"Umoja Primary School" - Kenya

‘Umoja’ means ‘together’ and is the name of the women's village in Kenya that was founded in 1990 by women in the Samburu District in Kenya. The idea to found the women's village arose from the shared suffering of the women. Women in the Samburu District have a very low status and often suffer abuse from their husbands. To escape this abuse, they joined forces and formed a community that has grown significantly over time. Women who had suffered similar or other terrible fates (e.g. rape by British soldiers in the 1980s and 1990s) and heard about this community joined it. The community became a village.

The founder, Rebecca Lolosoli, has been fighting for years against poverty among women and children in the region through better education and against illiteracy in order to create better living conditions for the future. After a preschool had already been established in the village, the plan to build a primary school took shape.

In 2012, foundation founder Josef Mühlbauer became aware of Rebecca Lolosoli and Umoja. He was so impressed by the achievements of Lolosoli and all the other women that he decided to support them through his foundation.

After several discussions, Rebecca Lolosoli came to Roding in person in June 2012 to accept a cheque from the Josef Mühlbauer Foundation for €40,000 for the construction of her own primary school as part of the 8th Mühlbauer Charity Run. On 18 March 2013, the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the ‘Umoja Muehlbauer Primary School’ took place.

In August 2014, the pupils completed the second stage of their education with a festive and colourful ceremony, to which their parents and numerous other guests were invited. But Umoja Muehlbauer Primary School is much more than just a school for the residents of the women's village: access to education is intended to give the children and young people of Umoja an opportunity to escape the cycle of poverty and violence that usually accompanies them throughout their lives. For Rebecca Lolosoli and the residents of Umoja, having their own primary school represents another step towards independence and self-determination. Or as Tom Lolosoli put it: ‘Even a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.’