Africa Schools Of Kenya

What Africa Schools Of Kenya does

Africa Schools of Kenya (ASK) is a California-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2007 by Teri Gabrielsen and Maasai elder James Ole Kamete to support educational, healthcare, and economic development programs for the Maasai communities of Esiteti and Embaringoi in Kajiado South County, Kenya. ASK's core programs include the Student Scholarship Fund and Annual Student Scholarship (donor-funded K–9 tuition support at Esiteti School, now serving 900+ students), the Girls' College Scholarship (biennial $2,000–$5,000 awards since 2017), the Alternative Rite of Passage (a two-day cultural workshop credited with complete eradication of FGM in the two communities and 700+ female graduates), the mobile Health Wagon (serving 17,000 Maasai across five remote communities, 65 km from the nearest hospital, with 2,096 patient visits in 2025), the Esiteti Women's Collective (100+ women in beadmaking, livestock, wedding rentals, and Kitchen Gardens), and ReWild Journeys, an experiential travel program led by Shauna Mistretta that generates income and donor engagement.

The underlying technology and operational backbone is modest: a mobile medical vehicle, K–9 classroom and dormitory infrastructure completed in 2025, 40 permaculture garden towers launched in June 2025, and partnerships with Direct Relief, Vitamin Angels, the Kenya Ministry of Health, and the Kajiado County First Lady's office for clinical supply chains. All programs are staffed by local Esiteti School graduates, creating a self-reinforcing community delivery model.

ASK generates revenue through individual donations (via Classy and GoFundMe), sponsorship programs at fixed annual price points ($300/year for annual student scholarships; up to $580/year for boarding tuition; $2,000–$5,000 for two-year college scholarships), grants from foundations including Kenya Wildlife Trust, Land & Life Foundation, and March to the Top, safari-operator contributions (Melesi Safaris, Kamete's Camp), and revenue from ReWild Journeys trips. The organization operates with 1–10 US-side employees, is governed by a volunteer board, and reports no parent company, subsidiaries, or institutional investors.

Name

Africa Schools Of Kenya

Legal name

Africa Schools of Kenya

Website

https://askenya.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Africa Schools of Kenya is a 501(c)(3) non-profit operating education scholarships, a mobile Health Wagon, an Alternative Rite of Passage program, and a Women's Collective for the Maasai communities of Esiteti and Embaringoi in Kajiado South County, Kenya, funded by individual donations, foundation grants, and ReWild experiential trips.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit Community Development Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

NGO/Nonprofit Education Programs & Service Delivery (EDADALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Access & Quality (International Development) (BPAGABAE), International Development & Donor-Funded Education Programs (EDADALAB)

Keywords

• Community development programs
• Education scholarships
• Mobile healthcare services
• Women's economic empowerment
• Non-profit charitable services

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Barbara

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: ASK is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that generates revenue through individual donations, sponsorships of students, and charitable contributions. Donors can make one-time donations to the Student Scholarship Fund or annual commitments through the Annual Student Scholarship program following specific students through high school graduation.
2. ReWild Experiential Trips: ReWild trips generate sustainable income streams for the Maasai community while creating meaningful connections for travelers with the Maasai culture. Proceeds go toward ASK and programs benefitting the Esiteti and Embaringoi communities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Africa Schools of Kenya is a non-profit organization that develops, funds, and operates educational, healthcare, and women's empowerment programs for Maasai communities in Kajiado South County, Kenya. Core offerings include student scholarships from elementary school through college, the Alternative Rite of Passage program protecting girls from FGM, a mobile Health Wagon delivering healthcare to remote communities, and the Esiteti Women's Collective for economic empowerment through beadwork, livestock cooperatives, and kitchen gardens.

Product overview

Africa Schools of Kenya (ASK) is a non-profit organization offering a portfolio of community programs for the Maasai people in Esiteti and Embaringoi communities near Amboseli National Park, Kenya. The core offerings include: the Student Scholarship Fund (supporting students from 5th grade through high school) and Annual Student Scholarship (annual sponsorship), the Girls' College Scholarship (2-year college program since 2017), the Alternative Rite of Passage (2-day workshop protecting girls from FGM), the Health Wagon (mobile healthcare unit serving 17,000 people across 5 communities), the Esiteti Women's Collective (economic empowerment with 100+ women through beadwork, gardens, and small businesses), ReWild Journeys (cultural travel experiences), and Beads of Esiteti (traditional beadwork enterprise). These interconnected programs address education, healthcare, women's rights, and economic development while respecting Maasai cultural traditions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ReWild Journeys: Immersive travel experiences designed for donors and people interested in a Maasai experience. Led by Shauna Mistretta, the trips create experiences enabling people to connect deeply with themselves, others, and the natural world.
• Beads of Esiteti
• Esiteti Women's Collective

Products and services

• Student Scholarship Fund Scholarship program supporting students from 5th grade through high school graduation, managed by the Teacher Board of Esiteti School. Parents pay up to $580 per year for boarding schools from 10th grade through graduation.
• Annual Student Scholarship

Quantifiable outcome

• FGM completely eradicated in Esiteti and Embaringoi communities
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Direct ReliefcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirect Relief is a non-profit, non-partisan organization providing medical assistance worldwide. They assist ASK with specific medical supplies unavailable from the Ministry of Health in Kenya for the Health Wagon program.
• Ministry of Health, KenyacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Ministry of Health oversees healthcare system and provides medicines to a neighboring dispensary. ASK's mobile Health Wagon operates with approval from the Public Health Department.
• First Lady Edna Lenku, Kajiado CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHer Excellency Edna Lenku is First Lady of Kajiado County and serves as Treasurer of the County First Ladies Association. She was the first to meet with ASK regarding the Health Wagon work and partners on public health initiatives.
• Elewana Tortilis CampmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerTortilis Camp is located bordering Amboseli National Park with strong conservation and social responsibility programs working with the Esiteti community. Managers are familiar with ASK's work and the camp serves as ASK's home base when visiting.
• Enduata Emaa CBOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA local Maasai environmental organization founded by Samuel Lekato. Supported the launch of Kitchen Gardens in June 2025 with permaculture systems using minimal water to produce vegetables year-round.
• Days for Girls/Smile-Star'D, KEmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerDays for Girls works to eliminate menstrual stigma for women and girls. Their Kenya affiliate Smile-Star'D has conducted women's health workshops and provided Feminine Hygiene Kits to all pubescent girls during ASK's ARP program.
• Kakenya Center for ExcellencemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit focused on serving vulnerable girls in Kenya through education, health, and skills development. Provided ASK's ARP Youth Leaders and college-bound students with life-skill training workshops.
• Melesi SafarismajorGTM or Marketing PartnerFamily-owned safari business that introduced ASK founder Teri Gabrielsen to the Maasai people in 1997, beginning a 20-year relationship. Gives a percentage of all proceeds to ASK.
• Kamete's CampmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerMaasai-owned and operated tented camp overlooking Mt. Kilimanjaro, founded by James Ole Kamete. Offers immersive experiences and a portion of proceeds go toward ASK's Girls' College Scholarship program.
• Unite to LightminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNot-for-profit providing low-cost lighting to those with limited electricity access. Through Light & Power Partners matching grant, supplied Esiteti community, school, and Health Wagon with solar lights and chargers.
• Vitamin AngelscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeadquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, Vitamin Angels provides vitamin A to all children from birth to five in the Esiteti community and prenatal vitamins for maternal health.
• Sheldrick Wildlife TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal leader in elephant conservation. ASK and Esiteti School students have adopted Murusha, an orphaned elephant found in Amboseli National Park being cared for at Sheldrick's Orphanage.
• Amboseli Trust For Elephants (ATE)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerWorks to ensure long-term conservation and welfare of Africa's elephants through research, training, and community outreach. Their Be Elephant Aware Campaign is taught at Esiteti School.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Kakenya Center for Excellence: Kakenya Center for Excellence is a named ASK partner and a Kenyan non-profit serving vulnerable Maasai girls with education, health, and skills development - a near-identical operating model to ASK's girls-protection and scholarship work in the same country.
• Rift Valley Children's Fund: Rift Valley Children's Fund supports rural Kenyan children's education, healthcare, and community development in nearby regions - a directly comparable small-NGO model with a similar mix of scholarships and community programs.

Broad incumbents

• Camfed: Camfed supports girls' education across multiple sub-Saharan African countries through scholarships, mentorship, and young women's leadership programs, operating at a far larger scale than ASK but in a directly comparable girls'-education-in-Africa space.
• Room to Read: Room to Read operates literacy and girls'-education programs across Africa and Asia with a much larger footprint, comparable to ASK in mission (school support, scholarships, gender equality) but broader in geographic scope.
• BuildOn: BuildOn constructs schools and delivers adult literacy programs across multiple developing countries, overlapping with ASK's school-building and education-access mission but at a significantly larger geographic scale.

Others

• Direct Relief: Direct Relief is a named ASK strategic partner supplying medical supplies to the Health Wagon program. While much larger, it is an adjacent non-profit healthcare supplier rather than a direct competitor.
• Vitamin Angels: Vitamin Angels is a named ASK strategic partner (also Santa Barbara-headquartered) providing vitamin A and prenatal vitamins to ASK's Esiteti community. It is a maternal/child-health non-profit operating in overlapping geographies, but supplies rather than competes.

Emerging players

• African Library Project: African Library Project partners with rural African communities to establish libraries and support education, partially overlapping with ASK's school infrastructure and library-building work for rural African students.
• Ubuntu Education Fund: Ubuntu Education Fund delivers integrated health, education, and community programs to vulnerable children in southern Africa using a comparable holistic community-embedded service model.
• Village Enterprise: Village Enterprise delivers poverty alleviation and women's economic empowerment programs in rural Kenya and East Africa, comparable to ASK's Esiteti Women's Collective beadmaking, livestock, and kitchen-garden enterprises.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/africa-schools-of-kenya

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Africa Schools Of Kenya