August

It's been a great inaugural year for Kilifi Kids, and we've put together the highlights in our Annual Report.  

The report pairs an overview of activities for this past year with plenty of photos of Kilifi and Kilifi Kids activities.  Most notably, the report tells the the stories--many in the kids' own words--of the children helped by Kilifi Kids' partners and supporters.  It is a great example of how individuals can make a huge difference in the lives of children across the world.

Thank you to everyone who has participated in our activities!  We look forward to even greater things this coming year.

February

We are very excited to annouce that the first 13 high school students have been selected to receive the Kilifi Kids 4-Year High School Scholarship.  School began last week and these gifted students, who otherwise do not have the means to do attend, will receive a full high school education.  Thank you for the hard-working Kilifi Rotarians and KESHO members who gave up a week of their time to interview and select the scholarship recipients!

January

Today, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution featured an article on Kilifi Kids and the virtual youth exchange with Campbell High School in Smyrna, Georgia.  Click here to see the article.  We are very excited to receive such great press and look forward to continuing the goodworks we are undertaking in Kenya!

Kilifi Kids is looking for clubs that want to take the lead on upcoming projects both with Kilifi Rotary and more generally available to the world.  The Rotary Club of Vinings in Georgia is providing strong leadership, but more support is vital to improving the lives of as many people in need as possible.

Current plans include provision of Internet to schools and nonprofits in Kilifi; institutionalizing the Virtual Exchange in high schools in the United States; support for expanding deworming efforts to expectant mothers and the under-5 population; and starting a scholarship support website on the Internet.

The financial support of clubs has been overwhelming and is so important, but any clubs also looking to develop a hands-on role should check out opportunities for leadership or contact michael_olsen@kilifikids.org.

Kilifi Rotary Club is finalizing the plans to provide 60 computers to schools and libraries in Kilifi District.  Computers are to be installed in May, with a month-long teacher training session preceding installation in April.  Computers For Schools Kenya, our partner for implementation, will be handling installation and training.

Everyone at Kilifi Kids is excited that the schedule is set, and can't wait to get the computers up and running!

Students in Kenya have completed another year; the Form 8 students have completed their entrance exams for secondary and will soon receive the results.  This means that the selection process for Kilifi Rotary scholarships has begun.  Kilifi RC is working with KESHO to find worthy students through an application, test scores and a personal interview at the students' homes.  Our first class will have 12 students will be sponsored for four years of high school.

Classes start in February.  We'll find out details about the students soon!

Public Health graduate students at Johns Hopkins University have completed their initial report for the deworming projects.  Students spent a semester researching the best ways to introduce a deworming program into Kilifi and use education of primary school children as an effective tool to reduce the burden of infection.  These efforts, outlining best practices and similar efforts, will go a long way to making our investment successful.  We hope to have the report online soon.

Special thanks to Carrie Brown for her tireless investment of time into helping Kilifi Kids!

October

We are proud to announce today that the Rotary Foundation has approved our application for Kilifi Kids!  The Foundation awarded a grant for the amount of $61,808 to provide medication to 25,000+ children to prevent intestinal parasites and provide 50 scholarships to high school students for 4 years.  To date, we have raised approximately $157,000 for our purpose. 

We are thrilled to receive this news and hope to begin project implementation this winter.  Thank you again for all those who supported this worthwhile endeavor.  We can't express our full gratitude.  We look forward to working with you as we help to transform this community in Kenya. 

September

With the gracious help of some kind souls, we are proud to annouce the launching of a website entirely devoted to our recent trip to Kilifi, Kenya.  The site has over 500+ pictures, 7 video clips, and a detailed daily journal.  Hopefully, it will give you a better idea of who we are working with and what it is like to live in Kilifi.  The site can be found at www.kilifitravels.com.  Enjoy!

August

July

June

May