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Teens raise $50,000 for project in Kenya

This information was submitted by Stephanie Osborne, a parent of one of the founders of Kids Against Poverty.

Local teens have successfully raised $50,000 to fund the building of the Lewa Conservation Education Center in Kenya. The students are part of Kids Against Poverty (KAP), a nonprofit organization run by five kids.

The goal of KAP is to help break the cycle of poverty for impoverished children by creating opportunities and hope through education.

The funds will enable Kenyan children to learn about endangered species and the role conservation plays in education, health care and sustainable development.

The Lewa Education Center will include a meeting room, a small interactive museum room, and a computer center. The Lewa Conservancy, made up of 62,000 acres, is a model for wildlife conservation on private land in Eastern Africa.

The KAP kids raised the money several ways. Some 20 KAP kids were sponsored and ran a very blustery 12K race on Angel Island in San Francisco in December. Kids also made and sold greeting cards and African trade bead bracelets through their schools, and at sidewalk stands (at Roberts and Draeger's markets) and local retailers (Angela's and Poised of Menlo Park and Gitane of Palo Alto).

Since its inception, Kids Against Poverty has grown to include a network of socially minded young people. These Menlo students serve on its board of teenagers: Brock, Carter and Riley Burgess; Peter Osborne; Emily Addicott; and Amy Pinkus.

KAP members from schools throughout the Peninsula — such as Castilleja, Crystal Springs Uplands, Phillips Brooks, Woodside Priory, Woodside Elementary, and Menlo School — have joined to raise more than $125,000 since 2006 to fund educational programs in Kenya, Cambodia and Peru.

Please contact kidsagainstpoverty@gmail.com if you are interested in donating to KAP to help break the cycle of poverty through education.