The Beginning

Kenya Christian Education Partnership began after a serendipitous meeting between two seminarians in a bookstore.

While a student at Trinity School for Ministry in Pennsylvania, Rev. Qampicha Daniel Wario (now a Bishop) often shared about Kenya - specifically the poor, nomadic area of his homeland in the North. After hearing Bp. Qampicha speak of his home, his friends felt a call to partner with his church. On April 20, 2010, fellow student Janet Helms met with Bp. Qampicha to discuss what could be done to bring hope to the community of Sololo, Kenya. Out of that conversation came the idea to start a primary Christian school.

Northern Kenya closely borders Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia, facing a strong Muslim influence especially in the educational system. Most of the public schools have Muslim headmasters, and private schools are often funded and run by Muslim groups. Because of this, Bp. Qampicha’s friends at Trinity recognized the need for Christian schools. Energized by this clear direction and recognizing God's hand at work, these seminary friends formed Kenya Christian Education Partnership, believing that God brought them together to support the vision of a primary Christian school for the people of Northern Kenya.

KCEP worked immediately to recruit supporters in the United States while Bp. Qampicha developed partners in Sololo. These private Christian schools would be run by local leaders with a faithful vision to nurture students through a Christian worldview. Open to all children, these schools would influence the entire community - spreading the Gospel and providing hope for Christians and non-Christians alike. Because educational opportunities are limited in Northern Kenya, these accessible and affordable Christian schools would influence not only individual children and families but entire communities with the example of Jesus in mind: reaching out in love to all.

Through this vision for education, KCEP partnered with the Marsabit Mission Area of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), establishing an ecumenical twelve member committee to oversee the operations of the school. The committee named the school “Tumaini Academy”. “Tumaini” is Kiswahili for "hope," and it is the prayer of KCEP that this school is a beacon of hope to the community of Sololo and a model for similar Christian schools throughout the region. The establishment of Tumaini Academy is an answer to the long-offered prayers of the Sololo community.

Construction began with a Primary 1st grade classroom. In only seven years, Tumaini Academy grew to include classrooms for Kindergarten through 8th grade, a library, an Administration building, and a multi-purpose building for school and community use. The current enrollment is 320 at Tumaini Academy which does not include another 200 children in the five preschools in the surrounding area. The students at the school continue to receive top awards from the government for educational excellence.

KCEP Merges with ARDF

In March of 2018, KCEP relinquished its own 501c3 status and became a project of ARDF. Now, ARDF and KCEP work together to build up resources for Christian education in Northern Kenya.

ARDF prioritizes working through the local church, and since KCEP has been partnering with the local church from the onset, our organizations share the same passion and focus. Since ARDF pulls from resources nationwide and globally and has a track record of successful and sustainable projects, the KCEP leadership was naturally excited to form this powerful new partnership for our donors, student sponsors, and friends of KCEP and ARDF.

ARDF values the foundation KCEP has started. Tumaini Academy and the student and teacher sponsorship programs have continued to thrive. The KCEP leadership believes this partnership will not only sustain but also strengthen what we have built, enabling us to become stronger as a project of ARDF.