Education
Realizing the Dream To Educate the Girl Child
Sitting atop a mountainous region in the rural Rift Valley, The Mother of Mercy Girls Secondary School now has several hundred girls enrolled for the 2020-2021 school year. The school provides room and board, and strong foundation of education for those ages 14-20. Many of the students receive support for their tuition and board at this time ($600USD/yr) but the school has initiated a basic tuition requirement which families are working towards paying in full. Until that time, the Mercy Center Foundation, USA is raising funds to support those most vulnerable to attend school through partial scholarships. The school has achieved national ranking in many subject areas and is widely known throughout Kenya.
The Mercy girls are thriving emMany of the girls who arrive at the school are at risk youth and seek safety, shelter and a nourishing environment. The Mercy Center continues to promote civic education, cooperation, peace and dialogue among different tribes. These programs and activities undertaken deliberately, contribute towards building a lasting peace in this region of Kenya. As a result of your efforts to help, students are thriving emotionally, intellectually and physically at the Mother of Mercy Girls Secondary School.
The teaching staff, administrators and volunteers associated with the building of the school have begun the journey to transform lives and develop the potential of girls from Lare and the Greater Rift Valley. In recent years, the classrooms were expanded to 13 including a computer lab for students learning new technology now as part of their core curriculum. In addition, science labs for chemistry, agriculture, biology and physics have been completed in 2020. These provide excellent infrastructure for ensuring that the school will provide the best science education foundation needed to help girls advance to college/university levels.
The dormitories were also completed in 2019-2020 and now house more than 220 students. Complete with showers and baths, the dorms have provided students with one beautiful place to rest from their studies and grow strong bonds of friendships and understanding between one another.
Started in 2017, the Mercy Project partners with Commissioned by Christ (CBC) a non-profit organization in the Arlington Diocese, which has led three mission trips to Kenya. Students, families and teachers and clergy are invited to join these two week missions to Kenya. Many of those who participated found the trip to be an extraordinary and special first experience from which they learned so much about the life of the girl child in Kenya today. Many great experiences and bonds of friendship with Kenya continue through mission trips each year. These bonds serve to strengthen the friendship between the people of the United States and Kenya.
With proceeds from our annual races, the Towpath Half and 5k’s and the Georgetown Half Marathon and foundation and corporate grants and individual donors, we hope to fully fund the construction and completion of an exemplary secondary school complex to support girls’ education. Sr. Rose is very excited about the prospect of the real Mercy Project legacy and said, “I have great hopes that these young girls will change the life and culture of their families and Kenya for generations to come.”
Today, many graduates of the Mercy School are going on to college and a good number of them have also received full scholarships based on their talents. The girls are attending universities in various countries including the USA, Italy and other European capitals. “Education is the great equalizer for our girls and will help them transform our society for progress in so many fields,” said Sr. Rose.
Please join us in this most worthy undertaking. Visit with the girls of the Mercy Secondary School by viewing their recent interviews on our Youtube video and help us by making a donation to achieve the dream! Thank you to the many benefactors who are helping to make the dream a reality!
Celebrating education trophies during zonal price giving day.
"Limited access to educational opportunities and healthcare perpetuate a cycle of poverty and disease."
