WISER International in 2016

WISER INTERNATIONAL
2016
WISER International is a nonprofit 501c3 community development organization that supports education,
health, and economic development activities in Muhuru Bay, Kenya with the main focus of empowering girls.
History
In 2006, Duke University Professor Sherryl Broverman and her
Why girls?
students conducted research in Muhuru Bay, Kenya on the challenges
facing girls. In 2008, as a result of that research, the nongovernmental
Educating girls helps
organization (NGO) the Women’s Institute of Secondary Education and
everyone.
Research (WISER) was formed with the mission of empowering girls
through health and education. In 2012, a nonprofit 501c3 named
When a girl goes to
WISER International was established in the United States (US), and the
school, you reduce her
US based organization began providing funding to the WISER NGO. In
lifetime HIV risk by
2010, 30 girls entered the WISER flagship boarding school program.
30%.
Three years later, the boarding school was at full capacity with 120 girls
and its first class graduated. WISER has also implemented community
When a girl is
health programs including – information about sexual and reproductive
educated she
health, HIV testing and counseling, sanitary pad provision to over 400
marries later, delays
girls, sustainable gardening, and clean drinking water for 5,000 people.
pregnancy, and has
fewer children.
Every year of
education for a girl can
increase her
later income by 1020%.
When a country
educates girls, its GDP
increases.
Since 2010, the WISER boarding school has provided all girls with healthcare and an
education.
WISER’s Impact
85% of all WISER
girls attend college or
university.
WISER has had three
graduating classes since
opening its doors in 2010.
The first class of WISER girls
will graduate from a
university in 2017.
Women and girls in Muhuru Bay can spend hours each day walking to and from Lake
Victoria to get water. Many girls are not in school because they lack basic necessities at
home.
The Problem
In Kenya, education and health are intertwined for girls. Girls usually
drop out of school due to — pregnancy; child marriage; lacking
sanitary pads; physical, sexual, and psychological abuse; or
becoming AIDS orphans. Half of sexually active girls in the community
have sex for money to pay for school fees, sanitary pads, or soap.
This elevates their HIV risk and damages their mental health. The few
girls who do complete secondary school often do so with low grades
and cannot go to a university.
Unlike the 70% attrition due
to pregnancy in
neighboring schools, the
WISER secondary school
has had zero attrition.
Despite taking low
performing students, the
WISER secondary school is
ranked in the top 5% of
private secondary schools in
Kenya.
The Solution
Educating a girl has dramatic health and economic benefits for her,
her family, the community, and the world. Educating girls has shown
to be the single most potent factor globally in reducing infant mortality.
Additionally, girls who complete secondary education are 30% less
likely to get HIV during their lifetime. As educated women, they will
have better reproductive health, healthier children, and higher wage
earning power. Studies show that educated women invest more in
their communities, causing national economic growth. Girls who are
provided with educational opportunities will change the world.
Purity, a WISER girl, spends time
in the school garden.
Why Now?
The WISER boarding
school is under
construction to
double WISER’s
enrollment from 120
to 240 and
provide — a new
science lab, more
student and teacher
housing, and an
event hall to host
community events.
WISER is also
expanding its
Science, Technology,
Engineering, and
Math (STEM)
Diana and Rose, WISER girls, taking a break from school to enjoy friendship.
Why WISER?
programs and
planning additional
WISER’s mission is to empower girls through health and education.
outreach into the
community.
Before WISER, only one girl from Muhuru Bay in 30 years attended a
university. Now, 85% of WISER alumni attend higher education and
many have the opportunity to study in STEM fields. WISER is
We need
the help of
donors to
make this
possible!
committed to high quality STEM education for girls and our students
outcompete boys.
WISER takes a holistic approach to the boarding school environment.
Unlike other schools in the area, WISER provides everything a girl
needs to be successful including – clothes, books, safe housing,
female role models, leadership training, healthy food, mosquito nets,
HIV education, and essential medicine. The program includes
psychological support and counseling, as one third of our students are
orphans. In addition, sexual abuse is common in the Kenya education
system and many students have histories of trauma. WISER girls have
all the tools to become empowered and successful global citizens.
Donate Now
Meet Carol
With your help, our girls
will change the world.
Carol was fearful she would
never go to school due to the
You can donate by
death of her father and her
mother’s long-term sickness.
visiting our
WISER has made her hopeful
website at
www.wisergirls.org or
again.
send a
completed
“I want to go out and get a job, a
successful one, and bring my
donation form to:
siblings back to school,” she
WISER
International,
said.
PO Box 3186, Durham,
NC 27715, USA.
Meet Christine
WISER International
Board of Directors
Christine is a member of
WISER’s second graduating
Carrie Arndt
class.
Johnson and Johnson, CA
Currently a student at Kenyatta
University, Christine is the first
Heidi Bowman
Weight Watchers International, NY
member of her entire family to
attend a university.
Sherryl Broverman, PhD
She hopes to one day become
Sara Benjamin Neelon, PhD
a teacher.
John Hopkins University, MD
Duke University, NC
Joseph Sanginiti
Familywize Community Partnership
Inc., PA
“Educating girls yields a higher rate of return than any other
investment available in the developing world.”
- World Bank
For more information, please contact Alison Drain, WISER International
executive director, at alison.drain@wisergirls.org.
Michael Schrieber
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Commission, NY
Steve Tremitiere
GrayHare Ventures, PA