Donating to Kenya - Ideas and resources

Visitors regularly ask how they can donate to Kenya - what are good causes and organisations. This page provides some directions to look.

Besides the things mentioned, you can also help Kenya by... having a great vacation there. Tourism to Kenya brings in US$1 billion each year, the biggest source of foreign income!

Investing in Education

I believe in the saying: “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Give him the ability to fish, and he eats for a lifetime.” Therefore I think donating to educational facilities in Kenya is an excellent choice – especially those facilities that really produce the results.

It’s pretty normal across the globe for schools and universities to receive outside grants (other than fees from students and their parents). Most schools and universities in North America and Europe also rely on third-party funding. Besides, it’s in a way logical that companies and other organizations to donate a part of their income to education. Education delivers skilled employees to them, among others, who in turn have money to buy products. Companies can perform because other organisations take care of education. That’s why 10 percent of the net income of Kenya-Advisor.com is donated to educational facilities in Kenya as well.

If you’d like to donate to education in Kenya, have a look at:

Strathmore Foundation
The American support foundation of the Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya. This private, not-for-profit university specializes in commerce and information technology and has shown very good results since it’s foundation in 1961. It’s the first educational institute in Kenya to receive an ISO 9001 Certification for quality in management. More on it’s website (where you can donate online as well):
www.strathmorefoundation.org

Business Development

From my travels and other life experiences, I’ve become convinced that what Kenya most of all needs, is more plain business initiative. Small businesses and self-employed people who work within the regular free-market economy and that meets real needs of costumers. Not abstract ‘programs’ launched by governments, but fostering business activity at the grass-roots level starting with the present abilities of people even if they're poor. Micro financing exactly fits that. Especially when it’s not done as charity but as a regular banking activity, as envisioned by the inventor of mirco credits, economist Muhammad Yunus. Here’s one resource:

Equity Bank (Kenya)
The Equity Bank of Kenya is a privately held bank which has put it’s main focus on micro credits for (small) Kenyan businesses since the mid 1990s. It has won the MicroCapital Award for Best Microfinance Bank in Africa (as well as the EuroMoney Award 2007 for Best Bank in Kenya). From it’s profits it is also donating money and expertise to Kenyan universities and schools, as well as to disaster relief organisations.
www.equitybank.co.ke

Disaster Relief

However, next to investing in structural changes through improving education, and facilitating regular economic development, emergencies occur – floods, hurricanes, food crises, outbreak of wars etc. – that require immediate action. Then we do need to hand out the fish. Have a look at:

Red Cross - Kenya
Disaster relief is one of the pillars of the work of the Kenyan branch of the Red Cross, next to health improvement and development work. It’s a branch in the international Red Cross organization.
www.kenyaredcross.org

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