Sponsor a KDEF Scholar
With the help of individual donors and foundation grants, KDEF provides promising students with four years of free secondary-school education at a high-quality boarding school.
Why boarding schools?
Boarding schools provide structured study time and nighttime lighting that’s not possible at home.
With no household tasks to do after school, students can focus on learning in quiet, supportive surroundings.
Boarding schools provide the three healthy meals a day essential for learning. By contrast, a typical meal in the drylands is bread and tea, once a day.
Boarding schools provide onsite health care services.
Boarding schools provide girls with a safe haven from family and peer pressures of early marriage.
Who can attend boarding schools?
To qualify, students must score above 280 on the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam in 8th grade. Based on their results, they are placed into various boarding schools, a process managed by the Government of Kenya.
How much does sponsorship cost?
A sponsorship for four years of secondary education in a boarding school is $4,000 ($1,000 a year for four years).
What’s included in the fee?
The fee includes full tuition, room and board, uniform, shoes, books, and miscellaneous items. It also includes monthly performance monitoring.
Is it only for girls?
While KDEF focuses predominately on girls, 30 percent of our sponsored students are boys. For many years boys have had more education options, and by focusing the majority of our sponsorships on girls, we can begin to address this imbalance.
Who will I/we sponsor?
As soon as we can, we’ll send you a photo and profile of your student, who will also send you an annual letter detailing their progress in school.