Harambee

Harambee is Swahili for "working together". Since 1988, the Presbyterian Church of East Africa and Burke Presbyterian Church (BPC), PCUSA, have worked together to build a partnership in the town of Kibwezi, Kenya. This historical location is where in 1891 the first three Scottish missionaries came to Kenya, and where two died as a result of malaria. Today Kenya has four million Presbyterians, that is about equal to the number in the United States of America. That is the historical significance to why an international partnership was formed in a remote bush town half way between Nairobi and Mombasa.

The campus contains a polytechnic offering two-year vocational programs in carpentry, masonry, welding, sheet metal, automotive, cosmetology, and tailoring. There is also a secretarial department which requires students to have graduated from secondary school. Finally, a primary school and preschool exists for grades one through eight. Scholarships are available for need based students. Such is the case for orphans. There are currently around thirty children in the greater Kibwezi area supported and sometimes under scholarship for educational costs.

• approximate enrollment four-hundred students?

As part of the continuing partnership, BPC tried to maintian a workcamp every three years. This year an eight member leadership team is going to Kibwezi to review the past twenty years and focus on future projects.

The next scheduled workcamp is summer 2009!

Past workcamp participants include:

Carl Allen
Janet Arnett
Stephanie Ashton
Theresa Ashton
Matt Atkins
Andrew Bingham
Elizabeth Braxton
Jessica Braxton
Peter Braxton
Robert Braxton
Ginny Brown
Anne Buffardi
Jean Buffardi
Brian Call
Travis Call
Ellie Cammer
Laura Carr
Nathan Carr
Peter Carr
John Chattin
Carol Cullum
Alex Decina
Leighton duCille
Michele duCille
Eric Fisher
Pam Forness-Gordon
John Gibb
Chris Gilpin
Karyl Goldstein
Linda Greenlees
Liz Greenlees
Lawrence Gurley
Kent Hamaker
Don Hartzell
Casey Harvey
Nate Hathaway
Jessica Hemm
Matt Hemm
Thoma Hemphill
Carla Hilton
Hilary Hodge
Luke Jackson
Dot Johnston
Liz Jones
Fran Kimball
Kristi Kimball
Mandy Kimball
Susan Kipp
Jeff Lansford
Betsy LeFebvre
Steve LeFebvre
Elizabeth Lorah
Jan Lorah
Laura Lunsford
Karen MacIntosh
Kevin Mahan
Robert McKay
Nick McVey
Danny Mineart
Patrick Mulloy
James Munthali
Ann Nichols
Leslie Nichols
Matt Nicholson
David Norman
Ed Parker
Michelle Paterson
Ginny Peaslee
Chris Plehal
Emma Plehal
Christie Pope
Amy Pospichal
Brooke Postlewaite
Diane Reimers
Mark Reimers
Sandra Rooney
Amanda Rutstein
Cat Sethian
Brian Sheehan
Susan Stanley Bamberg
Melissa Smith
Pat Smithson
Pat Swanson
Andy Talbert
Nancy Talbert
Chris Talbert
Meredith Talbert
Eva Thorpe
Bill Wark
Scott Whitfield
Christina Wulf
Eric Wulf
Nancy Wulf


For more information see The Burke Presbyterian Church's web page.


Kibwezi on Wikipedia

• Soon to have a subheading about religion with information on the local Presbyterian Church

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibwezi
  

Kibwezi Educational Centre on Wikipedia

• 
  

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibwezi_Educational_Centre

One Laptop Per Child

• http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Getting_Started
• Tutorial
  

Facebook Group

• http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15426444571

Picasa Web Photos Albums (Available through Google)

• Photo Album BPC Workcamp to Kibwezi Kenya in 1988
• Photo Album BPC Workcamp to Kibwezi Kenya in 1993

Bob Braxton's comment to Diane Reimers (look for in the 2008 Leadership team wetpaint web page).