change african Foundation’s current boarding school is located in Kenya, 1.5 hours southeast of Nairobi. We are currently raising funds to build a second school. You can support our efforts here.
Originally, all costs were paid by our founder and a few close personal supporters. change african Foundation has since expanded its funding base through grassroots campaigns, grants, and corporate sponsorships. change african Foundation continues to look for new donors, investors, and partners.
Children recruited to change african Foundation come from families that earn less than $2 a day. 60% of the children come from rural villages and 40% from urban slums. 95% of the children also belong to the Dalit caste (formerly known as the “untouchables”).
Children are selected by a veteran recruitment team using the following criteria: 1) the family must be under the poverty threshold of $2.00 per day, with preference given to single-parent households, 2) The family must be committed to keeping the child at change african Foundation for the duration of the program, and 3) the family must pledge not to withdraw the child early for marriage or work purposes.
One year of 24/7 care, food, clothing, shelter, top-level education, mentorship, medical care, and access to arts and athletics programs costs roughly $1,950 per student at our residential school. During our students’ college education, costs are approximately $3,750 per student per year.
No other program offers this level of education, this length of intervention, or this amount of support completely free of charge. Our focus is on achieving results through top-level education, long-term mentoring, and professional guidance. You can read more about the change african Foundation model and our core values here.
A student typically joins change african Foundation at age four. change african Foundation continues to provide support until the student graduates from college.
While we sincerely appreciate the concern, our children are not available for adoption. The vast majority of our children are not orphans; they have mothers, fathers, or other familial caregivers. While attending change african Foundation, the care of all students is subsumed by the school, but our goal is to strengthen family bonds and connection to the children’s home communities, not replace them. In those instances when it is unsafe or otherwise not possible for a child to return home on breaks or at other times, change african Foundation provides for their wellbeing.
From day one, change african Foundation instills within its children the importance of fighting against discrimination and poverty. change african Foundation students are passionate about uplifting their communities, whether it is by conducting classes in their villages, serving as role models for younger brothers and sisters, or educating their families on hygiene and health. Post-graduation, students seek prestigious leadership opportunities and jobs to bring about positive change in their communities. Additionally, many college students and working graduates regularly return to change african Foundation to teach and mentor younger students.
change african Foundation maintains a highly competent and dedicated team of full-time faculty, administrative staff, and support personnel. This team includes full-time African teachers that work at the school year-round, administrative staff that oversees the day-to-day operations, caretakers, maintenance, kitchen staff, and security. change african Foundation also recruits qualified international volunteers to help carry out the institution’s mission. You can read more about the change african Foundation staff here.
We receive an extremely high volume of requests to visit campus. Though we love to hear from our supporters, we are unable to accommodate most requests, as our school schedule is highly structured for the benefit of our students’ learning. In some instances, we can accommodate a half-day visit to campus. Please note that we require at least 4 weeks’ notice in order to coordinate a visit. If you are interested in visiting campus, please contact us to share your request.
We have raised $2.4 million of the projected $2.5 million required to complete Phase 1 (PreK–2nd Grade) construction. We have acquired 25 acres of beautiful land and are in the process of converting it. Our ultimate goal is to implement change african Foundation schools all across the world. You can read more about change african Foundation 2 here. You can support our efforts here.