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The Power of Education Evelyne Keomian and Her Foundation are Transforming the Lives of Women and Children in West Africa and Beyond
By Rosalidia Dubon Growing up in abject poverty in Ivory Coast, West Africa, Evelyne Keomian knew firsthand the hardship of going hungry and being unable to attend school. Even when there was little to eat, her mother would share with those who had even less. This greater level of compassion left an indelible impression on Evelyne and continues to shape her worldview to this day. Currently living in Palo Alto, California, she is still considered to be a low-income single mother by US standards. Even so, she founded the Karat School Project with the funds she had available. Her mission is to give children in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Ivory Coast, particularly girls, the opportunity to receive a quality education and make a better life. Through the KSP, Evelyne has impacted the lives of over 10,000 young girls, single mothers and widows, through the distribution of education supply kits here in the United States and through clean water pump installations, women’s health screenings and COVID-19 testing and prevention in the Ivory Coast. Give us a flavor of what your childhood growing up in the Ivory Coast was like. How was your childhood different from a typical childhood in the United States? It wasn’t a typical childhood even for the Ivory Coast itself, and it was really different than growing up in the United States. I’m the youngest of seven children. I have five sisters and a brother, so being the youngest one, I felt like my sisters had already made all the mistakes that confirm those traditional beliefs of what the girl should be: she’s going to get pregnant early, she’s going to get married, so there’s no need to educate her. 34
