Welcome to Starehe Girls Centre!
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Starehe Girls’ Centre is a national boarding high school for gifted girls from disadvantaged families in Nairobi, Kenya.In Kenya, all high schools charge tuition fees. If students aspire to go on to university after graduation, they need to be accepted in a high-quality school that can prepare them. Understandably, the higher the school’s education standards, the higher the tuition fees. Very bright students from disadvantaged homes often cannot pursue their dreams because of lack of funds.
That’s what makes Starehe Girls School different. Starehe offers the highest standard of education, and most students go on to university – but for free. All Starehe Girls students have achieved exceptional grades in their junior high studies but come from impoverished families who could not have afforded the higher level of education the girls needed to go on to university.
The school is only able to do this with the support of charities like Chalice.There are currently 720 students living and studying at Starehe, hailing from every county in Kenya. More than 95% of graduates go on to university.
What’s the Chalice connection?
Chalice has sponsored Starehe Girls’ students since 2013. Chalice sponsors support girls who are currently attending Starehe as well as graduates who are completing their undergraduate degrees.
Chalice has been working with Starehe for several years to build out an extensive campus agricultural project. They now have large fruit and vegetable farms and greenhouses, as well as livestock like cows, chickens, pigs and bees. When the harvest isn’t enough, Chalice has helped supplement their meal programs, too.
Starehe’s Big Challenge:
The school enrollment has been steadily increasing over the past few years and the school is struggling to keep up.
The girls also eat all their meals and snacks on campus. That means 2160 nutritious, balanced meals per day! The price of food in Kenya has sharply increased. While the Starehe farms can produce a sizable portion of the daily school meals, the items they cannot produce on campus have become expensive. The school needs extra financial support to keep up their meal program.
The school needs extra financial support to keep up their meal program, as well as more tables and chairs to accommodate the increased number of students.
There is also a need for water taps and sinks for the girls to wash their hands before meals, after sports games, etc. The existing washing stations are far away from the gardens and sports field, and students have to trek across campus and wait in lines to wash their hands.
Lastly, they need more computers for their IT lab. In this digital age, the girls need internet access to do their assignments. With too few computers, each girl doesn’t have enough time to complete their work before having to give their spot to other students.
