She Deserves to Soar: Moraa Beryl’s Vision for Girls in Kisumu

A child learns many of its firsts at home. Moraa Beryl was no different; the exception being what she learned and what it led to. 

Moraa's first brush with gender-based violence was at her home. Witnessing her mother and aunt face economic, physical, and emotional abuse at home left Moraa facing post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

Throughout this ordeal, sitting with her chain of thoughts, Moraa battled countless emotions and questions. However, as she made her way to college, those stifled questions found their way into her new role: a peer advocate for Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR).

Here, she unravelled the systemic inequality that is prevalent everywhere, preventing women from escaping everyday abuse. Now, the imagery she witnessed in her childhood had a label. But that wasn't enough. In fact, it was just the beginning. 

Her understanding of what held women back and what could set them free led her to found She Deserves to Soar (SDS). “I founded She Deserves to Soar with nothing but a fiery passion to mentor and support girls and young women in reaching their full potential and advocating for their rights,” she explains. 

At the heart of SDS is "Sauti Adada" (Girls Voices). This comprehensive, two-year mentorship programme is designed to empower adolescent girls by addressing various aspects of their lives through a structured curriculum, which also includes life skills, SRHR and leadership development. Walking alongside girls from adolescence to young adulthood, SDS also offers entrepreneurship training and starter kits for programme alumni. 

Initially in the Incubator, Moraa focused on turning SDS’s biggest challenges into learning goals, as she prioritised securing consistent funding support, learning compliance that meets varied donor requirements and building a robust Monitoring & Evaluation system. As she progressed, Moraa established SDS's first functional board of directors, developed a communication strategy, and built a Human Resources manual with safeguarding protocols.

In a major step towards expansion, learnings from the incubator helped Moraa not only connect with a new funder, Ethel Holdings, but also fund the first year of her master's degree with a living stipend.

On the community front, SDS reaches 75 girls annually and 103 girls since founding. After the Incubator, Moraa integrated a girl-centred approach to the programmes. On the ground, this was reflected in improved parent-daughter relationships and enhanced agency, as 10 girls from the programme were appointed as school prefects.