19 returned to school
School Re-entry
When a girl becomes a mother, she does not stop learning. She gets pushed out. We walk with adolescent mothers from the decision to go back, through re-enrolment, and through the school years that follow.
The problem
She did not choose to leave.
Every barrier below is structural. None of them are about how much a young mother wants to learn.
A girl does not stop learning when she becomes a mother. She gets pushed out.
The barriers are specific and they compound. Childcare falls on her. Stigma follows her to school. Re-enrolment costs land on a household that has less of it. And the assumption everyone makes — that a young mother has already chosen her path — is the one that does the most damage, because it is the one nobody argues with.
When she leaves, the consequences are not hers alone. Less education means less income, which means more vulnerability, which means the next generation starts further behind. The girl who was pushed out is the reason another girl gets pushed out.
We work on the barriers, not on her motivation. Motivation is rarely the problem.
What we do
What school re-entry actually involves
Mentorship
A matched mentor who has been through it herself, so the advice comes from experience rather than a manual.
Fees and materials
Removed as a barrier and paid directly to the school, so the money reaches the fees it was meant for.
Psychosocial support
Counselling for the mother, not only for the child. Re-entry fails when we treat it as a placement problem.
School advocacy
We negotiate with the school so she is not turned away at the gate on the day she decides to come back.
Family engagement
Home visits, so the household supports the decision instead of quietly undermining it.
Follow-through
Tracked through to completion, not just enrolment. Enrolment is where programmes usually stop counting.
What it has produced
Every figure below carries the period it covers.
- young mothers returned to school2025–26
- 19
- young women given start-up capital2025–26
- 23
- safe space, Dada Space, Kiberasince 2024
- 1
In their words
What changed
What it costs
KSh 250,000 funds a full term of Dada Space
- KSh 500
- school materials for one girl for one term
- KSh 2,500 / month
- psychosocial support for one young mother
- KSh 10,000
- a share of start-up capital for one young woman
- KSh 50,000
- a full re-entry package for one girl
Fund a re-entry
Fees, materials, a year of mentorship and follow-through. Paid directly to the school, tracked to completion.
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Where we work