Middle school students from Watkinson recently raised $2,500 to support education of girls in Kenya.

Submitted by Jenni French, Watkinson School

Watkinson Middle School students, including many West Hartford residents, participated in a read-a-thon to raise funds for Beads For Education, a program dedicated to funding the education of African Maasai girls in Kenya. Watkinson students collected pledges for the number of pages they would read during the course of the half-day read-a-thon which totaled $2,500 to be donated to Beads for Education.

This is the eighth year that Watkinson middle schoolers have raised funds for this cause.

The goal of Beads for Education is to provide a quality education for young women who might not otherwise get this opportunity, help them avoid marriage at an early age, and help them to be able to contribute to the well being of their families and communities. 

Beads for Education started with Maasai mothers making and selling beaded items to raise money to put their daughters through school. After this, sponsors were sought to provide the tuition money needed to pay for a year of schooling so the money raised by the sale of the beaded items could buy uniforms and books. The sponsored girls are required to pay it forward by volunteering as a teacher or AIDS workshop leader after their graduation, and by participating in a 100-mile walkathon to raise funds to improve education for other local children.

Watkinson School, a co-educational day school for grades 6-PG, was founded in 1881 and is Hartford’s oldest independent school. Watkinson’s next info session for prospective students is April 7 at 9 a.m.