BEADS Interns Program

Beads for Education introduced the Intern Program to support girls after completing their Form Four examinations. Instead of being idle while waiting to join college, the program provides them with a structured one-year volunteer opportunity at Tembea Girls High School. Girls who graduate from high school can continue their sponsorship in college if they agree to spend one year as a BEADS intern, teaching and assisting in the remote public schools in their local communities.

During this period, the interns:

Assist teachers in the nursery and lower primary classes.

Help with administrative tasks such as organizing books, supervising library sessions, and coordinating extracurricular activities.

Mentor younger girls by sharing their own experiences and encouraging them to pursue education.

Participate in community service activities organized by Beads for Education.

Why the Intern Program is Important

Personal Growth – Interns develop leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills that prepare them for higher education and future employment.
Career Exposure – Many discover their interest in teaching, social work, or community leadership during the internship.
Giving Back – It allows the girls to contribute to the same organization that supported their education, creating a strong culture of gratitude and responsibility.
Preventing Early Marriages & Exploitation – By keeping girls engaged, the program reduces the risks of peer pressure, early pregnancies, and child marriages that often happen during the transition period between high school and college.
Mentorship for Younger Girls – Interns act as relatable role models, showing younger students that success is possible without harmful practices such as FGM or early marriage.
Community Impact – The presence of interns helps to strengthen the bond between Beads for Education, the school, and the larger community, showing parents and local leaders the value of girls’ education.

Long-Term Impact

Over the years, many interns have gone on to college and later returned to their communities as professionals' teachers, nurses, businesswomen, and leaders. Their journey demonstrates the ripple effect of education: one girl empowered can inspire and uplift an entire village.

The Intern Program is therefore not only a bridge to higher education but also a transformational journey that shapes responsible, confident, and community-minded young

Sponsor an Intern

For more information or to select a girl to sponsor, contact Debby Rooney at BEADSofKenya@aol.com You can also learn more by clicking below.

Every year, a number of BEADS-sponsored girls graduate from high school. Before receiving continued support in college, they spend one year working as BEADS interns. Pictured here are 2009 BEADS interns Ann, Diana, and Catherine.

BEADS interns work as teachers and librarians in remote schools, and they provide environmental education, adult literacy and mentoring to younger girls.

In the Isiolo district, teaching Intern Eunice instructs some young students in basic arithmetic.

Interns Ann and Neema teach a literacy course at Lobarishareki Primary School.

During term break, each girl develops her own volunteer project in her home region. Girls often teach HIV-AIDS awareness, work in the local clinic, provide adult literacy tutoring and more.

Libraries are a rare, precious resource in rural Kenya. BEADS Interns do everything from cataloging new arrivals to leading book clubs to giving lessons on research. Here, interns Diana and Carolyn unpack and catalog a new shipment of sponsor-donated books.

Successful interns continue to college and university in Kenya. After graduation, they will marry a man of their choice and begin their careers in pharmacy, teaching, accounting, etc. One of our college graduates is the BEADS program manager.

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