My Story: Kadogo Nyawade (CEO/FOUNDER)
I am Kadogo Nyawade born on July 16, 1960 in Nairobi Kenya and chairman of Kadowinja Foundation.
I live in Europe for 40 years, of which 33 years in Helmond. I traveled to Kenya every year until I buried my mother in 1996. In 1998 I went back with my family for a memorial ceremony. Then I got a blackout and I haven’t been in Kenya for seven years.
In 2004, an acquaintance of mine, who traveled to West Africa for years, came with the question if I wanted to go to Kenya with him. I woke up to what I call a hibernation. We went to Kenya for six weeks and stayed in the village where my mother was buried. During this stay I was confronted with children who were malnourished, full of mosquito humps and did not go to school due to lack of school fees. Then I felt the pain and sorrow for the loss of my always caring mother even more intensely. With this image I went back to the Netherlands and told the story to my now deceased sister Awinja. I had taken pictures and videos of family members that I showed her and then we started to support children financially with the two of them by transferring money to the parents of these children.
In 2005 I traveled to Kenya with my boyfriend, now my husband. It felt like a real holiday for me. In 2008 we would go again. Due to the 2007 election gap, a negative travel advice had been issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but went anyway. I went to my village again and to my surprise most people did not know how serious the situation in the capital was. This was because most villagers had no radio and the newspaper was for the people who had studied.
In 2008, we collected photos and information of 500 children together with my now deceased brother. Children should go to school, I think. After returning to the Netherlands I told everything to my sister but unfortunately in the same year she died on 22-08-2008.
In 2009, we had the foundation notarized. We now have a number of school children with the help of our regular donors, sponsors, and volunteers, who took activities to raise money, support by paying school fees and purchasing school supplies. Eight of our children studied at university level and nine have received practice and a job. In addition, in collaboration with the Utamaduni Kajulu Center, which was founded by my brother Micheal Nyawade for three years, we have supported with school meals and had a sanitary building built. Unfortunately due to lack of financial support and the safety of the children, the Utamaduni Kajulu Center is closed.
My inspiration for the establishment of the Kadowinja foundation is based on my own life. I had a very difficult time going to school at first, when I went to high school I got a discarded school uniform that someone had been carrying for four years. When I came to school I could not always follow the lessons because my parents did not pay the school fees on time.
My story: Eugene Weewee (Vice-Chairman)
I am Eugene Weewee, a village boy from the interior of Suriname and partly raised in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname. As a child I went through the primary school in my village until the last year of school and left for the city at the age of 11. The village had little to offer in the field of education so after the primary school we had to go to the city for study.
As a high school student, I left during the holiday period for the gold fields near my village to search for gold so I could pay for my studies. This made me realize how difficult it could be to achieve something when you have to do it yourself. For a village boy studying without income in Paramaribo was not an easy task but despite that I completed the VWO and visited the University of Suriname for a year. After a year at the university, I decided to go back to the gold fields. There I went to work, save and think about my further study plan. After years of hard work and savings, I was able to travel to the Netherlands to continue studying at the University of Applied Sciences and later master’s studies at the University.
Now that I have achieved my goal in the field of education, I think it is very important to inspire young people in villages not to give up despite difficult situations. Where there is a will, there is a way.
My life story of a village boy in the gold fields, who has been able to complete his university studies, inspires me to continue to inspire young people who continue to inspire in similar situations. From childhood I have always helped my loved ones and I think it is important that people around me grow and do the right thing for the community. That is why, in addition to my job as a technical consultant and hobby as a martial arts practitioner, I also inspire young people to continue to develop themselves. Educate the mind but don’t forget to the soul.