Causes: Children & Youth, Girls Clubs, Homeless & Housing, Housing & Shelter

Mission: Our work offers Maasai girls and the Maasai village a path to break a debilitating cycle of child-mortality, extreme poverty, FGM, and abuses of child-marriage. Your support creates opportunity for us to provide a safe and nurturing environment for these girls to receive education, medical care, and the life skills that radically alter the course of their lives and the future culture of their tribe.

Results: MGRC has adopted over 50 girls who either ran away from brutal FGM or early marriage, or their families could no longer raise them because they could not feed or care for their needs. Several of them never attended school, and a few only spoke Maasai. Our first task was to teach them Swahili, so we could enroll them in primary school. 75% of our girls are now in the top 25% of their class in school!We also have 14 Tanzanian employees, plus the founder (volunteer) caring for the girls in Tanzania, along with 6 full time volunteers in the USA.

Target demographics: Maasai girls and the surrounding community

Direct beneficiaries per year: Over 50 Maasai girls

Geographic areas served: Karatu District of Tanzania

Programs: (1) a safe haven for girls who are being forced into early marriage or are running away from forced FGM;(2) mentoring in assertiveness, life skills, and study habits;(3) family counseling to get parents on board with their girls' education;(4) a study hall that includes tutoring and study resources;(5) after school classes for girls who are behind in their education due to the lack of schooling prior to being rescued;(6) business and technical training so girls can become self-sustaining, even if they don't excel in academics.