The Kianda Foundation

Kianda Foundation's pilot project,it was established in 1961 and became the first multi-racial college of its kind in pre-Independence Kenya. Thus the history of Kianda College is closely associated with the history of Kenya. For over 30 years the College trained secretaries who quickly filled the secretarial positions in government and private offices of post-Independence Kenya. With time these women went on to further their careers and are now counted among the most prominent women in the country.
Kianda College merged with Strathmore College in 1992, at that time a post-secondary institution of higher learning, to become Strathmore University.

Kibondeni was established in 1967 to train young women in Domestic Science. The students performed well and its syllabus was adopted by the Ministry of Education in 1974 for application to other similar institutions. Over the years the institution developed into Kibondeni College of Catering & Institutional Management and with the present facilities can accommodate 250.
There are Kibondeni graduates employed in almost every hospitality sector: hotels, hospitals, restaurants, school canteens, matrons in schools and many more have started their own private businesses. Others return to their rural areas where they find jobs, improving the standard of living in their families and places of work.

In the 1970’s past students of Kianda College began to ask the staff of Kianda Foundation to open a school where their daughters could study in the same environment that they had enjoyed in the Secretarial College. The result was Kianda High School which began in 1977 with 40 girls in two classrooms borrowed from Kianda Residence. Over the years the School has grown and now has a student population of close to 900 with both primary and secondary sections. Kianda School has ranked among the top 5 schools countrywide for many years. The success of the school lies in the close working relationship between parents, students and teachers, through the tutorial system.

- Faida Girls’ Centre

Faida is a study and activity centre for both primary and secondary school students, with first importance given to the acquiring of good study habits. School girls meet here for hours of intensive study under the supervision of staff and senior students. They also participate in community service activities, through visits to the poor and sick, that provide them with an chance to help the less fortunate in society, fostering kindness and generosity. Other activities include outings and holiday courses that provide the opportunity for companionship and character building in a congenial environment.

- Fanusi Study Centre

Situated opposite the University of Nairobi Main Campus, this Centre for women university students was built in 1987 on a one-acre plot donated by the Kenya Government. Fanusi serves as a forum for the professional and social development of the students who frequent the Centre and participate in activities such as leadership programmes, courses, workshops… They also benefit from the library and study facilities offered there.

Students are encouraged to put their knowledge at the service of less privileged women through community projects in the rural areas and Nairobi slums. These projects have enabled many women to set up a means of livelihood for themselves and for their families, as well as awakening the social consciousness of the students, who are greatly encouraged by the results of their efforts.

- Kimlea Girls’ Technical Training Centre

Located in Kiambu District, between Kiambaa and Tigoni, Kimlea is surrounded by tea estates with villages of tea pickers, as well as families living off small holdings at subsistence level. In an effort to promote the women living under these difficult conditions, Kianda Foundation started Kimlea in 1986, in a prefabricated building where informal classes were held. The next step was to offer technical skills that could enable the girls to start their own businesses (small income-generating ventures) or find employment. With the help of the European Community, Kimlea Technical Training Centre was built and registered in 1992 under the Ministry of Social Services. The Training Centre flourished and today has facilities for teaching agriculture, tailoring, machine knitting, and cookery, bee-keeping, house-keeping and laundry, basic accounting and English, with a student population of 150 girls.

The Training Centre runs outreach programmes in three surrounding villages, where members of staff run literacy and technical training courses to upgrade the women. More than 20,000 people have benefited from these programmes.

Kimlea Clinic, located on the grounds of Kimlea Technical Training Centre, provides medical care to the poor labourers in the Tigoni tea picking villages. It started as a medical assistance programme, at a time when many serious household accidents were being reported and when a plantation worker contracted and nearly died of bronchitis in her home. She could not afford the medical fees as well as the fare to the hospital. The then mobile clinic helped reduce these incidences but it was obvious that more available medical help was much needed in the area. With the help of a European NGO (Fundación RODE), a permanent clinic was built and opened in 2006.
The advantage of Kimlea Clinic is that it is within walking distance of most of these villages. The tea pickers can come to the clinic for treatment, thus eliminating the need for transport costs to hospital. Patients from the rest of the surrounding area also attend the Clinic. A minimal fee is charged for health services .

The Clinic now treats some 80 patients daily though the number constantly increases, putting a strain on the available medicines, most of which come in the form of donations.

As the institutions started by Kianda Foundation continued to grow, it became expedient to decentralize the administration of some projects, to ensure that they are efficiently and effectively run, and continue to meet the purpose for which they were established. Nurisha Trust , an off-shoot of Kianda Foundation, has taken over the administration and management of Kibondeni College and Kimlea Girls' Technical Training Centre.