In 2005, Adam Gould and Craig Hammon met through a mutual friend. Adam was a new graduate from Eastern University and Craig worked for CURE International. They kept in touch over the years as Adam co-founded eduKenya in Nairobi’s Mathare slum and Craig became the board president of Kijabe Children’s Education Fund (KCEF). The fruit of their acquaintance is the holistic transformation of education and children at Kwa Watoto School in the Mathare slum of Nairobi, Kenya.KIJABE CHILDREN’S EDUCATION FUND (KCEF)

Kijabe Children's Education Fund (KCEF) is committed to the belief that excellent childhood education is the long-term solution for developmental transformation in Kenya. KCEF recognizes that few children living in extreme poverty attend school. Those who do, usually attend public schools located in substandard facilities with overcrowding and poorly trained and motivated teachers. In addition, the public schools lack programs that address the holistic needs of students, such as feeding and medical care programs or extracurricular opportunities.Therefore, KCEF’s primary strategy is to work with schools and school leaders to provide nutrition for children each day and scholarships for the very poorest. KCEF currently partners with five schools and feed over 1000 students. KCEF supplements the feeding program at one school with on-site farming on two acres of land. In addition, they furnish laptop computers to the schools through the One Laptop Per Child Program (OLCP) and train teachers to use technology to transform the more traditional culture of the classroom.KCEF & EDUKENYAThere is much common ground between eduKenya and KCEF. Both focus on excellent childhood education as a means of individual, community, and national transformation. Both recognize that education must address the holistic needs of children to produce a successful learning environment. Both are committed to local sustainability to promote increasing independence from outside resources.Because Adam and Craig stayed in touch over the years, and because of the corresponding mission and values in the organizations they lead, a partnership developed between KCEF and eduKenya. In February 2012, Craig and a KCEF team visited Kwa Watoto School and the eduKenya staff in Mathare. The team met with head teacher, Michael Maingi, to tour and learn about Kwa Watoto School, and participated in a school-wide activity with the children. They also met with eduKenya’s Kenyan Administrative Director, Ajema Kikuyu-Ngumba, to hear about adult training and home-based care programs.

Craig says, “We were so impressed and touched by what was being done there that we decided to jump in and help. Quality. Energy. Enthusiasm. Enormous need.” KCEF made a commitment to support the Kwa Watoto School feeding program, helping to provide two nutritious meals per day for Kwa Watoto students.Craig returned to Mathare with a second KCEF team, including board member Richard Cairns who is instrumental in KCEF’s Laptop Learning project. In the past two years, KCEF has provided Kwa Watoto School with ten OLCP computers and in-depth training for teachers.

Miss Phoebe Hadia, a tutor in eduKenya’s Skills Training program, also teaches Kwa Watoto students how to use OLPC computers. Phoebe says, “The seven OLPCs graciously donated to the Kwa Watoto School were among the greatest gifts of 2013 for our teachers and students. I was thrilled to be asked to teach the students how to use the computers to impart the knowledge I gained from completing a computer instructional program.” Technology in the classroom is transforming the children’s educational experience and has rapidly become the student’s favorite class!Ajema Kikuyu-Ngumba nicely sums up the feelings of the eduKenya and Kwa Watoto teams, “We thank God for Craig and the KCEF team. They have helped us accomplish things we may not have been able to do easily, and because of their input, the Kwa Watoto pupils have better chances of making a difference in their families and communities. We are deeply grateful for the resources we have because of their generous giving.”