Empowered Education!

I was born one of ten children in a rural village in Kenya.  A curious learner, I excelled in school and scored top of my Secondary School class which earned me entrance to The University of Nairobi.   In 2002, I co-founded Kenya Connect with Tim Gregory as a PenPal program to connect learners around the world.  Under my leadership, Kenya Connect has grown into a thriving NGO serving 18,000 students and 500 teachers in the Mwala subcounty of Machakos.  Partnering with 61 public Kenyan schools, Kenya Connect strives to break down barriers to education while providing empowerment and enrichment programs.  In 2019, Kenya Connect was a runner up for the prestigious PanAfrican Award and in 2017 a top three recipient for the ONE Africa Award.  I was recognized by Rotary International with the Paul Harris Award and have been a presenter on locally led NGOs.

Students are bright and eager to learn, but their teachers and schools lack even the most basic school resources and many teachers’ instruction is rote.   Empowering Education is a multi-pronged approach to provide 21st century teaching methodology combined with access to technology for the 500 teachers through creating Professional Learning Communities and offering hands-on workshops.  Simultaneously, enrichment programs in literacy, STEM, leadership development, and life skills will be offered to the 18,000 students at our 61 partner school students. These are programs that have been developed in conjunction with teachers, parents and local leaders. “It is important to nurture any new ideas and initiatives which can make a difference for Africa,” Wangari Maathai.  Kenya Connect has been diligently working since 2002 to lift a generation of students and their families out of extreme poverty through the power of education in a creative dynamic way. 

Extreme poverty exists for many complex reasons that extend beyond the boundaries of our country, and at times, feels out of our control.  However, we are empowering the next generation of students in rural Kenya through our programming.  Through connecting them with other children around the world to solve problems with LevelUp Village, kids are learning that the problem of clean water isn’t just a problem in Kenya.  They are learning about solutions and developing their own ideas.  Opening the world of books, with the power, knowledge and ideas they bring, is transformational.  Students in Wamunyu learn about Mama Miti and William Kamkwamba and are inspired to plant trees and build their own windmill. Our library and book programs do not only provide desperately needed access; they help students strengthen skills and academic achievement so they can continue to secondary school and university.  As a result of our programs, teachers are reporting that students are more engaged in learning, reading books for the first time, and seeing education as a means to break the cycle of poverty.  The challenges are deep and layered; but we are peeling them back, and building a new path forward for learners in Wamunyu.

An Elevate award will enable us to expand our School Empowerment program focused on Teacher Professional Development; school enrichment and 21st century learning; our new Space Girl STEM enrichment program; Sexual health and reproduction workshops to decrease the explosion of teen pregnancies in our county; and to grow our library so all 18,000 students have the world opened to them through the power of a library card.  This allows us to scale our programs to the 61 public primary and secondary schools in our network as well as two other cluster of schools who have reached out to us for our help.  The award will allow us to provide staffing, resources and materials for our programming. The divide between the resources of urban and rural schools is deep.  The lack of reliable internet and technology puts bright and eager students in the Mwala subcounty at a deep disadvantage resulting in the continued cycle of extreme poverty.  The award will propel our community driven work forward in a profound way opening doors for our students to be future pilots, engineers, activists, designers, researchers, and most importantly,  citizens solving the worlds most pressing problems. 

Kenya Connect believes that change happens by building trust and connecting with the local community.  As we have rolled out programs and initiatives over the last 18 years, we have done so in consultation with teachers, parents and local leaders based on the needs of the community.  We believe that the program needs to be well-designed, built on best practices, and created in a way that generates trust between students and leaders.  We also know that in order for a student program to be truly successful, that we MUST involve the parents and teachers.   We know that education is one of the most important ways to lift the next generation out of extreme poverty, but it’s not enough to increase attendance.  Our team has developed a comprehensive approach of breaking down barriers to education for students while providing well-designed enrichment programs for students, teachers and parents.  We make the impossible, possible.  We have pushed boundaries, built coalitions, excited teachers, and engaged the youngest learners.  Our staff has grown from just me in 2002 to a talented team of 11. To truly effect change, it “takes a village,” and Kenya Connect does just that.

Students in rural Kenya are being left behind. Over 60% of our families live on less than $2 per day.  As Nelson Mandela stated, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to the change the world.”  Parents and teachers are eager for students to learn, but they lack the tools and resources.  Empower Education not only provides resources, but well-designed programs and enrichment activities in a holistic way.  Our community connected staff works closely with partners, teachers, and parents to open new worlds of knowledge, educational opportunities and to career paths to our students.

In 2002 I began Kenya Connect as a PenPal program as a way to help students strengthen their writing skills while connecting with peers around the world with my co-founder Tim Gregory.   We both believed in the Power of Education as a way to lift students out of poverty.  Our NGO was built on community involvement and partnerships with public schools.  We believe in order to change education, we needed to do it within the current system vs. building a "model" school.  We also knew that in addition to providing enrichment programs and teacher professional development, that we needed to break down barriers to education.  Clean water, hand washing stations and liquid soap programs, deworming meds, compost toilets and reusable sanitary pads are all important ways to keep kids in school.  

Our work has grown as a result of our dedicated and passionate staff, teachers and parents who are committed to new modes of education, partners like LevelUp Village, LitWorld, Sunking and the USEmbassyNBO,  and donors who support us.  We have been creative in meeting our students' needs and bringing programs to them vs. expecting everyone to come to our Learning Resource Center.

I grew up in a community similar to Wamunyu in rural Kenya.  I was one of 10 children born to subsistence farmers.  My parents valued education and I loved going to school.  Running 3km each way to school, I was eager to learn and worked hard at my studies.  My determined work was rewarded and I earned the status of top student with acceptance to the University of Nairobi.  I know first-hand the challenges of rural education.  As a child, I wanted to read and study, but we had no electricity so used kerosene in cans for light.  Being able to implement a "rent-to-own" solar light program so students can read and study at home has brought me great joy.  As Kenya Connect has grown, I have been thrilled to bring creative programming and solutions to our community.  Through partnering with other organizations and learning best practices, I continue to be a life long learner, and I especially enjoy the books in our library.  As our sub county's KCPE scores have improved, and with more students attending University and colleges, my dream of a better future for our students is becoming a reality. 

Hard working, dedicated, creative, persistent and innovative are words that others have used to describe my leadership skills. I am passionate about my work and I deeply believe in the power of education to lift communities out of extreme poverty.  I know the challenges that our learners face and I also know the pathway forward.  

Building Kenya Connect in a deliberate and thoughtful manner has resulted in us in being the leading NGO in our sub county.  I have hired a fabulous team who give 120% each week with joy, passion and a zeal for making the impossible, possible.  We have fun as we strengthen education and are nimble enough to respond to immediate needs.  For example, we learned from Head Teachers that girls were missing school do to their periods.  As a result, we created a locally made reusable sanitary pad kit.  These kits, coupled with menstrual health education, has resulted in girls not missing school.  Another challenge has been the pandemic.  Kenya Connect has led with education on preventing the disease, providing 3,000 masks to health workers and the community, and developing Radio Read Aloud programs and Literacy activities while schools are closed.   

Kenya Connect is well positioned to deepen our programs, expand our reach and serve as a model to other rural communities.  The key to our success has been a result of deep connections to the community, a dedicated staff, committed partners, and our ability to rapidly respond to needs and challenges.

Hand washing is essential for keeping students healthy in school.  We designed a hand washing station that consists of a metal framework with a water container and a ceramic basin. Gray water is collected via a waste pipe and directed to water a tree. After building our first hand washing stations, we realized that one station was not adequate for a school. We came up with an innovation of the design with two sinks. This modified design was cost effective as compared to building an additional station. A few years after implementing the hand wash stations, we found that the drainage was not working. We realized that the waste pipes were clogged with roots. We changed the design of the drainage system by placing a plastic container beneath the hand washing station to collect gray water.  The gray water is used to pour on compost piles in schools with compost toilets or to just water trees and flowerbeds in other schools. Compost toilet technology is our newest sanitation innovation. The toilet material from compost toilets is collected in a compost pile to make fertilizer. By adding gray water to the pile, it activates the bacteria breakdown for the toilet material.

Covid-19 was detected in Kenya in March 2020 resulting in schools closure. I led our staff in planning how to intervene in protecting our community from the pandemic. We agreed to make reusable face-masks and to train the community about preventive measures like hand washing, keeping social distance and wearing masks to keep safe. We decided to work with women who make reusable sanitary pads. We trained them on design approved by WHO. The women picked the design quickly and begun mask production. A total of 3,000 face-masks were sewn and distributed to the community. We worked with chiefs and the police, to mobilize community members and train them on how to use face-masks. We focused on high-risk groups like motorcycle riders, women selling green groceries, hairdressers and barbers. We also provided masks to over 600 community health volunteers. I mobilized some students to work with local public health officers to sanitize the local markets.  

At the same time, I mobilized community members from three schools to plant over 1,500 trees of Moringa as a sign of hope that our community will overcome the war against Covid-19. Besides the direct benefits of Moringa, the trees will mark history for covid-19.

Our work is innovative in two ways.  First, it is truly built based on the needs of the community and with input from stakeholders.  Our NGO just doesn't determine the need, we work as a united community.  This means when we launch a program, teachers, students and parents are receptive.  Our programs are more successful as a result of having these three groups working towards a common goal. 

Our work has also expanded and shifted cultural norms.  In the past, there's been a joke that if you want to hide money, put it in a book since Kenyan's don't read.  We have worked tirelessly to bring the joy, wonder and knowledge of books to our community.  Growing our collection from 100 in 2012 to 10,000 in 2020 is allowing us to become The Village That Reads.  Parents are participating in workshops to learn how they can nurture reading even if they are illiterate themselves.  We host an annual 5K: Running to Read with a parade through town celebrating literacy and with students running to celebrate reading.  Most importantly, we began the first library card and school library days program for over 200km.  Bringing books to students, creating fun book enrichment days and offering a yearly Reading Challenge program means more kids are embracing reading in a community that previously had no books.

Innovation occurs with local buy-in, creative ideas, and the ability to try new initiatives.

Kenya Connect believes that change happens by building trust and connecting with the local community.  As we have rolled out programs and initiatives over the last 18 years, we have done so in consultation with teachers, parents and local leaders based on the needs of the community and in a manner that is culturally relevant and appropriate.  We believe that the program needs to be well-designed, built on best practices, and created in a way that generates trust between the students and leaders.  We also know that in order for a student program to be truly successful, that we MUST involve the parents and teachers.  We are mission driven and strive to be self-sustaining. 

Kenya Connect also believes that regular monitoring, evaluation and review of programs is essential.  We collect data on all our initiatives and have regular staff meetings to review our efforts, make adjustments and move forward.

Empowered Education was created and designed based on community need and discussion.  We have developed the program in consultation with educators, other NGOs, and partners. We also know it is important to embrace the framework of the new Kenyan competency based curriculum.  As the new framework was rolled out, teachers were scared and unprepared.  Due to the lack of "official" training, Kenya Connect responded with support to the teachers and a commitment to helping them incorporate the new modes of delivery.  

In a nutshell, Kenya Connect's  initiatives are locally led, built on our successes and developed for long-term sustainability.

Kenya Connect partners with 61 public schools representing 18,000 students and 500 teachers.  Although all students benefit from a few of our programs at their schools, We have 15 schools who receive the majority of our programs.  This represents roughly 3,000 students.

Currently we are serving 3,000 students in a comprehensive way.  With additional funding we could double that in one year and in five years we could reach close to 12,000 students.  

One of our goals is to have all 18,000 students with library cards and to have all schools with access to some type of technology.   In addition, we are working towards all schools having a teacher Professional Learning Community as a means to share ideas, learn new strategies, and strengthen education.

Kenya Connect strives for all 18,000 students in our community to have library cards, access to technology, and enrichment programs to help prepare them for higher education and/or trades and careers.  We see Wamunyu as becoming a model for dynamic education and teacher professional development for other rural communities.  Our slogan is The Village That Reads and we strive for our students to be readers and writers and informed citizens. We are also developing school enterprise programs including the growing of Moringa Trees and harvesting the leaves to create Moringa Tea and nutritional supplements.  

We will achieve these goals through continuing to build on our work in a deliberate and thoughtful way.  We are open to new ideas and pursue those that work in accordance with our mission.  As we receive additional funding, we will be able to grow our talented staff and implement Empowered Education to its full potential.

Funding is always the biggest challenge.  Kenya Connect has diversified our funding sources with individual gifts, foundation grants, school fundraising programs, events and micro-enterprise income.  We are continuing to seek additional income in Kenya, the US and the UK while judiciously spending funds. Kenya Connect is well-positioned to continue our growth as Kenya's economy grow.  We have seen a brief setback for Kenya due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.  Schools are closed, businesses have shut and tourists are not able to travel to Kenya. However, we have continued to offer some of our programs in a creative way and we are about to break ground for our LRC Annex which will house a proper library and the creation of a Maker Space.  

Funding:  Kenya Connect is a NGO in Kenya and a 501 c-3 in the U.S.  We do a large portion of our fundraising through Global Giving.  In addition, our Executive Director, USA, focuses on individual giving, grants, school/church donations, US events and corporate gifts.  We run two annual fund campaigns each year in addition to a 5K Run in the U.S.  As our stature has grown, we have received additional grant funding and award recognition.  In order to keep donors and our friends informed, my staff takes daily photos of our activities which are used on all our social media platforms as well as sent to individual donors.  Especially during these challenging times with the pandemic, we continue to connect with our donor and friends.

Covid-19:  Kenya Connect has been the leader of providing Education information, face masks, and support to the subcounty.  Thanks to a Johnson and Johnson Caring Crowd grant, we were able to produce 3,000 masks made by local women.  These masks were distributed throughout the community included to public health officers who brought them to families on their medical visits.  Our goal is to keep our community healthy during this pandemic.  We know if we can do so, we will be able to resume to our programs much quicker.

KC's Covid Response: 

Finally, Kenya Connect needs more space.  We are in the process of building the LRC Annex that will provide a proper library, maker space, offices, and meeting/workshop space.

Kenya Connect partners with a number of organizations.  Most notably Level Up Village for STEM classes, LitWorld for the LitClubs and Lit Moms program, Coder DoJo for coding, World Possible/Rachel Plus for robust digital content, Creative Connections for an art exchange,The School Fund for Secondary School Student Support, Endless Computers for additional computers, US Embassy, NBO for student leadership programs, GlobalGiving as our giving platform and a source of webinars on best practices for NGOS, GiveLove for Composting Toilets, SunKing for the Pico solar lights, over 50 U.S. schools who partner in our PenPal program, the Ministry of Education who provides guidance in our programs, Ministry of Public Health who administers our deworming program, Local community leaders who share ideas, Rotary International who have provided several grants including a digital literacy training program for teachers, the Gupta Family Foundation who have hosted a symposium and supported cross-learning partners, PayPal who has given us three grants and sent a team of volunteers, and over 20 teams of volunteers who have traveled to Wamunyu to provide service.

As mentioned earlier, we work with 61 partner schools and the 500 teachers in our community.

We are very proud that partners tell us we are their "go to" NGO and if they want to ensure funding will be used well, they come to us.  We're very proud that these organizations value our work and I know it's because of our follow-through, transparency, communication and innovation.

Our business model is to be a community led and impactful organization.  We seek input from the community on their needs and we develop programs and services to meet them.  We also work closely with the Ministry of Education Curriculum Support Officer to ensure our work is in sync with the curriculum.  At the same time, we look to see what barriers are blocking education and we develop programs to respond to those needs.  For example, students were borrowing books from our library, but could not read at their homesteads since they did not have light.  As a result, we found an economical solar product, and began a "rent-to-own" SunKing Pico solar light program.  Families pay $1 per month to buy the light in 8 months.  It's a cheaper and cleaner solution than kerosene.  As we develop our programs, we always ensure we have the funding, whether through donation or grants, or as a sustainable business model to ensure its success.

Kenya Connect's budget has grown each year.  Our funding is based on individual donations, corporate and foundation grants, school/church donations, event income and self-sustaining programs.  We work closely with donors to ensure our financial needs are met.

Based on 2019 Income:

Individual Donations: 25%

Event Income: 12%

Corporate Grants: 14%

Foundation Grants: 30%

Religious Foundation Grants: 12%

School Grants/Fundraisers: 7%

Kenya Connect is a 501 c-3 in the U.S. and an NGO in Kenya.  Both organizations are overseen by their respective Board of Trustees to provide fiduciary responsibility and program guidance.  Kenya Connect, USA is the primary funding source for Kenya Connect NGO; however, we also receive grants and income through the NGO.   The Executive Director, USA, raises funds based on the priorities and with guidance from the Executive Director, Kenya.  Although we are two separate entities by registration in our respective countries, we work as one organization with the same mission and vision.  

Kenya Connect has received grants from the International Foundation, The Henry Niles Foundation and the Gupta Family Foundation for this program.  We also have several other grant applications submitted.  In addition, a portion of our annual fund is dedicated to this project each year.  

Kenya Connect is seeking grant funding to support Empowered Education for three years.  In addition, we will be talking with our partners for guidance, support and volunteers.  We believe this dynamic locally-led program, combined with our successful track record, will be desirable for funding.  We are especially interested in raising funds for additional resources for teacher professional development training, hardware for the schools, resources for classrooms, and materials for our library.  

Kenya Connect expects to spend $250K for programming/Kenyan salaries.  IN addition, we have a capital campaign in progress to raise $100K for the new LRC Annex and Maker Space.

Kenya Connect is transforming lives in Kenya.  Our team is passionate and committed and believe that EVERY child deserves a dynamic education.  They know that our learners are eager, bright and determined, but go to schools that basically have tattered textbooks and a chalk board.  When these students come to the Kenya Connect Learning Resource Center and see and use a computer for the first time they are thrilled.  They are quick to learn and become competent quickly.  They thirst for more time on the computers and having access to information via the internet.  As we have introduced our Library Card and School library days we've been overwhelmed with the response.  Students run out of their classrooms when they see our bus come.  They are eager to borrow books and to read.  Parents are enrolling their kids as a means to support their education.  

Being awarded an Elevate prize means we can improve education through powerful Teacher Professional Development Programs, additional computers, content-rich devices like the Rachel Plus for schools, the expansion of our computer and STEM classes and camps, targeted programs for girls like Space Girls, enrolling more students in our library program and building the collection to over 20,000 books, and providing enrichment camps and classes during school holiday breaks.  Our stellar track record, the stupendous staff, and our well designed programs are worthy of the award.

Our team has many ideas on how we can lift students out of extreme poverty through the power education.  Funding is the key to helping us fully obtain our dream.  We seek partners and donors who will work with us to fully realize our work.  A transparent organization who makes every dollar count, Kenya Connect has won praise from our donors and foundations.  

In addition, we welcome expertise on monitoring and evaluating our programs as well as guidance for our boards (both in the US and Kenya).  Although our programs are community driven, we value the partnership with committed professionals and seek advice when needed.