Educating Impoverished Children in Kenya

This is one of the campaigns that we have really poured our hearts and sweat into, partly because Hifadhi Africa’s founding principal is fighting poverty through educational empowerment and transforming human experiences through capacity building and life skills impartment. That, and the fact that the great Robert, fondly known as Bob, personally initiated and campaigned for it, 2 years ago.

7 years ago, Hifadhi Africa and Bob partnered to admit Kampi to United States International University. Kampi is an orphan who grew up under impoverished conditions. He was not meant to graduate. He lacked fees support. He lacked a place to sleep and food to eat. He lacked clothes to wear. He couldn’t use university library resources. He only attended classes because either Bob or Hifadhi Africa made that extra sacrifice. It took Kampi 7 years for what is 4 years undergraduate course for the rest of his schoolmates. He persevered, worked hard, and listened to Bob and Hifadhi Africa. We offered him an internship at our Nairobi office, but even then, much needed to be done. To graduate, Kampi had to pay school fees.

In March and July, we received $1,386 and $144 donations from Maxine, Patricia, and Andrew. USIU charges $4,635 for its Bachelor of Arts in International Relations. We lumped the money together and recalled Kampi from a 2-year deferment in his rural home of East Pokot to travel to Nairobi for his graduation. He graduated on 25^th September 2021, among 1,517 graduands at the USIU-Africa’s 43rd Commencement Ceremony.

Appreciating that graduation is a major accomplishment that should be marked with pomp and circumstance, Hifadhi Africa threw Kampi an after-graduation party. Kampi puts it himself, “it’s been through determination, hard work, resilience, humility, struggles, discipline and trusting the process. Chasing a dream requires effort, passion, dedication, focus, and hard work. Through support from so many people, so I have not met nor are related, I have walked the talk and is now oozing with pride.”

Hifadhi Africa has offered Kampi a fully paid full-time job while Christine, wife to the late Rotarian Bob, has offered to give Kampi a financial gift.