Dr. Vincent Kituku, founder and director of Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope, spoke at our Sept. 12 Rotary meeting. This nonprofit's primary mission is to identify orphaned or poverty-stricken children in Kenya who might otherwise be forced into early marriage, child labor or destructive lifestyles and give them a quality high school and university education. His stories and message inspired us — and moved a number of our members to stay after and learn how they could help. After the meeting, the Eagle/Garden City Rotary Club presented Dr. Kituku with a gift of $600 for his nonprofit.Dr. Kituku began his presentation by telling us that he first came to America with his wife and young daughter to get his master’s degree in Wyoming. He went on to get his doctorate and settled in Boise eventually.
After more than 20 years, he decided to return to his home in Kenya for a visit, never dreaming that it would lead to the founding of the Caring Hearts High School for girls. What triggered his interest in starting a school was the fact that, in Kenya, girls stay in eight grade until they get married because the cost of high school is too great for most families to afford. As the father of three girls, Dr. Kituku said this situation broke his heart until he decided to find a path for Kenyan girls to obtain their secondary school education.
He realized that his daughters were privileged (and all have done very well in life) because they lived in America, while Kenyan girls didn’t have a chance. From this seed of determination, the Caring Hearts boarding school for girls was born in 2015. He borrowed to buy the land, renovated an existing building, recruited teachers and found sponsors to pay the $600 it costs per year for each student.
In Kenya, only 13.7% of public school graduates attend college, while 18 of 39 Caring Hearts students (46.2%) have gone on to university. The other 21 of the original class of 39 have been placed in good jobs to support themselves. Today, 175 students live and study at the school, and Dr. Kituku has now opened the Katy Benoit Life Skills Centre for vocational education, teaching sewing and cooking skills.
Judy Secrist also spoke for a few minutes. As a former teacher, she has been a loyal sponsor and good advisor for Dr. Kituku in his Kenyan efforts. Judy has also sponsored Mary Mutio Paul, a student we tried to bring to Eagle through the District 5400 Rotary Youth Exchange program. Following both presentations, Dr. Kituku provided “I Want to Help” forms.
Before Dr. Kituku came to our club, our membership had voted to donate $600 to Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope. Club President Gretchen Brown presented Dr. Kituku with the gift for all his help in trying to bring Mary to Eagle and the Idaho Fine Arts Academy as a RYE inbound. Despite everyone's efforts, Mary's exchange was not approved by the Kenyan government.
Regardless, we thank you so much, Dr. Kituku, for showing us how one person can create such positive change in this world!