About Kenya Connect
Why and How Kenya Connect Began
In 1992 Kenya Connect's executive director Tim Gregory created Nada Brahma Productions, an educational cultural arts and outreach organization based in Maryland. Ongoing research for the organization eventually led Tim to Wamunyu, Kenya in 1998. The local Kamba people Tim met displayed an exciting passion for music and dance that matched his own. Tim felt at home. And it was in Wamunyu that Tim befriended James Muysoka who at the time was employed as a social worker with a local NGO.
Both Tim and James were affiliated with primary schools through their work so they decided, just for fun, to try a pen pal exchange between Kituiu Primary School in Wamunyu and Crofton Woods Elementary School in Maryland. The letter exchange was an instant success. By word of mouth, more schools in Maryland expressed interest in a pen pal program. James soon enrolled 30 schools in the Wamunyu area in order to keep up with the demand of the schools in Maryland wanting to participate. The momentum was exciting. Then, of their own accord, the students of Crofton Woods ES decided to raise money to build a water tank for their partner school. As with the pen pal exchange, this sponsorship idea became instantly popular with students throughout Maryland. The students in Maryland, fed by the joy of how easily they improved the lives of others, began sponsoring their partner schools in Kenya with various needs such as fences, desks and sports equipment.
In 2002 James was laid off from his job. Tim and James decided to make use of the change by officially launching Kenya Connect, with Tim serving as the executive director in the U.S. and James serving as field director in Kenya. Presently 41 schools in Kenya are enrolled and partnered with schools throughout North America as well as Europe, Asia and Australia. The Pen Pal Program has expanded to include the exchange of artwork, social studies and science projects. Projects funded through the School Sponsorship Program include the installation of water tanks at all of Kenya Connect’s enrolled schools, the complete renovation of several schools as well as the construction of two solar powered learning resource centers. By 2010, over $250,000 was raised for projects, the majority of which was generated by student-driven fundraising.
The achievements are exciting and Kenya Connect is proud of them. However, the real victory is not that less fortunate children benefit through the programs of Kenya Connect but that all the children involved learn about another continent, another culture and those with the greater advantages experience, through the relationship with their pen pals, the joy of giving and helping others. Simultaneously they also gain a greater appreciation of their own circumstance. Tim and James have persisted building Kenya Connect because it feeds the hearts, bodies and minds of all involved.
"If you think something small does not matter, try sleeping in a room with one mosquito."
- East African Proverb
Kenya Connect Mission Statement
