Update From the Field: Mother's Day 2026
“The world is full of women who have given their all to their children. Their stories rarely make the headlines.”
- Brene Brown
Today, on Mother's Day, we honor mothers everywhere — perhaps especially those mothers around the world who struggle to create a better life for their children despite having few resources at all. In this Spring 2026 Update From the Field we share stories of mothers who've started fundraising collectives to make a powerful difference for their daughters. You'll also see a glimpse into the lives of several girls taking part in our Participatory Video (PV) projects who became mothers too soon. We were able to meet each of these hopeful mothers during recent trips to Kenya and learn about both their challenges and their joys firsthand.
Each journey to Kenya is truly a gift: a chance to connect in person with the girls we work on behalf of, and better gauge our impact. We're grateful to be able to share just a bit of their lives with all of you today. To every mother out there — those who gave us life; those who toil in the shadows; those we carry solely in memory; and those who nurture other's children as their own: Ashe Oleng (thank you) for striving to create a better world for our children.
"The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe." - James Baldwin
Sparking Generational Change: Team Angaza
When Evelyn Sanau first joined Team Angaza in 2019, she was just one young woman with a tablet, a surplus of belief and determination, her own small children to raise, and a long list of isolated Maasai manyattas to visit in her village of Kitilikini. Her task was simple but not easy: identify and enroll the out-of-school children in her community. Often, she had to return to a household several times before fathers would even greet her; some chased her away. Enrolling a girl in primary school could take months of patient conversation and persuasion.
Fast forward six years, and the scene in Kitilikini looks completely different. Many of the same mothers who once hesitated to send their children to school are now the ones leading the push for their education as part of the Imirishi Women's Self Help Group. This kind of community level transformation is precisely the vision we had for our Team Angaza program when we developed it eight years ago. We also expected that such change would likely ripple out to other communities once they had even a single role model to follow, and are thrilled to see Kitilikini’s story now echoing across our service area. Team Angaza volunteers have helped ignite eight other women’s groups in the communities of Enairebuk, Entashata, Ilkerin, Kone, Mausa, Naikarra, Olorien, Olpusare, and Ositeti; four additional groups have been organized in southern Olderkesi by our Supervisor there, Christine Mpoe. Read the full article on the Imirishi group in our 2025 Annual Report!
Participatory Video Takes Off!
"We will not see everything change just tomorrow through PV; every change needs time and patience. But through time if we keep talking and sharing these stories .... that change will come."
- Naikarra Supervisor Christine Mpoe
We were elated to see our Participatory Video (PV) project fully launch at the end of 2025. After undergoing in-depth training, our new PV Coordinator, Jennifer Pere, jumped into projects with both in-school and out-of-school girls from five different communities across the remote Olderkesi region under the guidance of our Naikarra Programs Supervisor Christine Mpoe, teaching girls how to use the tool of video to explore and share their biggest challenges. The videos they have created are poignant and powerful reminders of the hopes Maasai girls carry for their futures — and the barriers that too often cut those dreams short. The generous grant from the Alexandra Storm Foundation that is funding this project also funded one camera and hands-on training for our staff and Team Angaza in Loita; you canview their first-ever film here. We are now shifting focus to highlight stories of Maasai women and girls who have overcome stereotypes and barriers to create powerful change locally and farther afield. Read more about the progress of our PV project in our 2025 Annual Report.
A Warm Welcome: Shelly Sheppick and Sally DeNotta
At the end of 2025 we had to say goodbye to three extraordinary board members — Martha Cochran, Barbara Freeman, and Lisa Raleigh — due to term limits. We feel extremely fortunate that we were able to welcome two new ones to fill their shoes: the return of previous board member Shelly Sheppick and newcomer Sally DeNotta, pictured at left. Shelly brings a wealth of expertise in nonprofit development to our board, invaluable as we scale our programs. A member of the clinical faculty at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Sally's expertise in equine infectious disease is already being put to good use on the ground in Kenya; she has been guiding the efforts of local mothers to nurture healthy goats for sale to support their children's school fees.
Our 2025 Annual Report
Our 2025 Annual Report is now up on our website! Inside it, you'll find stories illuminating the powerful transformations that our Team Angaza volunteers are sparking in their communities and the positive change just beginning to ripple out to others thanks to the health trainings we held in 2025. You'll find stories featuring a small school that's making a big impact in Morijo — and a group of out-of-school girls who are gaining a renewed sense of agency thanks to PV. You'll also read about several of the generous and deeply thoughtful donors and partners who ensure this work is possible. You can view our 2025 Annual Report through this link. May the stories inside it inspire you, and spark hope.