THE KENYA LOST CHILDREN FUND
OUR STORY
Rachael started the Kenya Lost Children Fund at the beginning of 2011. After volunteering for four months at the Nairobi Children’s Home in Kenya, she was struck by the children’s openness and curiosity, in spite of all the adversities they had gone through. She asked a Kenyan staff member if there was a way to help the children and he immediately said, “education.” Rachael then identified several children who she believed would succeed in a boarding school. They all showed enthusiasm and a desire to learn.
Rachael did a lot of on the ground research and identified a boarding school, Early Bird Academy, where she felt the children would flourish. They have done amazingly well – in spite of having no previous education, many of them have consistently performed towards the top of their class. At the beginning of 2015, Rachael decided to move the children to a new boarding school, Gacio Academy. This school offers computer training – unusual in Kenyan elementary schools – and its academic performance is better than Early Bird Academy.
Rachael felt it was important to have a responsible adult to give the children support and stability. She found a very trustworthy woman who cares deeply for the children. Charity is a 37 year-old widow whose husband was killed during the 2007 tribal clashes. She has two girls: Jane, who is 14, and Precious, who is 11. Charity acts as the children’s guardian, she transports them to school, buys their school supplies and visits them regularly on weekends and school visiting days.
Rachael keeps in touch with the children and monitors their progress through phone calls with Charity and yearly visits to Kenya. Gerrard, Rachael’s brother, oversees the website and also has visited the children at Gacio Academy.
Originally the Kenya Lost Children Fund worked through The Q Fund, a nonprofit organization committed to supporting education for impoverished children in Kenya and Zambia. But in 2015 the Kenya Lost Children Fund became a nonprofit organization in its own right and Philip Jonas joined the board as treasurer.
Find out more about the children and the team.