Welcome
UNITED WITH KENYA:
17+ Years Supporting Community Projects
Through donations and on-site assistance, United with Kenya (UwK) partners with communities in Chepsaita, Kenya and surrounding villages to address critical health issues and improve the quality of education. Started in 2005, United with Kenya includes more than 600 volunteers and donors
internationally.
UwK’s Board of Directors covers all administrative costs. 100% of all donations directly support community projects in TWO AREAS:
Working at the community level, UwK offers direct and meaningful results for every dollar donated and hour spent. To date, UwK has helped turn 100% of Chepsaita’s natural water sources into enclosed, filtered outlets that provide improved and accessible fresh water. In 2017 UwK expanded these efforts to surrounding villages. The nursery school has been given structural upgrades so children no longer sit on the ground. Textbooks have been provided to the primary and secondary schools as the start of an initiative to provide a book for every child (One Child, One Book). Educational enrichment efforts have been expanded to neighboring low-resource schools. Out-of-school youth are being given opportunities to learn vocational livelihood skills through the Scholarships & Mentorship project, Amani Nawiri. A Children’s Community Library with over 3,500 holdings has been completed. It is the first of its kind in the entire region.
We believe in universal access to fresh protected water and quality education for all children. We hope you will support this cause. Your contribution, no matter what level, truly makes a difference.
Chepsaita, Kenya
Kenya is located in equatorial East Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean. Kenya is well known for its vast game preserves in the southeast part of the country and the snow-capped, Mount Kenya. Tourism and agriculture are the mainstays of the economy. Average life expectancy is 66 years, the average annual income is $1,143, and only 62% of the population has access to safe drinking water.
Since 2003, primary school education has been free in Kenya. In some communities, like Chepsaita, this has resulted in high student to teacher ratios, some as high as 74:1. Secondary school education is not yet free. Of 8th graders who qualify and are accepted to secondary school, only 40% are able to attend. School life expectancy is 9.5 years.
Chepsaita is a rural village in Western Kenya, with about 12,000 people within 10 square miles. Located in the Rift Valley, near Lake Victoria, Chepsaita is an 8 hour drive from Nairobi and about 90 minutes from Eldoret. Like many villages in Kenya, Chepsaita has no running water or indoor plumbing and minimal electricity. Almost everyone is engaged in subsistence farming; growing what the family will consume for the year. Cars are also virtually non-existent and there is no accessible public transportation; most children must walk miles to and from school.