Ten years ago, a group of families from the Washington, DC area accompanied their children's high school teacher, Joseph Lekuton, on a trip to his homeland of Kenya.  The tour group enjoyed Kenyan safari and beach resorts; but perhaps the most impressive part of the trip was a visit to the semi-arid region in Northern Kenya where Mr. Lekuton grew up, and where few tourists dare to venture.  It is a part of Kenya that lies beyond where the last road ends.  The people are nomadic, pushing their cattle and their homes across the desert to follow the scarce grass and water. 
 

Several of the women on the trip were particularly moved by the unique challenges the nomadic tribes of Kenya face.  Among their major concerns were how nomadic children attended schools when their families constantly moved with their herds.  The answer, sadly, was that many children did not attend school.

 

From this simple, yet profound question, these women returned home to form the Nomadic Kenyan Children's Educational Fund (NKCEF) - a high school scholarship fund that provides nomadic Kenyan children with the consistency of boarding school even when their family is on the move. 
 

Eight years later, the NKCEF called me in my New York office.  They wondered if I would meet with them to discuss best practices for services provided to the 300 students they supported in Kenyan high schools.  Our two organizations were very similar, but little did I realize what a profound impact that meeting would have on the future of the Kenya Education Fund (KEF). 
 

Today it gives me great pleasure to formally announce the merger of the KEF and NKCEF into one organization called the Kenya Education Fund!  This merger, two years in the making, has made the KEF one of the largest charities of its kind in Kenya, supporting 500 students each year in more than 200 boarding high schools and universities across the country.  Together our two organizations have already helped close to 500 students graduate from high school.  Out goal is that fifty percent of the KEF's student body will remain nomadic and we strive to maintain an even distribution of girls and boys.

 

Our mission remains to provide disadvantaged students in Kenya, and their schools, with support and educational resources so that they may improve their communities and break the cycle of poverty in Kenya.  As the KEF endeavors to reach ever more needy students throughout this great country, I am certain that this strategic alliance will help us to better serve our beneficiaries.  KEF has already grown in both reach and efficiency because of this merger.   

 

I welcome all members of our now expanded KEF family and look forward to working with each and every one of you to bring bright futures to Kenya's next generation.  

With appreciation for your support,

 

Bradley Broder

Executive Director

Kenya Education Fund