KEEP hosts Kenyan educator to raise scholarship funds

A photo taken on the campus of the Kakenya Centers for Excellence during KEEP’s visit in summer 2025. Kakenya Ntaiya, educator and founder of the center, is second from right, and the four KEEP members in the group are, from left, Elizabeth McGoldrick, Celeste Crosby, Ruthie Rosenberg and Cynthia Braun. COURTESY KAKENYA’S DREAM 

By JANE SIMS

The Katonah Village Library will come alive with connection, appreciation and celebration at “Cocktails and Conversation with Kakenya” on Saturday evening, Nov. 14.

The fundraising event, presented by KEEP — Katonah Education Exchange Program — features Kakenya Ntaiya, educator and founder of the Kakenya Centers for Excellence, a boarding school in rural Kenya the local group has supported for 12 years.

“This event is a great opportunity to hear directly from Kakenya about leveraging education to empower girls and transform communities in rural Kenya,” said Cynthia Braun of Katonah, KEEP member. “Proceeds from this event will help fund tuition scholarships for at-risk girls at the KCE, empowering them to advocate for themselves and become agents of change in their families, communities and country.”

Powerful poverty fighter

KEEP is run by Braun, Ruthie Rosenberg, Celeste Crosby and Elizabeth McGoldrick, who share the conviction that girls’ education is one of the most powerful ways to reduce poverty and inequality. 

In 2014, KEEP formed a partnership with the Kakenya Centers for Excellence in the remote Maasai village of Enoosaen. There, girls are often forced to drop out of school, undergo the harmful cultural practice of female genital mutilation and marry as teenagers. 

No stranger to these traditional practices, Ntaiya grew up in the village of Enoosaen and endured genital mutilation and child marriage. Determined to change her destiny, she successfully negotiated with her father to stay in school and became the first woman from her village to attend college in the U.S. She went on to receive a PhD in education and returned home with a plan to help other young girls access educational opportunities. 

Safe and supportive

In 2008 Ntaiya founded Kakenya’s Dream, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting girls’ education and ending female genital mutilation and child marriage. In 2009, she opened the Kakenya Centers for Excellence to provide a safe and supportive educational environment for girls.  

Today, it consists of two campuses, providing roughly 400 students in grades 4 through 12 with academics, peer mentorship, leadership and life-skills training and education about legal rights. The school also offers extracurricular activities, field trips, healthcare and counseling. 

“When a girl becomes a student at the KCE, her family must explicitly pledge to allow the girl to stay in school and protect her from genital mutilation and early marriage,” Braun told The Recorder. “KCE’s outcome numbers tell a great success story: 100% of KCE students avoid FGM and child marriage; 100% transition from elementary to middle and high school; and 84% of KCE graduates pursue higher education.”

Over the past 12 years, KEEP has funded 480 full-tuition scholarships for KCE students through individual donations, fundraiser events, and spreading the word about the impact of education on girls’ lives and the welfare of the wider community.

“These girls are learning essential life skills to become financially independent and advocate for themselves,” Braun said. “When they graduate, their education helps them lift their families and communities out of poverty.”

The importance of rights

“The girls are also learning the importance of personal rights, how to stand up for themselves, and how to protect themselves,” Rosenberg said. “The success of the KCE program has created a ripple effect in the wider community, where initiatives are underway to educate Maasai boys about female empowerment as a catalyst for community transformation that benefits everyone.”

This year, KEEP hopes to raise $24,000, enough to fund 41 annual tuition scholarships, one for every girl in the ninth grade.

“We chose to support the ninth grade because the students are graduating from primary school and moving on to high school, which is a big landmark,” Braun said. “Most girls in this region don’t finish primary school, and child marriage often takes place in the early teen years. If we can get them to stay in school during this pivotal year, it’s a huge accomplishment.”

“What I find most rewarding about being part of KEEP is knowing we are supporting a mission that truly makes a difference,” Rosenberg said. “It is incredibly fulfilling to partner with an organization whose visionary leadership and proven educational model are creating meaningful, lasting change in the lives of girls and their communities.”

Local generosity

“Equally inspiring is the tremendous support from our local community,” Rosenberg said. “Its commitment, generosity and shared belief in the power of girls’ education makes this work possible and continues to strengthen our collective efforts to keep girls in school.” 

Support from the local community includes Students for KEEP, an official club at John Jay High School. Led by faculty advisor Noelle Maoriello, the club holds fundraising events to raise awareness about the importance of girls’ education.

“I really enjoy the sense of community and teamwork that Students for KEEP cultivates by working together with others to raise awareness and funds for girls’ education,” said Sophie Inana, co-president of Students for KEEP. “I hope that through fundraising, KCE girls will be able to become what they want to be through education and have the opportunity to build and give back to their own communities.”

Inspiring story

KEEP welcomes the community to “Cocktails and Conversation with Kakenya” to hear Ntaiya’s inspiring story. “KEEP’s partnership with Kakenya started 12 years ago, and this is the third time she’ll be visiting Katonah,” Braun said. “We are proud of the longevity of this relationship.”

“Not only is Kakenya an inspiring speaker, her story illustrates what’s possible when you care about a community that’s half a world away,” Braun said. “It seems so distant, but if you take one small action, you feel very proud that you can make an impact. It’s all about the power of people.”

“Cocktails and Conversation with Kakenya,” an evening of Ntaiya’s inspiring story, festive drinks and hearty appetizers, is Saturday, Nov. 14, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Visit keepgirlsinschool.org for tickets and more information. Tickets will also be available at the door. Katonah Village Library is located at 26 Bedford Road, Katonah.