WEZESHA ANNUAL REPORT 2016

a project of

F OOD ∙ EDUC AT ION · HE A LT H

WEZESHA EDUCATION FOUNDATION provides scholarships

and mentoring to academically gifted, destitute young people to

support their education from high school through university. In

Swahili, Wezesha is the word for ‘empower’. We aim to empower

motivated young people to use their skills to help others and make

a difference in their communities – to be the next generation of

role models and leaders. Wezesha is a registered non-governmental

organization in Kenya and partners with Speroway, a registered

Canadian charity.

SPEROWAY provides food, education, and healthcare to

disadvantaged children and communities in Kenya, Malawi, Haiti,

Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Nepal, and vulnerable

groups in Canada. We strongly believe in a partnership model that

works through the power of collaboration. By investing in local

communities and leaders, we work towards lasting impact in our

fight against global hunger, illness, literacy, and poverty.

a project of

F OOD ∙ EDUC AT ION · HE A LT H

“ONLY 2 OUT OF 5 STUDENTS IN KENYA REACH THEIR LAST YEAR OF SECONDARY SCHOOL.”

—INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

In 2013 the Wezesha Education Foundation was established in Nakuru Region of Kenya. Our goal was to provide bright, disadvantaged young people with financial support to complete high school and attend university. Wezesha also provided a bridge for children from the Nyota home who had rejoined their families to continue with their education.

Wezesha supported 13 students in its first year, expanding to almost 70 by 2016. In 2017, we will be assisting a total of 100 students to continue their education, and are now one of the largest scholarship programs in Nakuru. Last year also ended on a very positive note as we began to see the results of our investments. Six of our post-secondary students graduated university or college – a 100% success rate! On top of this, six of our students graduated high school, with all achieving the necessary marks to be accepted into excellent universities. They are the first in their families to complete high school and pursue post-secondary education.

2013

2014

2015

2016

13 Students

30 Students

48 Students

69 Students

“EDUCATION IS THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON WHICH YOU CAN USE TO CHANGE THE WORLD. ”

—NELSON MANDELA

Wezesha’s Objectives:

» To empower high potential, disadvantaged young people with the education, values and leadership skills that enable them to lead change in their families and communities;

» To develop a peer mentoring and internship program to help these students succeed and integrate into the job market;

» To establish strong local control and accountability for Wezesha and its success and reinforce the importance of culture and societal norms to defining strategies that work;

» To integrate families and guardians into its programs, so that they provide vital support to their children and each other; and

» To support young people who are deeply committed to using their education and skills to benefit society.

Wezesha’s support includes:

» Scholarships: students receive financial support for tuition, uniforms, books and school supplies, and stipends.

» Mentoring and Training: students receive year-round mentoring, career counselling, leadership development, and other life skills training.

» Community Giving: students demonstrate strong leadership qualities and a deep commitment to improving the lives of others and being an agent of change in their country. Students give back by volunteering in their communities.

» Family Support: bringing together the families and guardians of our students at Wezesha Family Days to meet each other and engage in their children’s education.

WEZESHA’S SECONDARY SCHOOL GRADUATES

WEZESHA’S UNIVERSITY & COLLEGE GRADUATES

Naomi Njeri Chege Elburgon Secondary School

Diana Mwikali Ndinda Muthale Girls School

Beatrice Wanjiku Maina Gilgil High School

Centrine Nanjala Simiyu Karura S.D.A School

Anthony Kanyoro Njoroge Njoro Boys High School

Martin Ngure Waceke Bishop Edward Donovan School

Solomon Muraguri Taita Taveta University Bachelor of Commerce

Margaret Wambui Kariuki Technical University of Kenya Bachelor of Arts

Tabitha Kuria St. Augustine Teachers College P1 Teacher

Joseph Ndirangu Technical College Computer Maintenance

Matthew Cheruiyot Jomo Kenyatta University Diploma in Community Development

John Kivuva Maseno University Bachelor in Industrial Chemistry with Information Technology

WE’RE BUILDING COMMUNITY LEADERS…

Wezesha scholarship recipients are also selected for their passion to use their gift of education to give back to their families and communities. This is fostered through placing students in volunteer assignments annually. Last year, 45 of our students logged almost 300 hours of volunteer work.

Naomi Njeri Chege volunteered at Nyakiambi Girls School, where she taught mathematics, social studies and English

Diana Mwikali Ndinda volunteered by visiting elderly people and orphaned children in her community, helping clean their homes and cook six days a week.

Beatrice Wanjiku Maina volunteered at Kieni Primary school teaching English, Kiswahili and Religion. Here she is with Lorie Briere, a Wezesha supporter.

WE’RE BUILDING COMMUNITY LEADERS…

Anthony Kanyoro Njoroge volunteered at his community’s tree planting project, watering the trees every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Four of our college students

Peter Thairu, our Wezesha Education Director and his wife Lucy, a businesswoman

A MESSAGE FROM OUR STUDENTS

Phyllis Waithera, third year university“I am so lucky to have been found by Wezesha. The support I have received cannot be quantified and never will. “Above all I have learned the power of positive thinking generated by the feeling that somebody cares. When you fall, there will be somebody to lift you up. I now know first hand the heady feeling of empowerment offered by education, which is the greatest equaliser!

“Giving good education to a child is the responsibility of every family worth its name. But in instances where poverty has robbed a family of its name, like in my case, fate has brought Wezesha to fill that gap. My family can now hold its head high in public again. You should see the smile on my mother’s face every time I walk with her through the village!“

Kelvin Kinyanjui, 3rd year university “I want you guys to know that abject poverty has a unique smell I cannot describe. I have experienced it since I was a toddler. My mother died at a time I could not fend for myself, let alone take care of my baby sister. My aunt took us in, not because she could afford it. She had no choice. You can put it down to tribal obligations and norms through the ages that tie family members together for life.

“Making it through secondary school was a miracle only Wezesha could perform. Going to college gave me a feeling I cannot describe. I literally felt on top of the world. And I believe I am. I have gone places while in college the last three years. I am now able to take care of not only my baby

sister, but my five cousins and two uncles. I have learned that careful planning of the meagre resources at our disposal can make a whole lot of difference.”

A MESSAGE FROM OUR STUDENTS

Boniface Kimutai, fifth year civil engineering“It is now about five years since Wezesha took me under its wings. I will be finishing my university education next year December, but I feel that because of the great mentors in Wezesha, I am already a better man. I know many people out there are having their dreams crushed by lack of finances or mentoring. I count myself not special but lucky that Wezesha found me in my time of need. I also intend to find that kid in his or her time of need. I want to touch and change lives the way mine was touched and changed. I have made myself a promise, in the spirit inculcated in me by the great Wezesha family, that in whatever little way I can, I am going to change someone’s life for the better. That I must do, it is just a matter of time. Thank you a lot Wezesha.”

— Zipporah Ng’endo Mwaura Bahati PCEA Girls Secondary School

THE ROLE OF THE FAMILIES

Wezesha focuses on the role of the family to engage and support their children through their education. While we cover the cost of tuition, rent and books, parents are expected to cover all other cost of living expenses for their children. While this can be a hardship for some, it also respects and reinforces their role to support their children’s education. Parents and guardians also gather together to attend Wezesha family days, which are held three times a year. These gatherings provide families the opportunities to hear from our staff, community advisory council members and the students themselves.

The parents have formed an association where they engage with each other on issues that affect their children, which also meets during the family gatherings. Parental involvement in education is critical to the success of our students.

THANKFUL

It’s hard to communicate the gratitude these students and their families feel for the gift of education. When I visit Kenya, these parents often journey for hours by foot and public transit, to come and see me, just to share an embrace or a firm, heartfelt and long lasting handshake and say “assante sana” (thank you!!) “You have changed my child’s life.”

Wezesha has benefited since its inception from funding from corporate donors including Maple Leaf Foods and West Face Capital, and from steadfast and generous support from many individual donors, which has provided the strong base for us to operate and grow.

In 2016 we hosted a very successful art auction, which received funding from BMO, Scotiabank, BCG, Deloitte, KPMG, Rabobank, TD Bank, and a la Carte Catering, the gift of extraordinary art from gifted artists and many services in kind, including auctioneering by Stephen Ranger that collectively raised over $130,000!

Michael and Margaret McCain have hosted the auction for the past four years, and their support and belief in Wezesha has been instrumental to our momentum. The art auction committee, including Genevive Savundranayagan, Brian Pel, Lorie Briere, LeeAnn Cotton, Anne Fawcett, Gail MacNaughton, Linda Smith, Andrea Tang, Debbie Simpson, Richard Lan, Curtis Frank, Kathrine Alyea and Helen Barbalis put enormous efforts into making it a wonderful, successful and fun evening!

Wezesha is founded on the principle that the Kenyan people know best how to move their society forward in a way that reflects their cultural, social and economic interests.

Wezesha students are proud, resilient and tenacious in their passion for education as the means to help their families and communities move beyond poverty. Our gifts to them help to bring a little more social injustice to an increasingly inequitable world.

We are enormously proud of them and their families, and grateful to everyone who is with us on this journey.

Peter Thairu

Lynda Kuhn

Ken Forbes

a project of

F OOD ∙ EDUC AT ION · HE A LT H

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What does it cost to support a student through school?Wezesha recipients all receive full board as part of their scholarship. The yearly cost to support a student with tuition, supplies, room and board, and the costs to manage Wezesha is $1,800 per student.

How are Wezesha scholarships awarded? The Wezesha Community Advisory Council is responsible for selecting high potential, high needs students in their respective regions. They meet twice a year to review all applicants and select new recipients of a Wezesha scholarship. Students must maintain a minimum B average to receive a Wezesha scholarship.

How can someone support or learn more about Wezesha?Wezesha is a registered non-governmental organization in Kenya and partners with Speroway, a registered Canadian charity. Canadian donations are tax deductible through Speroway.

Donations can be made on line at speroway.com/wezesha, by phone at 1.877.382.2262, or mailed to

Speroway PO Box 1517

Burlington OntarioL7R 4L9

For more information on the Wezesha program, please contact Andrea at andrea.tang@speroway.com or Lynda at lynda.kuhn@mapleleaf.com.

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Esther Nyambura Klanjiru

Kijabe Girls High School

a project of

F OOD ∙ EDUC AT ION · HE A LT H