OUR STORY
Mama Dorothy (left) and Mama Sukie (right), the two women whose leadership and tireless efforts make our partnership what it is today
We are Friends of Kakamega, a Maine-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was founded in 2002 to support the work of our grassroots partner Kakamega Orphans Care Centre (KOCC) in Kenya.
A year before we started, in 2001, a group of Kenyan Quaker women founded KOCC as an occasional (then weekly, then daily) free meals program for hungry children - many of them orphans - in their western Kenya community. This effort soon brought one of those women, Dorothy Selebwa, to the United States in search of sisters to join her in the call to help the needy children of her community. She soon found Molly Duplisea-Palmer, Sharon Salmon, and Sukie Rice, who formed Friends of Kakamega to raise funds and answer Dorothy's call. Within months the generosity of dozens of people all of New England helped the project get off the ground. Over the 15 years since then, with the support of two thousand different donors in the United States and abroad, we have helped KOCC grow into a mature and respected community organization. Today, KOCC thrives under the watch of the women elders who founded it and thirteen dedicated local staff members. It directly supports the education and wellbeing of over 350 needy young people, and indirectly supports over 1,000 of their family members.
A year before we started, in 2001, a group of Kenyan Quaker women founded KOCC as an occasional (then weekly, then daily) free meals program for hungry children - many of them orphans - in their western Kenya community. This effort soon brought one of those women, Dorothy Selebwa, to the United States in search of sisters to join her in the call to help the needy children of her community. She soon found Molly Duplisea-Palmer, Sharon Salmon, and Sukie Rice, who formed Friends of Kakamega to raise funds and answer Dorothy's call. Within months the generosity of dozens of people all of New England helped the project get off the ground. Over the 15 years since then, with the support of two thousand different donors in the United States and abroad, we have helped KOCC grow into a mature and respected community organization. Today, KOCC thrives under the watch of the women elders who founded it and thirteen dedicated local staff members. It directly supports the education and wellbeing of over 350 needy young people, and indirectly supports over 1,000 of their family members.
We at Friends of Kakamega have grown with KOCC, finding sponsors and donors who share our belief that all children deserve the education and opportunity they need to grow into confident and caring community members.
Since 2006, the Care Centre's Homebased program has provided financial and other support children cared at home for by loving family members. There are over 100 children in our Homebased program today, many of whom will have the chance to attend high school and college through the continued support of Friends of Kakamega sponsors..
Since 2006, the Care Centre's Homebased program has provided financial and other support children cared at home for by loving family members. There are over 100 children in our Homebased program today, many of whom will have the chance to attend high school and college through the continued support of Friends of Kakamega sponsors..
 Dorothy Selebwa, Dorcus Luseno, and Florence Waswa (left to right), the visionary founders and experienced leaders of Kakamega Orphans Care Centre
Also in 2006, as the Care Centre's first children moved forward with their education, KOCC started its high school program to ensure that its early graduates did not have to drop out of school for lack of fees and supplies. In 2017, Friends of Kakamega sponsorships are enabling 56 KOCC students to attend high school.
In 2010, a college & university program was started to ensure our most talented graduates can continue their education, and today we are helping over 20 young people achieve their college dreams, and we proud to already have college graduates in such fields as education, medicine, education. In 2015, we began supporting agricultural education for needy, out of school youth in the Kakamega community. These programs have since evolved to provide training and small grants to help over 50 young people launch small agricultural businesses. In 2016 our partnership expanded to include Crossroads Springs Africa (CSA), an organization out of Buffalo, New York with a mission similar to ours. CSA provides sponsorship to over 100 high school students in Kakamega and nearby Hamisi, and is now collaborating with KOCC to oversee and administer its program. Together, CSA and we at Friends of Kakamega are excited to see KOCC providing over 160 students with the opportunity of a high school education. |
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