\u201cIn 2018, I sat for my Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam at Iltilal Primary School and scored 326 marks out of 500,\u201d she says.<\/a><\/p>\nUpon completion of her primary education, she was selected to join Omotaseni Secondary School. \u00a0However, her parents could not afford to pay for her school fees. She stayed home for several months.<\/p>\n
\u2018My parents told me I would undergo FGM alongside other girls in my village and get married. Luckily, my primary class teacher informed the area Chief who intervened, and I did not face the knife,\u2019\u2019 she confirms.<\/p>\n
Following the Chief\u2019s intervention, Amref Health Africa in Kenya offered her a scholarship to continue with her education. Amref in the USA funds the scholarship programme. It targets girls who are at risk of being circumcised and ultimately married off at a very tender age, giving them a chance to advance their education and pursue their career dreams.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can never forget the year 2019 when I was admitted in Form One at St Claire Secondary School.\u00a0 My parents and I were very happy,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n
Like Janet, most girls and women in her community drop out of school because of numerous obstacles such as poverty, early marriage, among others. According to the\u00a02015 Kenya National Adolescent and Youth Survey (NAYSHC), teenage pregnancy is one of the leading causes of school dropouts in Kajiado County.<\/p>\n
The sad reality is that 78% of girls in the Maasai community are circumcised, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) published in 2014.<\/p>\n
In addition to lacking school fees, Janet could not afford other related expenses such as sanitary and school suppliers. She gets emotional when speaking about the challenges she has gone through \u201cEvery time the school opened, I stayed home for over two weeks since I did not have money for transport and other related school expenses,\u201d she explains. This meant that she missed some classes and would catch up with other students and teachers when she eventually reported.<\/p>\n
She continues to put in the intensive effort and studying hard to overcome all obstacles to achieve her goals. Her mother, Mary Ankoi, appreciates the financial support from Amref that has greatly helped the family. \u201cI am excited to see my daughter going to school. For us, we did not have the chance. It is good to break the cycle of early marriage,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Janet would like to become a lawyer and help her parents by building them a modern house and moving them from their current grass-thatched house. \u201cOne day, I will change the life of my family,\u201d she says firmly.<\/p>\n
Unable to access internet, electricity and textbooks like her more fortunate peers, Janet continues to read her notes during the COVID-19 pandemic as learning institutions remain closed. She utilizes her free time reading with her friends, cooking and helping her mother with house chores. \u201cIt is difficult to read at home due to the lack of textbooks, but we still use the few resources we have,\u201d says Janet.<\/p>\n
Janet represents thousands of girls who are struggling to access education. \u201cI am a strong girl. I can make my own decisions,\u201d she concludes. She will, without a doubt, make her parents and community proud.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Janet Sein is smart, confident and has a contagious smile. When she finished her primary education in 2018, the possibility of going to secondary school was next to impossible. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":1833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[148],"tags":[1890],"yst_prominent_words":[2050,2044,53,54,2046,1873,2051,2047,2052,2045,444,106,2049,1871,552,2041,2040,2043,2048,2042],"class_list":["post-1832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success-stories","tag-success-stories"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/07\/Janet-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","yoast_head":"\n