As the day of the contest looms and I campaign to be the Face of Kenya UK 2014, what continues to motivate me is a reminder of what underpins this social platform. Face of Kenya UK is enabling me to support and fundraise for Project1917, a charity that sponsors orphaned children and the less privileged to pursue secondary education in Kenya. While I was in Kenya I was able to see what the charity does first hand and the impact it has on these children. I visited two beneficiaries of Project1917, namely Charles Mwangi- a form one student at Ruthagati High School and Jeffrey Kahoro attending Nyeri High School.
Each of their stories are too compelling to overlook, When I sat down to talk to Charles and the school's principal Mr Maina Wachira, this is what he said about Charles who had already shown great potential in the short time he has been at the school; "Mwangi is now in a priviledged position, although he experienced tremendous hardships in life, he is finally beginning to see a light a the end of the tunnel as a result of Project1917 that is fostering and supporting him to be an upright and responsible citizen of Kenya".
I was delighted to have a feature article on Daily Nation Newspaper capturing the visit to Ruthagati High School and Nyeri High School http://www.nation.co.ke/counties/nyeri/Laviniah-Karanja-educate-local-orphans/-/1954190/2281934/-/cumo7sz/-/index.html
My objective is to highlight the predicament of the less privileged in Kenya by ensuring they are afforded the basic need of education, a fundamental requirement of boosting their future potential. Lending from a powerful quote from Nelson Mandela, education is truly "the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world" with this sentiment I hope to use the Face of Kenya UK platform to offer support to orphans in Kenya and to help make their dreams a reality as their dreams too are valid.