“Sote Tuna Haki ya Kupata Elimu.”—“We All Have a Right to Education.”
For over a decade, Health & Hope Foundation has worked to lift lives through health and education across northern Tanzania. Now, in the remote Maasai highlands, a new chapter of that mission is unfolding—helping girls like Assai find both safety and schooling.
For Maasai girls, the path to education is never easy. Poverty, distance, and long-held traditions such as female genital cutting/mutilation (FGC/M) and arranged early marriage often end a girl’s schooling before it truly begins.
A Safe Place in the Highlands
Last December, six courageous girls—including Assai—arrived at our pilot Safe House, seeking refuge during the December “cutting season.” They came frightened but resolute, choosing education and hope over fear and tradition.
Within the Safe House, they found warmth, food, and encouragement. For the first time, they could imagine a future shaped not by circumstance, but by learning.
Education as the Path to Change
Thanks to caring donors, all six Safe House girls—and four additional at-risk students—began secondary public-boarding school in 2025 through Health & Hope Scholarships.
Five of these ten girls had already endured FGC/M while still in primary school, suffering pain and lasting health effects. Yet today, they carry books instead of burdens, proving that education remains the most powerful medicine for change.
Building a Future of Safety and Opportunity
The pilot Safe House and scholarship programs have shown what is possible. A larger permanent Safe House is being built in Nainokanoka Village in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, ready to protect more girls this December and beyond. To prepare, our team needs essential supplies- beds, mattresses, blankets, utensils, landru tubs, and solar lights. - to make the new house a true home for learning and healing.
Together, we are building a future where health, education, and safety reach even the most remote communities—one girl, one dream, one step at a time.
