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Alumni Spotlight – Fred Mwangangi

May 15, 2026By 0 comment

My name is Fred Mwangangi James, and I have been a proud beneficiary of Kids League Kenya since my childhood in 2005. Growing up in a humble background with many daily struggles, I thank God that my education journey was never hindered. Kids League was always there, ensuring that every need was taken care of.

I performed well in my KCPE exams and was admitted to Shimo La Tewa High School for my secondary education. Because school fees were no longer a challenge, I was able to fully focus on my studies. Although life at home remained difficult, my strong and supportive parents encouraged me to keep going and inspired me to work even harder. In 2015, I successfully completed my KCSE exams.

In 2016, I joined Kisii University to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Purchasing and Supply Chain Management. Life at campus was tough, but Kids League continued to support me by providing pocket money every semester. This support allowed me to concentrate on my studies, and in September 2021, I graduated with Second Class Honours (Upper Division).

After graduation, I spent some time seeking job opportunities. In June 2024, Kids League once again came through for me by providing an internship opportunity in partnership with OCF, which led to my placement at Unity Homes in the Supply Chain Department. Through hard work and God’s grace, I was retained as an employee, and I am still working there to date.

I am not yet where I want to be, but I believe in hard work and perseverance. Challenges will always be there, but they shape us and help us grow.

I sincerely thank Kids League Kenya for standing with me and many other young beneficiaries. May God continue to bless this organisation. Special thanks to Madam Julie Nderitu, who has been my guide and motivator. Her words “keep pushing and never stop praying” have inspired me to stay strong and focused.

Thank you, Kids League Kenya, for making me who I am today.

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Celebrating 25 years of educating students in Kongowea, Mombasa

May 8, 2023By

Every year the Kids League Kenya community comes together to celebrate the achievements of our scholars.
Those who have graduated share their experiences in an effort to inspire those pursuing scholarships to keep working hard, concentrating, and pursuing their goals.

A special year

This year we celebrated Kids League Kenya Day with particular pride as we were commemorating 25 years of educating pupils in the Kongowea region.

The visitors arrived as planned and on time, with our guest of honor, an education officer, in attendance. Rebecca, who has been a supporter of ours for more than 20 years, also attended.

We planned for over 60 guests to join us, and guests were greeted with refreshments in readiness for a fun event.

In addition, there were outstanding student performances and speeches, and a special meal was provided at the end of the event.

Our graduates shared advice

An important element of Kids League Kenya day is always for our new and younger students to see what is possible. We ask our graduates to give their time and give back, offering advice to those coming next.

It was a very proud moment for the organization, realizing how much we have shaped these young people into devout women and men, who are professionals and intellectuals.

We had a series of speakers, from different professions and with varying topics to discuss. Our Master of Ceremonies was Lewa, a Kids League Kenya and University graduate himself.

Career advice

Our engineer Isaac (who was the recent focus of our Student Spotlight series) took time to emphasize to the young pupils the value of choosing a career. He encouraged them to be thinking about their personal qualities and skills, enabling them to find a vocation they will excel at and enjoy. This will help them to be content and not make mistakes in life, helping them to be successful.

Controlling Peer Pressure

Our target area, Kongowea, has several teenagers who occasionally end up hanging out with the wrong crowd and become less useful to society as a result.

When we get together each year, it’s important to encourage the students to stay away from risky behaviour that young people can engage in, including smoking marijuana, breaking into homes or even getting pregnant before they’re ready. Our university student Jennifer was able to interact with the kids giving them fantastic advice.

Hard work and Discipline

Success requires a lot of hard work and discipline. This was clear from the KSCE performance results from the previous year. We saw the greatest number of students move to universities.

Out of 30 pupils, 22 were able to achieve a C+ or higher, which is the average mark needed for admission to a university. Sammy was able to give his advice on what a student should do to achieve the greatest results. You may recognise Sammy – he was in our first Student Spotlight blog star of 2023.

Making this year particularly special

We call this Kids League Kenya day special because for the very first time, students received awards from the office. Julie our administrator took the lead on a lovely awards ceremony.

These awards were presented based on the following criteria: best performance, most disciplined, most voluntarism, punctuality in terms of providing documents to the office on time, among others.

The alumni also surprised two students who did incredibly well on their KCSE exams with gifts; one of them, Etole, managed to improve from a D+ to a B-. The education officer who was our guest of honor added Ksh. 1000 to the alumni contribution.

Celebrating 25 years of serving the Kongowea Community

On the KLK Day, we were also celebrating 25 years of educating students in the Kongowea region as a team.

The trustees were all present to spend time with the children and celebrate this important day with gorgeous photographs, lovely gifts, delectable meals, and many other amazing moments.

One of our trustees, Vicki, who has been there since 1998, shared a wonderful story of the organization’s progress to date.


We take this opportunity to thank you all that came, gave their time to speak and perform – and our donors who make all of this possible.

1000s of children and their families have benefitted from the access to education through Kids League Kenya over the last 25 years. To help us on our journey any and all donations are welcome and go towards the funding of scholarships, as education changes lives.

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Student Spotlight: Meet Isaac and learn about his inspiring story

April 17, 2023By

Isaac has benefited from the support of Kids League Kenya, and has achieved a great deal. He is leading a very successful life. This is due to his hard work and dedication. As a result of his focus, he has become what we hope for all of our students: a responsible and self-sufficient member of society.

From humble beginnings

Isaac’s parents always made sure that Isaac and his siblings had something to eat, but their situation was certainly was not one where they could cover all of the children’s school fees.

In Kenya secondary school is not free to attend, and is boarding school away from home. Parents from our focus community of Kongowea in Mombasa often have to make the difficult decision to end their children’s education after primary school due to lack of funds. Kids League Kenya also support student who look to progress into tertiary education – looking for support for university and college.

Isaac managed to get in touch with us in 2017. He met the criteria in our selection process and made a good impression in his interviews, so we decided to give him an opportunity. By working with our kind sponsors we were able to pay for his education expenses, enabling him to continue his education.

Potential from the very start

Throughout his time as a member of the Kids League Kenya student population Isaac consistently demonstrated reliability, adhering to the office regulations and was a very consistent student. He also showed great levels of obedience, one of many fantastic traits.

As his relationship with our organisation developed over the years, Isaac would visit the office to help Julie with certain office tasks, and even supported us for our Kids League Kenya inaugural sport tournament.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaac was one of our volunteers for the Kids League Kenya Sports Tournament

Excelling in tertiary education

Isaac was able to secure a chance to complete his bachelor’s degree course at the Technical University of Mombasa.

Kids League Kenya support students in their university and college ambitions, using a combination of sponsor funding and grants to cover tuition fees and also support their expenses. Isaac’s school costs were from 47,500 to 50,000 KSH a year for the four-year programme. To learn more about how we structure our support please visit our sponsorship details.

After completing his course, he graduated with a Bachelor of Technology in Marine Engineering.

Since he joining Kids League Kenya, Isaac has held onto this as his ideal profession because he had high hopes that it will someday get him into a career. He made sure that he gave himself the best possible chance by maintaining outstanding grades during his time in school. He was able to graduate with a Second Class (upper division) degree.

A special graduation

Isaac’s graduation took place in August 2022, and was virtual due to COVID-19’s restrictions on gatherings.

Our Kids League Kenya team were able to plan his online graduation utilizing the computers in our internet corner. During the graduation, he was accompanied to the office by his mother and brother, who were both grateful to the trustees and the donors. They were delighted to be there and so proud of what Isaac had achieved. Alongside Julie from our team, two of our trustees, An and Jan, were able to join and celebrate a successful graduation.

Living the dream

Isaac is from Mombasa, and set out to study Marine Engineering at Mombasa University.

The port is a hub of industry in Mombasa and Isaac’s career choice means that he’s well placed to work in his home town.

Isaac is currently employed with Comarco in the Indian Ocean. This role and a successful company is well deserved, as he continues to work hard and develop himself.

Special thanks

We also want to express our gratitude to Jan, one of our trustees, who helped him be able to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity.

His graduation opened a new door, he is now living the life of his dreams, and he is able to provide for his family’s needs as well.

How can you help?

Once our students graduate from education in their chosen field, they need to find their next opportunity. As these highly motivated individuals look for a career to enable them to be self-sufficient and often support their family members as well.

At Kids League Kenya we try to support our students in their next step. Without work experience or a chance from companies, or alumni can find it difficult to secure a role. Please get in touch if your business may be able to collaborate with us – fresh talent for you, opportunities for our students – win win.

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School Spotlight: Learn more about our school partner Kengeleni Primary

March 20, 2023By

Kengeleni Primary School is a key partner of Kids League Kenya. The school is one of the chosen few institutions that we work closely with to really maximise the opportunity offered to a child.

Our relationship with the schools continues based on the results and standards of the school.

We work with the educators to make sure that the children selected are those with the most potential and in need. They most often come from the poorest families in the area and there are challenges that come with their circumstances that mean the teacher, parent and school support is essential.

About Kengeleni Primary School, Kongowea

Kengeleni Primary School is based in the heart of the Kongowea community, in Mombasa, Kenya.

Kengeleni Primary is led by Headmaster Mr. Anderson. He has a staff of 21 teachers (as at October 2022), who cover the 11 subjects in the Kenyan Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

These subjects include activities across maths, local language Kiswahili, English language and literacy. Also religion, hygiene and nutrition, environmental activities, movement and creative activities.

Mr Anderson, head master of Kengeleni Primary School

Kengeleni has 1470 pupils

The team are educating 1470 students across a number of age groups (pupil numbers as at October 2022).

Pupils join their local Primary School when they can, and for some that is later than others. This is due to the range of personal circumstances (factors can include financial and family challenges that delay their attendance). This means that there is a range of age within the classes. After Primary School students graduate to Junior Secondary School (JSS).

After this point it is the end ‘free’ state education for students, this is when Kids League Kenya steps in to sponsor those in need, and with the academic potential. Find out more about the funding of education and the costs here.

In these classes of 100s of graduating students not everyone can be supported by our charity. We have to make the difficult decision of which pupils we can help. Find out more on how we select pupils.

1470 students in 0.3 acres

One of the most interesting and challenging aspects for the team at Kengeleni Primary is the location and physical size of the footprint.

Based on a 0.3 acre site between banana markets in the core of the Kongowea district, this is a constricted urban site.

It is a bustling hub of the community and the work they do to deliver such high standards and results is impressive.

Strive for excellence

The school has the motto ‘Strive for excellence’. Mr Anderson’s teaching staff uphold the highest standards of education, both in terms of adherence to policies and their enthusiasm for their pupils.

Alongside their motto, the mission of the school is clear. The partnership the school aims to have between the teachers, parents and pupils is core to their success.

The teachers at Kengeleni Primary are also part of our core team that make the Twinning events happen. These opportunities give students experiences beyond the classroom and their community, meeting students globally and learning about other cultures and lifestyles. We aim for them to build ambitions to change their lives.

The pupils are engaged, alert and busy in their signature purple uniform. A structure and routine is an important part of daily life for a children. This school helps many pupils to develop themselves and grow. This is at the core of what Kids League Kenya aims to do.

Thank you Kengeleni Primary School

At Kids League Kenya we’re proud to sponsor graduating students from Kengeleni Primary.

With more donations we are able to support more children. Find out how you can help to sponsor a child through the next stage of their studies.

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Student Spotlight: Meet Esther Vivi and hear her story in her own words

March 6, 2023By

International Women’s Day celebrates the achievements of women and seeking gender equality. We thought it the perfect chance to celebrate one of the 100s of women of Kids League Kenya.

Let’s hear about Kids League Kenya alumni Vivi’s journey in her own words.

Where it all began

‘’My name is Esther Vivi and I joined Kids League Kenya in 2015.

At that time, my family was struggling to make ends meet.

We didn’t have enough money to cover the costs of attending school, so I had given up on starting my secondary education.

My mother sold charcoal to help pay for food and other household expenditures, while my father worked seasonal casual jobs.”

The Kids League Kenya Journey

“Joining Kids League Kenya was a turning point for me. The journey was so good; I was able to continue with my studies without worrying about school fees because of the funding I received.

Apart from paying school fees, there are a lot of things I liked about Kids League Kenya. Like for instance how we were urged to work hard in school and support our families in the future, and how we had Kids League Kenya Days where people who had already moved onto campus could give us motivational talks and also speak to us about their experiences there.

These and many more increased my eagerness to work hard in school so that I could go to campus and experience its way of life.”

What school life was like

“While in campus, I worked hard to maintain good grades as I pursued my diploma course in business information technology.

I took part in a number of campus programs, including some that helped me learn new skills and widen my perspective on life.

This included visiting the homeless and prisons, participating in charity programs, and participating in church activities like attending church services and praying.”

A bright future and success ahead

“I give thanks to God as I was privileged to get a job at the Mwingi Level IV hospital, where I work as an assistant in the ICT office after I had finished my studies.

I feel incredibly honoured and grateful to Kids League Kenya for the chance they provided to me. I would like to express my gratitude to the trustees and all the donors for their ongoing support, it will not be forgotten.”

Here’s a recent email from Vivi updating the Kids League Kenya office and our sponsors on her progress.

Changing lives

Kids League Kenya is a charity that raises funds to sponsor the secondary and tertiary education of talented children in the Mombasa district of Kongowea.

Our primary focus is the education of children. It is through our sponsors that Vivi was able to finish her studies and now she is living her brighter future.

If you would like to Sponsor a Child there are a number of ways to help change the future for other children.

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Student Spotlight: Meet Situma Samuel, a star with lots of potential

January 30, 2023By

We regularly like to shine a light on those members of Kids League Kenya that are flying.

To kick off 2023 we’re celebrating Sammy.

Meet Sammy, aged 20. He attended our partner school Kongowea Primary.


As with all of our students Sammy is from Kongowea, but as with many of our sponsored pupils he now attends a Secondary School in Kisii, the capital of Kisii County in south-western Kenya.

Many students go away from home for their secondary school education. We help by funding the education, but also work with the families to support this transition. It is of course an exciting but hard time for a child’s loved ones:

Facing the unknown

When in Form 1 and assigned to sit his Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) to attend his future school there were concerns.

This was a school not known well by Kids League Kenya or Sammy’s family, and there was some concern that the school may not match up to the potential of our able student.

Julie our administrator offered wise advice to the family. In particular to Sammy’s sister who has played a great role in helping his Kids League journey, to focus on the exam and on Sammy: “don’t look at the name of the school, any school depends on the child”.

So rather than worry that the performance of the school may be a problem, for Sammy and his family focus on his own performance.

The perfect match

We received some fantastic news recently that Sammy’s Kisii Secondary school is now in the top ten.

In the news it was reported: “A little known school in Kisii beat all odds and beat the giants for the first time.”

It is fantastic to have a great school paired with our talented student.

Sammy is ‘A-grade material’

Sammy is very disciplined, and after his first time visiting our office to collect his slip to pay his school fees didn’t quite go to plan. (You must have your report form and required documents, and without them, you cannot receive your fees). Sammy’s sister saved the day by gathering them together quickly, and since then he has been very organised and prompt.

Our team build a close relationship with the students we support.. While Julie enforces the rules for providing correct documentation for the school fee funding, she also coaches the pupils to be their best. Sammy is a great example of this.

When Sammy scored Bs in his grades (of course a credible result) Julie spent time building his confidence as ‘A grade material’. And guess what? We’re delighted he’s just achieved a mean A- grade in his latest results for Form 4. Congratulation Sammy!

Looking at a bright future

Sammy is 20 years old and looking forward to his next step.

He has an ambition to work in aviation, so he will be applying and await approval from the Ministry of Education.

Sammy regularly calls into the Kids League Kenya team office in Mombasa when he’s home, and we love to see him flourishing.

If you would like to sponsor a student like Sammy we would love to work with you. You can follow the journey of a child whose life has been changed by £30 a month.

Sammy doesn’t have a sponsor so his fees come from your donations. We welcome any amount, so please make a donation towards the work of Kids League Kenya.

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Experience Kongowea by tuktuk: thrilling guest tour of our community

December 5, 2022By

When our UK based volunteer Vicky asked if we could show the work of Kids League Kenya to visitors she was bringing to Kenya, we were thrilled. In November we took the opportunity to put together a tour for these wageni (Kiswahili for visitors).

Authorised by the Kongowea Chief’s Office, our administrator Julie arranged all the details to create a trip to remember.

Meeting at the shop

Our visitors arrived at our meeting point, 2nd Act, our second hand shop in Nyali. This is also the headquarters of all things Kids League Kenya. Introductions were made to the team that would be joining the tour as guides, as well as to Abdeali, our accountant. They also had a chance to browse the items available to buy in our shop.

Our tour guides

  1. Julie our administrator was in the lead tuktuk and in charge of the route and stops along the way.
  2. Lewa, who is a graduate of the Kids League Kenya programme and now in our office team was on hand for the second tuktuk and in charge of photography for the outing.
  3. In our third tuktuk was Yvonne, a former student from Kongowea Primary School and now studying Engineering at University, who was a kind volunteer for the day.

    Bringing up the back of our tuktuk train was our trustee Vicki.
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Experience Kongowea by tuktuk: thrilling guest tour of our community

Tuktuk Tour

Our plan for the trip was to drive past a number of our partner schools. We would stop at Kengeleni School where are guests could meet the headmaster, teachers and also see a few prepared performances from students in class.

Everything went to plan, though we did slightly overrun our schedule. This meant our guests were able to meet a lot more of the children as we left Kengleni Primary school. There were 1470 students out to lunch and able to wish us well!



It was a fantastic trip for all involved. School reunions, a chance to make new friends.

The people of our community in Kongowea waved and smiled, as the tuktuks snaked their way through the streets of the District. The children were fantastic, the teachers engaging and our guests were completely captivated by the sights and sounds of this unique experience.

Our visitors kindly donated funds covering all costs for the excursion. Many have subsequently become supporters of the charity. We really enjoyed the tuktuk experience, and thank all of our partner schools and the Chief of Kongowea for making this event possible.

If you would like to learn more about fundraising or holding events, please contact us.

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Surprise award recognition from Twinkl

August 31, 2021By

Recognition and feedback are so important, and when international educational resource Twinkle contacted us to award us a Sporting Heroes badge we were delighted.

Supporting and prioritising education is of course core to our purpose, so to receive acknowledgment from this global organisation is fantastic.

Twinkl is a well respected curriculum website, with global content and communities to support teachers, parents and institutions.

They also have resources specifically for Kenya available to support education.

Lockdown resources

Twinkl was particularly loved by home schoolers, of which there have been so many during the pandemic, but of course in our impoverished community in Mombasa with limited access to water and electricity, the covid-19 impact was even more difficult for education.

During the pandemic the schools were closed, and therefore education following the CBC curriculum ground to a near halt.

We introduced our internet corner in the office during the pandemic as a way to help students who had no access to online resources. But it was not this initiative that Twinkle recognised us for.

Sporting recognition

In early 2020 we announced our Sports In-development programme, but due to Covid we could not proceed with our plans to have any events to start to bring the benefits of sport to our community in Mombasa.

However, last month we were able to hold our first sport tournament. The event was held at the local stadium in the heart of the Kongowea, with over 90 children taking part. For the full details and photo gallery please visit our blog.

For our efforts Twinkl Awarded us their Sporting Heroes badge, which we have been delighted to receive.

Here’s a video about the Sports event we held.
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Fantastic memories made at our inaugural Sports Tournament event

July 29, 2021By

In 2020 we announced a new programme with our partner Operation Orphan. This Sport in-Development scheme aims to bring the benefits of organised sport and teamwork to our community.

We announced our intention to hold a School Holiday Club in 2020, but of course Covid had other plans.

We have finally had the opportunity to bring our ambition life, and we held our first Kids League Kenya Sports tournament on 21st July.  This took the form of a football tournament at Joho Staduim in our target community of Kongowea, Mombasa during the half term break.

We had six teams playing an eleven a-side competition.

There were 3 junior teams and 3 senior league teams.

Bringing the event to life

In the build up to the event, adult coaches were recruited from the school staff and Kids League Kenya were able to offer free FA (Football Association) coaching opportunities. There was also compulsory safeguarding training under the auspices of the local Child Protection Services.

Local officials were also consulted regarding the Covid protocols and special measures put in place.

Great attendance on the day

Some 90 children from 3 Kongowea schools, and also from a local community based sports programme participated in a one day football tournament at the Joho Stadium in the centre of Kongowea.

Thanks to our partner Operation Orphan and event sponsor Banner, a UK sports company, players and staff were kitted out with smart new uniforms.

Our Kids League Kenya team and volunteers organised everyone into 2×3 co-ed junior and senior teams ending with the winning team being awarded with medals and a cup.

The serving of unlimited clean water, breakfast and lunch provided the extra calories to keep the players hydrated nourished and happy.

The attendance of the local Chief and Deputy Chief added to the messaging delivered by the staff encouraging healthy safe lifestyles which is so much a part of sport-in-development work.

We feel strongly that sports and development go hand in hand, but in the most impoverished areas children do not often have access to sports infrastructure or physical education programmes.
Beyond the athletic advantage, sports will teach children discipline, teamwork, self-confidence, good hygiene habits, such as handwashing and nutrition and will give them opportunities to excel and expand friendships.

Thank you to our partner Operation Orphan and our Headline Sponsor Banner for making this event possible.

For future events please check out our Fundraising section.

If you would like to become a partner or sponsor an event you can find out more information in our corporate partnerships section.

If you would like to make a donation, every penny counts. We welcome all support.

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Hitting the streets of Kongowea for our Community Survey

May 1, 2021By

In April 2021, we conducted a comprehensive fact-finding community survey in
the streets of Kongowea.

The questionnaire based process was intended to assess the living conditions in the KLK target community and gain insight into the aspirations of the young.

It was also intended to acquaint the inhabitants with Kids League Kenya, raising awareness of the charity. We were also keen to re-position our brand so that they understood Kids League Kenya as the successor to ACTS Kenya. Find out more about our name change in a coming blog.

Scholars past and present who have benefitted from work and from Kongowea, were trained and equipped to go out, accompanied by community elders, into Kongowea to conduct the survey.

Our questionnaire was conducted over a 3 day period. We were able to speak to 700 respondents, gathering a great sample size.

The analysis of these findings will inform the future direction of Kids League Kenya, as we continue to focus on aligning community aspirations with relevant programme content.

Our community in Kongowea

It’s really important to us to maintain a relationship with our community in Kongowea. Our focus is always enabling students with potential, with the support of their families, we are able to work with them to make a real change to their lives.

Education is a key tool to help communities flourish, and working with the local schools to identify students as well as collaborate on local initiatives.

Understanding the aspirations of our potential scholars and the work we can do to support them will help us to continue to make a positive impact on our community.

To find out more about our community learn about where we focus.

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