Podcast Interview with @DrCharityTV
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In September, 2021, three of our founders had the great pleasure of talking with Dr. Charity Campbell on her podcast The Leaders' Lab. Give it a watch or listen if you'd like to hear us talking about the Kesho Fund's history and work!
Our Name
Kesho means "tomorrow" in Swahili [click here]
The name Kesho was chosen because it means "tomorrow" in Swahili, a lingua franca in East Africa that is widely credited for helping to unify the hundreds of disparate tribes in the East African region, particularly in Tanzania, which holds over 120 tribes, each with a history, culture, and language of its own.
Kesho is a relevant moniker for our group because we have set our sights on a brighter tomorrow in Tanzania and are focusing on projects with potential for impact that will spread and grow over time there, such as training teachers.
Kesho is a relevant moniker for our group because we have set our sights on a brighter tomorrow in Tanzania and are focusing on projects with potential for impact that will spread and grow over time there, such as training teachers.
Our History
Before the Kesho Fund [click here]
Before the Kesho Fund existed, Lindsay and John studied abroad in Kenya through the School of International Training (SIT) in 2009. As part of her semester there, Lindsay talked to people in the coastal village of Shirazi about their goals for local development. They said the village needed a clinic, as the closest one was privately run and several miles away over loose sand walking paths.
Lindsay spent her next month performing a feasibility study of a clinic in Shirazi. The village put together a Dispensary Committee, consisting of one female elder and one male elder from each of Shirazi's 6 neighborhoods.
The following summer, John received a grant from the University of Richmond to go back to Shirazi for two months to use the $3,000 he and Lindsay had raised to begin construction on the clinic. Construction was begun, and the Kenyan regional government agreed to help finish it. Five years later, with endless effort by the Dispensary Committee and the help of the Kenyan Coastal Development Fund, the Shirazi Dispensary was finally completed.
In 2016, the Dispensary committee asked John to help them raise just $1,500 for a maternity wing on the clinic. He set up a page on Generosity.com (archived here) and collected the money easily from enthusiastic donors in his community. Afterwards, he, Lindsay, and several friends began to consider how little money was needed for such a significant impact in the Shirazi community and how ready donors had been to support the effort--was there a way to provide ongoing support for similar development projects with high impact/cost ratios?
Lindsay spent her next month performing a feasibility study of a clinic in Shirazi. The village put together a Dispensary Committee, consisting of one female elder and one male elder from each of Shirazi's 6 neighborhoods.
The following summer, John received a grant from the University of Richmond to go back to Shirazi for two months to use the $3,000 he and Lindsay had raised to begin construction on the clinic. Construction was begun, and the Kenyan regional government agreed to help finish it. Five years later, with endless effort by the Dispensary Committee and the help of the Kenyan Coastal Development Fund, the Shirazi Dispensary was finally completed.
In 2016, the Dispensary committee asked John to help them raise just $1,500 for a maternity wing on the clinic. He set up a page on Generosity.com (archived here) and collected the money easily from enthusiastic donors in his community. Afterwards, he, Lindsay, and several friends began to consider how little money was needed for such a significant impact in the Shirazi community and how ready donors had been to support the effort--was there a way to provide ongoing support for similar development projects with high impact/cost ratios?
Our Founding (2017-2018) [click here]
The Kesho Fund was officially incorporated in the USA as a 503 (c)(3) nonprofit in 2017 with John, Clay, and James on the Board. The first projects the Kesho Fund supported were led by Oliver and Petro, exemplary educators and passionate workers for change in their communities with whom John collaborated while living and working in Tanzania on a teaching fellowship sponsored by the US Department of State's Office of English Language Programs
We launched a fund raiser for $2,500 to help our work get off the ground on Thanksgiving 2017 (Nov 23), and reached our goal on December 12, 2017. That fundraiser is archived here.
Our work began in earnest on January 1, 2018.
We launched a fund raiser for $2,500 to help our work get off the ground on Thanksgiving 2017 (Nov 23), and reached our goal on December 12, 2017. That fundraiser is archived here.
Our work began in earnest on January 1, 2018.
Our Future [click here]
In the future, the Kesho Fund looks forward to working with more Project Leaders to launch more Projects in our areas of focus. We hope that our next few projects will address needs such as school sanitation and school food to help our children learn. Stay tuned for more!
How Kesho Fund Money is Used
To learn more details about how Kesho Fund money is used, please visit our dedicated page on that topic.
Who We Are
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John Whalen serves as Director and Chair of the Board for the Kesho Fund. He received his BA from the University of Richmond, his MA from Colorado State University, and participated in non-degree study in China and Kenya. He has previously volunteered with Intercambio for Comunidades, the Immigrant Resource Center of the San Luis Valley, and Americorps.
When the Kesho Fund was founded, John was teaching courses in English and Education at St. Augustine University of Tanzania as part of a fellowship for the US Department of State English Language Programs. He has also lived and taught at universities in China, Japan, and the USA. Presently, John lives and teaches in New Hampshire. |
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Oliver Kimathi serves as a Project Leader and Mwanza Outreach Coordinator for the Kesho Fund. Oliver is the Headmistress of Bujingwa Secondary School in Mwanza, Tanzania as well as an English teacher, the supervisor for her school English club, and an executive member of the Tanzanian English Language Teachers Association Mwanza chapter (TELTA Mwanza).
Oliver received her certificate from Butimba Teachers College, her BA from Open University of Tanzania, and her Post-Graduate Degree in Education (PDGE) from the University of Dar es Salaam. In 2023, she received a prestigious Fulbright Award to pursue a sponsored MA degree in the USA. Oliver has been leading girls' empowerment clubs in Mwanza since 2016 and is widely seen as a leader and a role model at her school and in her community. |
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Clay Heinzel-Nelson serves as Treasurer of the Board for the Kesho Fund. He taught Mathematics and Commerce in Malawi through the NGO Villages in Partnership while taking a year off from college in 2008.
Clay and John lived together for a year in Boulder, Co and developed a lasting friendship which lead them to partnering together to form The Kesho Fund. He currently lives in Denver, Co and works for the startup food company Ripple Foods. His other passions include Ultimate Frisbee and backpacking adventures. |
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James Farrell serves as the US Legal Advisor and Secretary of the Board for the Kesho Fund. With a broad educational and professional background in Law, Finance, and Environmental Science, James has guided the formation and corporate governance for the Kesho Fund. James is general counsel for a private company based in Boulder, Colorado, has served as a board member, fundraising chair, and advisor to local non-profits since 2007. James holds a JD from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, College of William and Mary, and a BA in Psychology from St Joseph’s College.
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Petro Okoth serves as a Project Leader and Mwanza Projects Coordinator at the Kesho Fund. Petro is also an English teacher at Luchelele Secondary School, and the supervisor for his school's English club.
Petro received his BA from the St. Augustine University of Tanzania and spent 5 months at Kent State University through the International Leaders in Education Program (ILEP) in 2017. Petro also coordinates programs for open learning at his school, such as adult literacy courses, and is well known in Mwanza for his work to support students inside and outside of the classroom. |
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Idris Juma serves as Tanzanian Legal Adviser for the Kesho Fund. Idris received his degree from St. Augustine University of Tanzania, interned with the Cedar Foundation, Tanzania and now works as a legal officer with IMMMA Advocates, part of DLA Piper Group.
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Anthonia Nkaka serves as a Project Leader for the Kesho Fund. Anthonia is an English teacher at Ibungilo Secondary School, the head of Ibungilo's Girls' Empowerment Club, and the leader of our Sanitary Pads Manufacturing Project there. She has been mentoring girls in her community for many years.
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Augustine Mlembeza serves as a Project Leader with the Kesho Fund. Augustine is a History and Geography teacher at Luchelele Secondary School, where he also leads our Breakfasts for Mwanza Schools project and supports a number of environmental initiatives.
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Jacqueline Keeso serves as Strategic Advisor at the Kesho Fund. Jacqueline has over a decade of experience in the non-profit space both as a volunteer for small community non-profits as well as leading direct mail fundraising for a large international NGO. Her passion for social change centers on women and girls empowerment, specifically through education to build an equitable society.
She holds a MBA from the University of Oxford and a BBA International Business from Boise State University. She currently lives in Kitchener, Ontario and directs global customer experience for a tech company in Waterloo. |
Contact us at [email protected] or CLICK HERE to learn about how you can get involved with the Kesho Fund yourself.