Edina Dararo and Flavia Mwena come from poor villages in northern Kenya, where they face lives of considerable hardship. Flavia’s parents both died of AIDS-related illness, leaving her in the care of her grandmother. Edina’s family is destitute, having lost most of their livestock to severe drought. Thanks to WorldWomenWork’s support of a scholarship fund created by Save the Elephants and Elephant Watch Safaris, these promising young women are able to attend secondary school.
Singer has leveraged a close personal relationship with powerhouse Oria Douglas-Hamilton to achieve such targeted assistance. Not only are the girls receiving a quality education but also hands-on training in environmental awareness and elephant conservation. Students are encouraged to become cultural ambassadors, and graduates of the program are now involved in conservation and Eco-tourism.