Kilifi-Kenya USA Project 

Faith Gloria

Velis Nyanbura

Winnie Katana

Milton Kamanza

It is the goal of the Kilifi-Kenya USA Project to create a brighter tomorrow for this East African community by empowering women and children – in body, mind and spirit – through education, counseling, and support.

Kilifi-Kenya is an organization that strives to provide life’s most basic needs to women and children in distress, from items as elemental as clean drinking water to pro bono physical and occupational therapy. We also provide schooling to elementary age children, as we feel it is essential to provide education for all without discrimination of social status.

The school teaches two levels of pre-primary education and elementary grades 1- 3, with a current total of 56 kids and three teachers (primary Schools in Kenya consists of grades 1 – 8). Many of the children attending Kilifi-Kenya have been orphaned, and some are living in community homes or in the care of grandparents or other relatives. Many do not have enough to eat, some are infected with HIV or other diseases, and most have no electricity in their homes. The children with medical conditions are fed nutritionally directed diets, and when possible, children are sent home with food to sustain them until they return to school.

So far the institute has saved five young girls (12 – 13 years old) from early marriages, and while their parents do not support their education, Kilifi-Kenya is committed to enabling their autonomy through empowerment and enlightenment. While these girls are of middle school age, they are currently working through the material of elementary first grade students.

The resources required to run the school are significant and ongoing. Besides food, clothes, and books, the students also require teachers, desks, blackboards, and a permanent feeding program (feeding is currently inconsistent due to lack of funds). With basic needs covered, the school would like to purchase items like backpacks, toys, shoes, and sanitary supplies for the teen girls.

The institute currently sits on a borrowed lot that is of insufficient size. In time, Kilifi-Kenya would like to purchase land for a permanent school that is large enough to house educational and medical facilities, as well as an outdoor recreational area.

We are also interested in funding progressive permanent solutions, such as providing solar lighting for the students and their families at home, and drilling boreholes to house submersible pump systems to provide clean drinking water.

Sarah Katembo is Director of the Kilifi-Kenya USA Project, and while she currently resides in the US so that her three daughters can attend university here, she is passionate about creating an enhanced quality of life in her native Kenya. Please contact us for ways to help!