Our directors diligently researched eligible Canadian registered charities in order to select those that focused on helping children in need but were not aligned with political, religious or ideological causes. Other important criteria were low administration costs and opportunities to collaborate on specific projects.

We were greatly impressed by the low-overhead hands-on activities of Kenya Education Endowment Fund (KEEF), a non-profit fund launched by a group of retired teacher, nurses and other professional women. KEEF's programs are ably administered in the field by Kenyan liaison Marie Mackay, a retired Registered Nurse with extensive HIV/AIDS experience in Canada and Africa.

KEEF operates in Kenya's rural Western Province where most families eke out a meager living by subsistence farming. Few can afford to send their children to fee-based high schools and universities, as costs typically average $500 per year. KEEF provides aid only to male students with the highest grades and examination scores.

Why support only males, given that GC4C and KEEF were founded by professional women? Several programs are already in place to support bright female students, with four girls funded on average for every boy. Also, young educated women naturally hope to meet and marry educated men to help provide for their families.

Our fundraising events in 2010 and 2011 have allowed GC4C to fund the following programs in Kenya:

• Sponsor 12 boys from remote villages for their secondary education:
  • Derrick Omenda
  • Charles Wambogo
  • Alex Wanjala
  • Ibrahim Anyera
  • Johnstone Nandwa
  • Kevin Kavoji
  • Brian Likami
  • Collins Malama
  • Emmanuel Ambiya
  • Geoffrey Munyendo
  • Dan Musa
  • Emmanuel Mahira
• Build a primary school library with shelves, desks, chairs and books (Click images below to Enlarge)
  
  

  

  
• Construct and equip a kitchen building for a primary school
• Purchase computer, photocopier, printer, and videos for a school for the hearing impaired
• Purchase of desks, tables and chairs for a school
• Purchase textbooks, calculators, dictionaries and other resources for Kenyan school children
• Sponsor life skills workshops for study and budgeting skills and education about HIV/AIDS.