Scholarships, mentoring, teacher professional development and community engagement have successfully kept girls in school in Kenya. To help girls build self-esteem and develop leadership skills, FHI 360 experts train female students to serve as role models and lead mentoring clubs, where girls share information on topics such as reproductive health and sexuality, HIV/AIDS and coping with peer pressure. Last year, student-led mentoring clubs reached more than 3,300 students in 18 primary schools and nearly 9,500 students in 17 secondary schools in Kisumu and Siaya counties. Not a single girl dropped out in any of the secondary schools served by the project in 2014, compared to an estimated 45 percent national dropout rate in 2013 among girls ages 13–18.
