How it all began

My first encounter with "Teach a Child - Africa" took place in Oxford, U.K. I must say, back then I didn't quite grasp the greatness and impact of the project. My kenyan flatmate Njeri took me to the launch of TaC at New Road Baptist Church in Oxford on December 1st, 2007. There, I met Pamela Steele, Executive Director of TaC, for the first time. I was truly impressed by her authenticity, energy, and strong will to change the destiny of the less fortunate. Back then, I understood that education is the key to everything. By giving underprivileged talented youth the chance of going to secondary school and reaching their intellectual potential, we can actually make a true difference.

After leaving Oxford and moving to Heidelberg, Germany, for further academic research, I didn't quite follow TaC's activities and got busy with other things. Two years later, my former flatmate Njeri had moved back to Nairobi and kept saying that I should come over and work in Kenya for a while. After finishing my Ph.D. at the University of Bern, Switzerland, I started considering Kenya as an actual option. And this is when TaC came into the picture again. Eventually, Pam offered me to work for TaC as an evaluation and monitoring volunteer. I agreed immediately as I clearly felt, that this is what I wanted to do: leaving the academic ivory tower, getting involved with the real life out there, and addressing urgent issues.