My name is Melissa O’Brien and I am a freelance writer who lives in Atlanta, Georgia. I was not in the Peace Corps but visited a friend who was, in Kenya, in 1993. It left a huge impression upon me and now that my children are older, I am beginning to move away from my career as a reporter and begin my first fiction novel.

I want to write about a place I visited while I was in Kenya. While the novel will be fiction, it is very important to me to have an accurate description of the region. The location of the book would be in and around Timau, specifically, Kentrout. (Click title to read entire article)

The Education for the Future Foundation: Bodo Initiative invites you to join friends and a diverse community in celebrating the beauty of education and uniting to provide the eager students in Bodo Village, Kenya, with the chance to realize their right to education.

Enjoy FOOD, MUSIC, and SPEAKERS! (Click title for more information)

Africa Rural Connect (ARC) is a new online community that connects individuals with life-long commitments to Sub-Saharan Africa. Hosted by The National Peace Corps Association (NPCA), ARC announced today the first round of winning ideas for participants in its online contest on how to help rural Africa. (Click title to read the entire article.)

Joyce Wafukho, is a perfect example of how microfinance really makes a difference. Joyce is a businesswoman in Lugari (western Kenya) who started with a microloan of $730 and has turned it into a construction business worth more than $26,000. Her business, Lugari Hardware Agencies and Construction Enterprises, currently employs 25 people and builds schools and public buildings. Joyce did this with loans from the Kenya Women’s Finance Trust (KWFT). (Click title to read entire article.)

Commentary by Bob Gribbin

Kenya is abuzz with Obama. Remember that Kenya declared a national holiday upon receiving news of his election. Obama’s picture is painted on matatus, tee shirts, coffee mugs, and printed on kangas worn by market women. Dozens of newborn babies are now named Obama. Maasai beadwork features his image as well as the stars and stripes from the “O” of campaign posters. Matatus bear the names “Obama Express,” “Fastest Obama.” Senator beers are ordered by asking for an “Obama.” Obama’s books are jumping off the shelves. Indeed on flights in and out, I saw a dozen Kenyans avidly reading his tomes. The airwaves resound to Obama songs. Even Obama numbers have been incorporated into the dance performances by Maasai morans at tourist lodges. (Click the title to read full article.)

Friends of Kenya awarded a grant to the Nomadic Kenyan Children’s Educational Fund (NKCEF) to help send Marriel, who is Maasai, to secondary school where she can strive to achieve her goals of teaching her local community to read, write, and use better hygiene.

Marriel is in Form 1 (9th grade) at St. Brigid’s Girls School in Kitale. She is 16 years old, and one of 3 children. Her favorite subjects are science and English, and she promises to work hard to pursue her education.

She will attend secondary school through sponsorship from NKCEF, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children from nomadic communities attend secondary school.

For more information about NKCEF and how to directly support their scholarships for Kenyan students, visit their website at http://www.nkcef.org.

It’s your membership and support of Friends of Kenya that allows us to funnel funds to worthy organizations, such as NKCEF, and community projects in Kenya. Contributions to Friends of Kenya projects are tax-deductible. To make contributions, go to http://www.friendsofkenya.org/project/donate_project. (Click title for full article and link to photo.)