hope, resilience, and a brighter future
Our Programs
We are dedicated to serving the women and children of Kenya through two effective programs.
Our Child and School Sponsoring Program aims to provide and enhance educational opportunities for children, helping to break the cycle of poverty. Our Self-Defense Training Classes empower women and girls with the skills to protect themselves from violence, fostering safer communities.
Together, these programs create a foundation for hope, resilience, and a brighter future.
Child and School SponsorSHIPS
Educating children is a key step in breaking the cycle of poverty.
Our sponsorship program provides the necessary financial backing for Kenyan children and teens to attend school. Our goal is to help foster relationships between a sponsor and child through letter writing, in hopes of also providing encouragement, self-worth, and a brighter future for the children in this program.
Getting To the Details
This program includes paying for school fees, uniforms, food, transportation, and other costs. Tuko Pamoja also sponsors food programs for an entire school to ensure the students get a meal each day.
Early 2025 stats: A total of 47 sponsored children and post-secondary students; 5 mothers provided with small business boosts or startup equipment; 4 schools being provided with porridge programs to feed over 1,400 children daily while school is in session.
"The first time Virginia and I visited the school, there was a visibly pregnant 13 year old girl in one of our classes. Afterwards, Virginia asked the head teacher whether it was rape or family (the usual suspects). The teacher responded that her information was that it was neither. The girl had been selling herself for food money. We asked what the rate was. The answers: 50 kSh. That'’s about $0.38 in the US now. We asked what the future was for the girl. The teacher said the girl would probably be sold to an older Maasai man as a second or third wife. I asked what would happen to the baby. No one could answer that.”
—Bryan Ware, co-chair
Self-Defense Training Classes
We offer self-defense training for African girls and women, focusing on areas where sexual assault is prevalent.
Our sustainable approach is to bring self-defense experts from the US to Kenya to train local volunteers, who then continue the classes. This method ensures ongoing support and empowerment for women and girls, helping them to protect themselves and their communities.
Getting To the Details
We are training Kenyans to teach sexual assault prevention self-defense classes to women and girls. We will continue to supervise classes and provide resources to enable the efforts to continue after we leave. Tuko Pamoja also offers self-defense classes to US women.
Coming in 2025: Two scheduled sponsor trips to Kenya; partnership efforts with other Kenya-focused NGOs.
“A woman who had been through the class a few times was in a difficult relationship. One day at home, she heard a noise behind her. She turned in time to see her husband coming to attack her with a knife. She successfully fought him off. She was able to pack up her child and possessions and escape to a safe place. She said going through the self-defense course gave her the courage and knowledge to fight back.”
One element of the self-defense classes is to provide as many women and girls as possible with a self-defense keychain. We then instruct them on how to use the keychain. Our preferred type of keychain is munioselfdefense.com. The keychains are practical, discreet, and highly effective. We purchase the keychains in the US and transport them with us, often having to pay duty on them in Kenya.
PROGRAM GALLERY
