Five Kenyans to Benefit from Sh5 Billion Program Courtesy of US-Based Organization

Five Kenyans are set to benefit from a $50 million (Sh5 billion) program by a US-based private organization, Ford Foundation.

The organization said it will invest $50 million for the next 10 years in Ford Global Fellowship in which the five Kenyans have been selected to join alongside 24 other people from various countries.

The New York-based foundation uses Ford Global Fellowship to invest in people and institutions that initiate a change in society.

The five Kenyans include researcher and policy analyst Nanjira Sambuli, Wawira Njiru who runs Food4Education, Savannah Informatics CEO John Muthee, criminal justice advocate Teresa Njoroge and Nairobi Women Hospital’s Dr. Melsa Auma Omaya.

The fellowship will help the five to build up the capacity of their institutions to connect and support the next generation of leaders.

“The program will run for 18 months with an emphasis on shared learning, building and strengthening connections, and developing a supportive, interconnected cohort. Our hope is for the fellowship to serve as a catalyst for the fellows to accelerate the impact of their work, individually and collectively,” a statement by the fellowship read.

Dr. Omaya hopes to use her capacity as a medical doctor to help the vulnerable and end gender violence while Muthee seeks to use his skills in the world of technology to help Kenya achieve Universal Health Care (UHC).

On the other hand, Sambuli hopes to use her vast experience in ICT to promote digital equality and address the digital gender divide. 

Wawira wants to use her Food4Education program to feed one million people in Africa by 2025 from the current 10, 000 school-going children who she feeds. 

Ms. Njoroge seeks to address the problems facing women in prison and former inmates through her company Clean Start Solutions.