Educate a girl and she will do the rest

Donate today Our story

Full secondary school scholarships for exceptional young women in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania who cannot afford education beyond primary school.

The record

2,463 High school diplomas awarded since 1998

2,437 Scholarships in the last six years

15 Partner schools across three countries

Who we are

Education changes everything

Many rural families in East Africa cannot afford secondary school. Tuition, uniforms, and exam fees put education out of reach at exactly the age it matters most. Growth Through Learning covers all of it — so that a girl who has earned her place can keep it.

Staying in school protects girls from forced early marriage and child pregnancy. Each additional year of secondary education raises eventual wages by 15 to 25 percent, and the benefit compounds across her family and community. Source

Read our story

Programs

Three countries, one goal

Kenya A distant dream, made near Rural Kenya Primary school is free; secondary is not. For thousands of girls in rural areas, education ends at the primary gate. We cover the costs their families cannot. 6% of girls with a secondary education marry before 18 — against 46% without one Source: UNICEF Child Marriage Data Portal Uganda From Karamoja to the classroom Northern Uganda We bring girls from the remote Karamajong region to boarding schools in Kampala and Entebbe, covering transport, board, and every fee along the way. 50% of young women aged 15–24 in the region cannot read or write Source: UNICEF Uganda Tanzania Clearing what remains Nationwide Fees fell in 2015, but transport, uniforms, and materials still keep girls at home. Our scholarships remove the barriers the reform left standing. 61% of Tanzanian girls are out of school today Source: Education Policy and Data Center

In her own words

“A liturgy prefect who intends to be a lawyer,on the years when nobody knewhow she would pay for school.”

Meet Nabukeera Rosemary: GTL Scholar and Aspiring Lawyer

Read her story

Films & stories

The scholars behind the numbers

Meet Noella Too and Deborah Naretoi

Two second-year students at Kapropita Girls High School talk honestly about where they come from and where they are headed.

A Trip to Remember, Baringo County, Kenya

Three GTL partner schools sit in Baringo County. This is the region they serve, and why…

Meet GTL’s Pioneer Alum: Professor Teresa Mutahi

Lunch in Nairobi with a GTL alumna who is now a professor at the University of…

All films and stories

Give

Give from a fund, or in stock

Two routes that need no card, and that often send more to a scholar than the same gift in cash.

Donor-advised fund

If you hold a donor-advised fund, you can recommend a grant to Growth Through Learning without leaving this page.

Gifts of stock

Giving appreciated shares directly, rather than selling them and donating the proceeds, usually means no capital gains tax for you and a larger gift for us. Your adviser can tell you how it lands on your return.

Start a stock transfer

Other ways to give

Recognition

Vouched for by people who check

GuideStar Silver Seal Awarded by Candid for publishing our finances, governance, and programme data in full.
Girls Opportunity Alliance The Obama Foundation programme named GTL a featured organization and ran our first campaign in March 2024. It raised $50,000, enough for 71 girls to start high school.
Together Women Rise Named their Featured Grantee in November 2023, with a $25,000 gift that paid a year of high school fees for 30 scholars.
Pledge Nonprofit Partner A verified nonprofit partner on Pledge, listed for giving through its Powered by Generosity network.

KenyaKabare GirlsKenyaKaroti SchoolKenyaSt. Mary's Mwea SchoolKenyaKapropita SchoolKenyaMogotio SchoolKenyaPemwai SchoolKenyaHuma Girls Secondary SchoolKenyaSega Girls Secondary SchoolUgandaSt. Kizito High School BethanyUgandaMary Reparatrix BugongaUgandaOur Lady of Guadalupe Busolo Secondary SchoolTanzaniaKibosho Girls Secondary SchoolTanzaniaSangiti Secondary SchoolTanzaniaSt. Mary Eugenie Girls Secondary SchoolTanzaniaMother Marie Eugenie, KisakiKenyaKabare GirlsKenyaKaroti SchoolKenyaSt. Mary's Mwea SchoolKenyaKapropita SchoolKenyaMogotio SchoolKenyaPemwai SchoolKenyaHuma Girls Secondary SchoolKenyaSega Girls Secondary SchoolUgandaSt. Kizito High School BethanyUgandaMary Reparatrix BugongaUgandaOur Lady of Guadalupe Busolo Secondary SchoolTanzaniaKibosho Girls Secondary SchoolTanzaniaSangiti Secondary SchoolTanzaniaSt. Mary Eugenie Girls Secondary SchoolTanzaniaMother Marie Eugenie, Kisaki