W is for We The Change: Inspiring Young People In Kenya

Soiya Gecaga founded the “We the Change” Foundation in Kenya. It focuses on providing hope and opportunities for children who grow up in poverty.

Soiya was born in Nairobi. After an education in the UK and USA, she practised as a lawyer specialising in both corporate and charity law.

Spurred by the violence that followed the 2007 Election in Kenya, she returned to her country.

Shocked by the conditions she found, she was determined help children in her country. Soiya takes up the story on the Foundation’s website.

http://www.wethechangefoundation.com/

 Background

I started thinking about the power of education and just how different the lives of these children would be if they were given the same opportunity and start in life that others in the world received.

I also started thinking about the possibility of creating a good news story right here, in the middle of what is one of the most poverty ridden places in Kenya…if not, the world.

It was on one of my visits to Mathare, that I met Edra – who is now our Programme Manager.

Edra has lived in Mathare for over 18 years and has raised four children of her own.

Touched by the plight of the small children around her, Edra had established a small pre-school.

Together, Edra and I started talking about the possibility of creating a centre for excellence in the field of early childhood education and care and developing a model to provide pre-school education to children in the most marginalised of communities.

It wasn’t long before the idea for “We the Change” Foundation had been formed.

In the words of Kofi Annan:

“Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.”

It is my hope that by providing these children with this most basic of human rights that they will not only thrive but become the leaders of tomorrow.

Vision

“We the Change” Foundation aims to inspire and to empower individuals to be the change that they wish to see in the world.

We envisage a world where millions of lives are transformed as a result of people working together as one united global community.

Our Mission

To provide educational opportunities and to improve the lives of children living in marginalised communities in Kenya.

To establish a best practice holistic model of education and care in the field of early childhood development, that is rigorously assessed and examined and that can be disseminated globally in an easy to replicate format.

Objectives

“We the Change” Foundation shall achieve its mission by:

Funding and expanding the Mathare Early Childhood Development Centre and thereby establishing a centre for excellence and a model school that specialises in early childhood education and care.

Designing, developing and implementing a longitudinal academic study in partnership with Kenyatta University, Nairobi.

Applying international best practice standards of curriculum development in order to create a holistic and well-rounded curriculum.

Stringently monitoring and evaluating the work carried out by the foundation and sharing the knowledge gained and the lessons learned with a wider international community.

Producing a documentary film to highlight the work carried out by “We the Change” Foundation in the field of early childhood development and to publicise this work to a broad international audience.

Here is another video about the Foundation’s work.