Why We Do It
Education to end poverty in Kenya
Located on the east coast of Africa, Kenya shares borders with Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. It’s beautiful and diverse—big sky country where dense forests along the coast of the Indian Ocean give way to lush grasslands, sweeping savannas and snow-capped highlands.
Since Richard Leakey discovered human bones dating back to the beginning of our species’ existence, it’s also often recognized as the cradle of humankind.
With more than fifty of the world’s most breathtaking national parks and home to some of the world’s most exotic and threatened wildlife, Kenya is booming with tourism and, in some places, great wealth. Yet, the reality is that there is also great poverty too.
Village Impact works primarily in Nakuru County, about 97 miles (165 km) north-west of Nairobi.
Did you know?
- 36% of Kenyans live on less than $1.90 a day, which is what the World Bank defines as “extreme poverty”
- Almost 36% of percent of Kenyan children between the ages of five and 14 are child labourers—putting them at greater risk for abuse and sexual exploitation
- Just under a quarter of Kenyan girls under the age of 18 are married before their 18th birthday.
What we’ve accomplished so far.
In the almost 10 years since Village Impact began partnering with Internally Displaced People (IDP) communities in Nakuru county, together, we have built 15 schools!
Along with classrooms, we resource the schools with things like desks and chalkboards, supplementary textbooks and school libraries, science labs, latrines, water and electricity, kitchens and teacher accommodations. We also hire a counselling staff, who provides one-on-one and group counselling sessions to students at our schools.
Students, parents, community leaders, local non-governmental organizations and local government all help to make our projects possible, and all our schools, once completed, are community-owned and government-supported.
Why We Focus on Education
Village Impact focuses on providing access to quality education through building and resourcing schools and working with young people to develop the functional education and entrepreneurial skills they need to secure a sustainable livelihood and brighter future.
We do this because, like you, we are passionate in our conviction that education is a vital human right. As is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, we too believe that every child has the right to a quality education so that they may unlock their potential and live full and productive lives.
Benefits of education include better livelihood opportunities, improved mental, emotional and physical health, gender equality and participation in the political processes of their communities and nation, just to name a few.
Having a strong focus on education is critical within the Internally Displaced Persons communities we partner with because education promotes stability, good governance, and peace. One of our greatest hopes is that the certainty of going to school each day helps to provide a sense of security and normalcy for children and their families who were once forcibly displaced by violence and unrest.
Why Your Support is so Important
In January 2003, Kenya’s newly-elected Kibaki government made primary education free. While this announcement was welcomed by communities, the government and local infrastructures are still struggling to catch up.
In Nakuru county, where Village Impact focuses its work, children under 14 years old make up 43% of the population.
It’s estimated that there are still nearly 4,000 primary and nearly 65,000 secondary school-age children out of school in Nakuru.
The world needs them. And they need you!
Help bring the AWESOME and life-changing power of of education to more children in Nakuru, Kenya.
Together, we can:
- Build and resource schools.
- Provide the opportunities and support that students need to learn how to be entrepreneurs and to start, grow and sustain small businesses.
- Provide one-on-one and group psycho-social counselling for students.
- Deliver teacher and principal training and much more.
Donate, fundraise and explore how your business can partner with Village Impact and transform the lives of eager students, their families and communities!
Our Story
Shortly before Christmas in 2006, Amy McLaren turned to her future husband and pitched the ideal of going on a trip over the holidays. Given Amy’s adventurous spirit and fondness for living and working in far-off-places, her fiancée, Stu McLaren, shouldn’t have been surprised when she also suggested that for the trip, they raise some money and education supplies to donate to a vulnerable community in need.
Though Stu had every faith in Amy’s vision, he wasn’t sure that they could organize the details so quickly. But, Amy wouldn’t budge. Recalls Stu, “She told me, you are the business guy, you raise the money and I’ll arrange the trip.”
Together they raised $17,000 and headed to a village in El Salvador, using the donations to buy supplies for a local school.
This experience changed everything—and Village Impact was born.
More than a decade later, this shared vision and heart for making a positive difference in the world has grown into a community-led model of development that, by working through local partners and generous supporters from around the world, helps achieve long-term change for children, families and communities.
Village Impact, originally called World Teacher Aid, is formed.
First school is built – Shalom Primary School.
Springs High School is built.
Sinendet Primary School is built.
Kimugul Primary School is built
Safina Haji Primary is built.
Bright Hope Secondary School is built.
Safina Haji Secondary School is built.
Baraka Shalom Primary School is built.
Amani Kuresoi Primary School is built.
Baraka Shalom Primary School is built.
Sanmarico Farm Primary is built.
Ndatho Hope Primary School is built.
World Teacher Aid becomes Village Impact.
San Marco High School was built.
Ngeya Girls High School is built.