The primary mission of the Kenya Education Endowment Fund (KEEF) is to provide scholarships for very bright students from Kakamega County in Western Kenya who do not have the financial means to pay the fees for secondary and post-secondary education.

Education in Kenya is not free.  Upon acceptance to a secondary or post-secondary educational institution, a student or his family is financially responsible for annual fees for tuition, books, supplies, uniform, and room and board that average $600 or more.

Kakamega County, a few kilometres from the Equator, is beautiful, fertile, and desperately poor.  Most of its rural population lives by subsistence farming, which can barely provide enough food for their families.

One hundred per cent of sponsor donations to KEEF will be applied to students' school fees and educational expenses, unless a donor specifically asks to contribute to our operational costs, or chooses to fund a specific project. Our very low operational costs are covered through separate fund raising and directed donations.

As a donor, you have four main options, and you will receive a tax receipt for all donations.

• Sponsor a secondary student for $600 per year, ideally for 4 years. This will cover fees, uniforms and other related school costs.

• Donate to our Operations & Student Support Fund that helps to "top up" expenses for some students, or provide essential materials and educational tools required by the Kenyan curriculum, for example dictionaries, geometry sets, and calculators. Any amount is welcome.

• Support a post secondary student in a university or other post secondary program. Fees vary greatly, but in general, very high achieving secondary graduates are eligible for government assistance and loans. We recommend that sponsors provide a KEEF scholarship of $1200 annually, but lesser amounts are still welcome. Students who have not attained an "A" or "B" average may also be eligible for a post secondary program, but without government assistance their expenses will be higher. Please contact us for more details.

• Donate to one of our two Endowment Funds which are managed by the Vancouver Foundation. The Marie MacKay Fund (secondary), begun in 2013, has reached over $100,000, and provides annual scholarships for several secondary students. The Alinda Ware Post Secondary Fund began in 2016 and is over $10,000 so far and provides bursaries to assist post secondary students.  Both funds will retain core capital while generating scholarships and bursaries for students.

"Education is absolutely vital to the young people of developing countries. "It is the key to sustainable development and peace and stability within and among countries." [UNESCO World Education Forum, 2000.]