Imagine living in a country of extreme poverty, where people live on $3 per day, half the country living below the poverty line, 40% of the citizens do not have access to a clean glass of water. And imagine a country where radical terrorists regularly raid your citizens. 

My name is Gigi Ruse, I am a 17-year-old Junior at Oakcrest School in Northern Virginia, a place where you can get a clean glass of water at any time, where terrorists do not threaten my family, where safe sanitation is simply a way of life. 

I look to the countries of Africa, and I am really scared for them. I cannot imagine the lives they have to lead and so I decided I wanted to help. I decided to help through education, something I am so grateful I have access to. 

Would you please help me raise $10,000 to educate young Catholic girls in Kenya?

I researched schools in Africa, and I discovered an oasis of safety, faith, and learning in a school called the Kianda School in Nairobi. 

And so, in collaboration with my father, Austin Ruse, who runs C-Fam, a pro-life group at the UN, we are raising scholarship funds for girls who cannot afford to attend Kianda. 

This is what they say about themselves:

“Kianda School is a private school for girls and has both Primary and Secondary sections. The School fosters Christian values and principles. In line with its motto, ‘In Opere et Veritate’ (In Deed and in Truth), Kianda strives to produce hardworking and responsible women and to aim for excellence in all areas of their development.”

I learned that Kianda is a local word meaning “fertile valley”, where everything planted flourishes. 

Kianda School, an all-girls day school, opened its doors to 40 young girls in 1977. 

Kianda now educates 900 girls! Imagine 900 girls getting an education. An education in the good, the true, and the beautiful because this is what Kianda is all about.

The main thing to know about this school is that it is thoroughly Catholic, with daily Mass, confession, a chaplain, and all the things that go along with a life of learning and faith. 

They also offer sports! This is important to me since I play volleyball and run track! 

So, please help my father and me to help these wonderful girls who are my age and younger….

Give as much as you can or as little as you are able! Pray about it. Pray for these girls. 

The money will go directly to my father’s group, C-Fam, a U.S. registered charity so Americans can get a tax benefit, and he will send 100% of your donation directly to our friends at the Kianda School!

Our goal of $10,000 will pay tuition and fees for three girls for all four years of high school! Think of the burden lifted from their families! 

I remember when I got a scholarship for high school! It is a joyous feeling!

If you want to know more about Kianda School, you can go here: https://kiandaschool.ac.ke/

If you want to know more about my father's pro-life group go here: https://c-fam.org/