Working in partnership with Green Olive Foundation Kenya to fund education and training for young people in rural Kenya

Two of our trustees, Bronwyn Harwood and Fiona Roberts, accompanied by Fiona’s partner, Simon Hinks, visited Kakamega in March 2023. They met with board members of the Green Olive Foundation Kenya, they saw much of the work that is funded by the UK Trust, and reported back to the trustees in the UK. All of the photographs on this page were taken on their visit.

Meeting with community, education and church leaders, the trustees heard about the positive impact to these communities of the Educational Bursaries, the rebuilding of the primary school and the Greenhouse Project.

They were also pleased to be able to meet several of the current and past high school and university students. The students told them about their experiences, their achievements and how the Green Olive Educational Bursaries were helping them to reach their potential and achieve their ambitions. The trustees were heartened to learn how well the past students were doing, and how many of them were also giving back in various ways, helping to strengthen their communities and build resilience.

Several of the past bursary students are now supporting the work of GOT and GOF in Kenya, as they have become Green Olive Foundation board members or assist in a less formal way.  

Visiting the Musingu Quaker Education Centre (the primary school) the trustees were greeted by the staff and children who were all enjoying the new classrooms and were very happy with the new toilet facilities.

At the site of the Greenhouse Project, the UK trustees saw for themselves the scale of the project. They were heartened to hear about the positive outcomes that it was bringing to so many young people through training and education in this innovative method of farming, as well as the vital funds that the crop harvests had brought to the people of the area. The trustees were delighted to be present when the new borehole was dug on site, finally ending the need for the farmers to carry water from the river.

The whole visit was very successful, and it enabled the trustees to witness some of the positive outcomes for so many young people who would otherwise not have achieved or gained so much without the funding from our generous donors.