Few books have moved me more than Three Cups of Tea, the autobiographical account of Greg Mortenson, an out-of-work American nurse who founded a charity to build schools in the most remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.   

His story, coupled with the educational mission of his organization, the Central Asia Institute (CAI), naturally resonated with me as the founder of my own educational charity.    

About a month ago, the world was shocked when this best-selling author found himself being held to account by an expose on 60 Minutes. The segment featured fellow author, Jon Krakauer, who claims many of the schools Mortenson built sit unused by pupils, and that there has been little in the way of financial reporting by his charity.   

This scandal set off an important public discussion about how, why and to whom we should give.  I would like to add to the discourse by telling you about what the KEF is doing to remain accountable and transparent to both our donors and our beneficiaries.  Some in the philanthropy business fear that negative press about a corrupt charity will scare donors from giving.  Personally, I disagree and believe Mortenson's missteps will have the dual benefit of improving accountability among charities and educating donors about how to give responsibly.  

Like Mortenson's Central Asia Institute, the Kenya Education Fund operates in a far-off place making it difficult for donors to monitor the impact of their giving.  We therefore offer several tools to make it easy for you to verify that we are fulfilling our promise to both you and our students:   

·       Letters directly from student to sponsor confirm the student is in school and receiving the materials promised by the KEF.

·       Two independent audits are conducted annually.  One in Kenya and another in the United States, including a tax return which can be found here on Guidestar.

·       The KEF is registered with the Kenya Board of Non-Governmental Organizations and must fulfill annual reporting requirements to them.

·       Student mentoring workshops invite social workers to talk to KEF students in confidence, fielding complaints and concerns.

·       All KEF scholars are selected by an application review committee in the US to prevent nepotism or the selling of scholarships in Kenya.

·       Many KEF donors visit Kenya to meet their student and visit the schools.  We welcome anyone who wishes to see the KEF in action to join us in Kenya!

In my opinion, accountability is directly linked to the quality of results a charity is able to produce.  Greg Mortenson may have built hundreds of schools in Pakistan and Afganistan, but without accountability structures in place it took years for the world to discover his schools were being used as food storage rather than places of learning.   

I was at a meeting the other day where someone referred to Mortensen's book as "Two Cups of Tea" because, they said, "he exaggerates too much".   I thought that was cute.  In the end, if this imbroglio makes donors more circumspect about how they give, then something good has come from it.  The KEF WANTS informed donors.  We WANT them to hold us accountable and, most importantly, we WANT them to be involved.  

Thank you for your continued support,

Bradley Broder

Executive Director, Kenya Education Fund