Charles Wambulwa
Charles Wambulwa calls Kitale, Kenya his home. After high school he took 2 years to volunteer in Nairobi spending 1 year at the organization The President's Award Scheme (aka The duke of Edinburgh Award) where he worked as an assessor with the responsibility to work with high school students who were in the program. He organized expeditions and exploration for these participants where they traveled to different parts of the country in form of educational adventures. The other year was spent teaching at Sikinwa High School based on Mt. Elgon where he taught biology, chemistry and social studies and also coached track and field. Thereafter he joined Bethune Cookman University in Florida to study liberal arts but ended up graduating with a BS majoring in Biology. He then attended medical school at Howard University.
Last year he traveled back to Kenya. What he saw was too many people dying from preventable diseases such as typhoid, HIV, diarrhea and more. He also noticed idleness among youth of the communities. Charles was inspired to help his home country with prevention methods for diseases instead of just treatment. He also wants to show that there is an effective way to reach the public and decrease idleness among youth. He wanted to use soccer, an extremely popular sport, as the tool to reach youth from different areas bringing the idea of a soccer tournament as part of the conference.
Charles traveled to Kenya in April and May 2008 for a medical mission and to start the youth soccer tournament games. He visited numerous areas visiting and treating patients, met with the Ministry of Health, worked with many pastors to start the youth conference on the ground. Read his mission summary here: Medical Mission Report.
Michele Fujii
Michele Fujii, 23, grew up in Poulsbo, WA. In June 2008 she graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelors of Science in Human Physiology.
Michele traveled to Kenya last summer. There she volunteered at Mama Maria Clinic, Muhuru Bay Health Center, Senye Primary School and Namunyak Maasai and was inspired and touched by everyone she met. To her, not being able to drink the water and sleeping under a mosquito net was a huge adjustment. Teaching a class with 120 young kids with one other teacher was a shock. But when everyone was so happy and hopeful with no electricity, no running water, and medications only part of the time, she truly realized how much the little things in life actually matter. When she returned home she was determined to help with projects and health care efforts in anyway possible so she's kept her connections with Village Volunteers and the people she met volunteering in Kenya. She joined the student group UO Students for Global Health to educate others and learn more about different health care issues worldwide.
She returned to Kenya in August when the conference will be taking place. She's worked closely with Charles to create, organize, and prepare Kick it with Kenya as they share similar dreams and hopes for the people of Kenya. She will also be participating with a few others in the filming of a feature-length documentary about the peace and rebuilding efforts on the ground in different areas around the country.
If you want to see pictures and read journals from her time spent in Kenya last summer click here.
