PAIR Education Scholarship
Education today, resilience tomorrow.
End-to-end support that keeps pastoralist girls and boys in school, from primary through university, and prepares them for leadership, employment and service to their communities.
Our first scholar.
Why education
Our COHI research in Lokiriama found school enrolment of just 18.6% for girls and 26.2% for boys. Many households named financial hardship as the main reason children, particularly girls, don’t progress through school, and community members, especially women, named education as critical to diversifying their livelihoods.
The scholarship has two objectives: to increase school enrolment among girls, who remain disproportionately disadvantaged, and to equip young people with the knowledge and skills to transform Turkana’s future.
How it works
- One girl and one boy, all the way through
Scholars are supported from primary school through secondary and university, subject to satisfactory academic performance.
- Mentorship and a cohort
Scholars join the PAIR community, receive leadership mentorship and in turn mentor younger scholars, building a network of PAIR scholars with peer-to-peer support.
- A commitment home
Graduates commit to five years back in their home community, and PAIR commits to help with job and internship opportunities.
- From education to employment
Scholars are supported to apply their knowledge through employment, entrepreneurship or community service.
What it costs
What one scholar costs a year, assuming PAIR is their only support. Each year covers school fees and everything a learner needs to attend: uniforms, shoes, a bag, books and learning materials, levies and, at university, upkeep.
School
University, by course
Per year, in Kenya shillings; the dollar figures are rounded conversions. Diploma programmes cost less than degrees. Figures from PAIR’s education team, October 2026. For a detailed costing, write to info@pairkenya.org.
Diana’s story
Dr. Evan Griffith, PAIR’s Research Director, first met Diana in 2025 while leading COHI research in Lokiriama Sub-County. “I still remember her mother participating in our focus group discussions as community members identified the priorities and indicators that would form the Community One Health Index,” he says.
“One year later, he called to tell me that I had been selected as the first beneficiary of the PAIR Scholarship Program. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.”
Diana’s dream is a Diploma in Community Health Sciences at Turkana University College. She hopes to improve community health in Lokiriama by tackling poor sanitation, limited access to health information and poor health-seeking practices.
A PAIR team led by Godwin Erupe travelled to Kopeto Village to deliver the scholarship offer in person to Diana’s mother, Hellen Abdi Loyanae.
Watch: Diana’s story
A short film about Diana Lokol, the first PAIR scholar.
Follow the work as it happens.
We post from the field: assessments, trainings, our scholars and the communities we work with.