How BEADS for Education Works
BEADS for Education operates on a dual model: craft and sponsorship. Maasai women produce and sell their beadwork through markets that Rooney helped them access, generating income that flows directly into their households. Alongside this, individual sponsors contribute between $400 and $1,600 USD per year to cover the school fees that allow girls to attend Tembea Academy. The two streams reinforce each other: economically empowered mothers invest in their daughters’ futures, and educated daughters grow up in communities with expanded expectations of what girls can become.

What the Funding Supports
School fees covered by BEADS sponsors pay for a full secondary education at Tembea Academy, including tuition, boarding, and essential supplies. The curriculum includes academic subjects alongside practical skills: agriculture projects, computer classes, and chemistry practicals. For many students, this is the first time anyone in their family has completed secondary school.

The Maasai Beadwork — Craft as Economic Power
Maasai beadwork is not a side project, it is the economic engine that makes BEADS for Education possible. Each piece is handmade by women who have spent years mastering a tradition that carries deep cultural meaning. By connecting these artisans to markets willing to pay fair value for exceptional craft, BEADS transforms an ancient practice into sustainable income.

How Your Deeper Africa Safari Contributes
Deeper Africa’s Kenya safaris, including Classic Kenya, Deeper Kenya, Primates & Savanna, and Kenya & Tanzania Safari can include visits to BEADS for Education communities. These visits are an opportunity to meet the women behind the beadwork, to understand what the program has made possible, and to consider becoming a sponsor. Every Deeper Africa traveler who purchases beadwork or sponsors a student’s education through BEADS is investing directly in the futures of girls who, without this program, might never have seen the inside of a secondary school classroom.