CFK-KENYA BOARD OF TRUSTEES

“There are no extraordinary people, just ordinary people doing extraordinary things with what they’ve been given.
— K. Bradford Brown Ph.D, author and theologian

Sammy Gitau, CFK-Kenya Board of Trustees Founding Member, is a pioneering community worker and father of three from Mathare, a slum of 300,000 people in Nairobi, Kenya.   He started working on community projects while still a teenager.  At 27, he set up his first community resource center, giving young people basic education and training in carpentry and other income-generating skills as a way out of drugs and crime.

An ordinary man doing extraordinary things

Now 35, Sammy runs centers in four slums on less than £55 (US$100, €80) a month, touching thousands of lives.  Sammy’s success comes despite his dire adolescence. He saw his father killed when he was 13. Soon thereafter, Sammy spiraled down into a life of drugs and petty crime, like many of the slum’s street children.  He was almost killed by a crowd for attempting to rob another man, before overdosing on cocaine.   Sammy was just 17.

This was when Sammy decided to change his life.  At 18, Sammy quit drugs after being hospitalized.  Since then, he has remained sober and has tirelessly served his community.

Sammy studies at Manchester University

Sammy has a clear vision: to secure financing for the existing community centers and to expand his grassroots model into rural areas to stem the flow of children onto Nairobi’s streets.

In order to achieve this, Sammy secured funding from the generous partners below, as well as other private individuals to attend Manchester University.  Sammy graduated with a Master’s in managing development projects in 2007.

Partner Organizations     

Sammy received invaluable support in money, time and/or expertise from individuals and departments at several organizations: