Once almost a child bride, Flora now has a much brighter future ahead of her thanks to the support of Grand Circle Foundation’s generous donors.
We first met Flora Ntaine in October 2013, then only 11 years old, being "sold" into early marriage by her father, when her mother unexpectedly passed away. Though childhood marriage is illegal in Kenya, the practice continues in the more rural areas. Sandra Vaughan, Grand Circle Foundation’s Project Manager in East Africa, happened upon Flora crying at the cattle market and quickly went into action, alerting the police, village chairman, and Maasai Chief. Flora’s father and soon to be "husband" were both arrested and jailed for several months.
Flora was moved to a girls’ boarding school far away and lived with a woman who looked after her. Having never lived anywhere but her boma before, she was excited at the new opportunity offered by the schooling. However, the new living situation proved to be too emotionally challenging for her. Taking a chance, Sandra moved her closer and placed her at the Grand Circle Foundation-sponsored Amboseli Primary School where she was taken under the protection of its then Head Mistress, Ann.
Flora soon found her way and flourished. She resolved to take every opportunity offered her and make her education count. She was voted head girl of her class annually and if not the number one student, she was almost always at the top of her class, year after year. In our last update on Flora, she was taking her Form 4 national exams in primary school.
Since then, she then continued on to secondary school, again excelling at her studies. Despite the setbacks of Covid-19, she took computer classes to become more technologically savvy. Grand Circle Foundation is proud and honored that Flora has been accepted into the top Hospitality Management school in Nairobi, Kenya and began classes this past January studying food and beverage services.
When Grand Circle Foundation learned of her endeavor, we scrambled to find the funds for her tuition, boarding, and personal expenses. A donor just happened to reach out to Grand Circle Foundation at the same time, asking to sponsor a girl in secondary school. Upon hearing Flora’s story and circumstances, a commitment was made to sponsor her for her full two years of university schooling instead.
See the impact of education firsthand when you meet with students at a local primary school during our Kenya & Tanzania Safari: Masai Mara to the Serengeti adventure.
