About the Canadian Harambee Education Society
“If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a family.”
An African proverb that sums up the work of the Canadian Harambee Education Society (CHES), a non-profit organisation that provides secondary school scholarships to girls in Kenya and Tanzania.
Operated largely by volunteers for over 30 years, CHES has a remarkable track record of subsidizing the education of over 5000 graduating students. Many of these girls have gone on to professional careers in education, engineering, medicine, nursing and other technical trades.
In recent years, CHES has responded to related needs by helping with the construction and equipping of a girls dormitory so CHES students could attend a technical school and receive trades opportunities, a hostel that houses 90 students, a computer classroom, a sewing/tailoring classroom, and a work experience centre. In the past, CHES received grants from the Canadian International Development Agency to provide supplementary assistance to students in important life skills, including those that improve employment opportunities. Unfortunately, CIDA no longer gives such grants and funds for such workshops must come from other donations.
Sponsor an African girl's education
The cost of sponsoring a CHES girl in the coming year will be around $600 (Canadian dollars) – this pays for just the basics, i.e. school fees and equipment. However, additional funds are always needed to provide other necessary support for each girl's educational programme, hence the request to sponsors to add an additional amount if possible. Girls spend 4 years at secondary school, so please bear this in mind when you commit yourself to paying for a scholarship, and please commit to paying for her whole education!
Read full details on sponsoring an African girl
Sponsor an African girl now! African Girl Sponsorship form [.pdf]
Find out more about CHES at www.canadianharambee.ca
