books,

there was a new classroom on the way,

but ...

They were determined to be there,
but they had no energy.

Then I realized they were hungry,

so I quickly found a cook and food.

Soon thereafter, I learned
that a classroom was not enough.

I needed a boarding school.

Not only were the girls tired
and hungry from chores

and long walks to school and back home,

they were also not safe.

It's a sad truth,

but girls are often assaulted,
raped and even kidnapped

on their way to school.

So before a girl
could learn math or history,

she needed to feel safe,

she needed to be rested
and be well-nourished.

So let me tell you about some of my girls.

This is Faith.

Faith comes from a very traditional
family in the community.

Her older sister had already
gone through FGM and already married,

but Faith was so determined.

She really loved learning,

and she wanted to come to my school
when she heard about it.

So she asked her father, her mother --

anyone to bring her to my school.

They all refused.

Faith did something very brave.

She stole an egg from her mother's house,

went to the market,

sold the egg and bought a single pencil.

Then she walked five miles,

clenching that pencil, trying to enroll.

She arrived --

(Applause)

She arrived tired and hungry,

but determined.

I listened to her story,
and we enrolled her in my school.

But getting into my school
was only just the start.

Faith needed food, she needed medicine,

she needed counseling --

all of which we provided.

And she also met adults
who already believed in her.

Supported by this community,

Faith was ready to learn.

This is Faith.

Six months of schooling,

now she's a happy sixth grader
who dreams of becoming a pilot someday,

and her family now supports her,

and best of all,

her younger sisters
will follow in her footsteps.

(Applause)

Child marriage is expected to cost
the global economy trillions of dollars

over the next 15 years.

We can talk numbers,

but in a real lifetime,

what child marriage will cost my village
is the doctor, the teacher,

the entrepreneur,

the true partner our men
will need in the future ...

real ways women can help us
lift out of poverty.

So I came to realize once again,

as I did when I needed help
to go to university,

that while I could dream or have a dream,

I could not make it come true
all by myself.

So I went back to the elders
who helped me more than a decade ago.

I needed their support once again
if I was going to be successful.

So I formed a community board
with religious leaders, parents

and some teachers from other schools.

I needed allies in the government
and in the community

to help advance my goal.

I needed especially
the support of the chief

to help me enforce
the no-FGM policy in my school.

At first he was resistant,

but I persisted --

(Laughter)

and now he's our greatest ally.

(Applause)

I also needed the fathers.

That brings me to Linet.

Linet's father, Momposhi,
did not believe in the education of girls.

In fact, he himself never went to school.

But Linet's mother believed in Linet
and brought her to enroll in my school,

and I knew she belonged with us.

I just had to find a way
to get Momposhi to believe in Linet, too.

So I used the pretense
of revealing Linet's grade

to get Momposhi to come.

He came, and he started noticing
his daughter being promising as a student.

With each visit, he built
a strong relationship with his daughter --

noticing not just her grades

but also accepting her
as someone with full potential.

So when Linet was accepted
in one of the top national high schools

after eighth grade,

Momposhi was bursting with pride

and went around the village

telling everyone how proud
and how smart his daughter was.

(Laughter)

Can you imagine?

He brought Linet
to the new school himself.

It was the first time either of them
had ever been to Nairobi.

Today Linet is studying
at university in Australia --

(Applause and cheers)

and Momposhi is our greatest
advocate in the community.

I also brought mothers to the table,

including my own.

That's my mother
in one of our training programs.

And our mothers are involved
in the education of their own children.

I also brought grandmothers into the mix.

(Laughter)

In my community, grandmothers
are the proud keepers

of our stories and cultures,

and I wanted my girls to learn
and embrace our rich Maasai culture.

Today, grandmothers
do story time with the girls,

and it's a beautiful way
our community remains connected.

I also ...

started working with the boys!

(Laughter)

What would happen

if the boys grew up with the same
mindset as their fathers before them?

I'll tell you, not much will change.

So I enlisted support from an organization
called I'm Worth Defending:

a group of young, progressive leaders
led by Alfred and George.

Together we created
a training program for boys and girls

who could not attend my school,

sharing vital information
about gender equality,

health and human rights.

Today we have reached
over 10,000 boys and girls and counting.

(Applause)

It turns out it truly does take a village
to make this kind of a dream come true.

(Laughter)

That's what you're seeing today,

where nearly 400 girls
have not gone through FGM

in my village,

in a region where nearly 80 percent
of women have been cut.

Believe me, these girls,

they are sharing their experiences

with their sisters,
their cousins and their friends.

They're so interested.

Over time, this is becoming the new normal

and it's being embraced
by the same, same community --

my community.

So what does transforming
communities mean to Kenya?

President Obama visited Kenya in 2015,

and he met with representatives
from organizations

trying to help improve communities.

Guess what?

He met Linet!

(Laughter)

(Applause)

Together they talked about a Kenya

where all girls
have the same opportunities,

where Linet is a leader

and where communities
like Enoosaen are thriving

because its members --

all its members -- have opportunities.

Helping the communities see
that each daughter is a treasure,

every sister is full of potential,

and helping every single girl
see that value in herself.

There is no limit
to what that future will cost.

Not every girl who comes
to my school will be a PhD,

but every single one of them
will achieve her full potential

and will become an advocate
for her children

and her grandchildren for years to come.

Today my dreams are informed
by what I learned from them

and what I've learned from you.

My journey led me
out of Enoosaen and back again.

And in the process,

I was embraced by the world,

and you have become my village.

So I make a new promise to you,

my elders, my sisters and my friends,

that I am going to keep
dreaming and keep going

until girls like Linet and Faith
achieve their dreams

and I see mine:

that all communities
give every single woman

and every single girl

their dreams come true.

Thank you.

(Applause and cheers)

Thank you, thank you.

(Applause and cheers)