2025 service trip to Kenya

As I entered into the Kibera slum once again, I felt the familiar feeling of dirt and mud sliding beneath my feet. I tried to balance myself as best as I could, trying not to bounce off of the side of the rusty tin homes along our path. The ground is uneven, the paths are narrow, and tightly packed houses with tin roofs stretch in every direction. In the middle of the commotion, is one of my favorite places in the world, that’s TCOLF.

I was in Nairobi recently volunteering with the Centre of Love Foundation (TCOLF), where I serve on the board of directors. The Centre’s work is vital, especially in the area it occupies. In this part of the capital of Kenya, the Kibera slum, we provide clean water, sanitation, a safe space to play, and educational resources for families and adults living near the center. I should mention that the locals call it a slum, which they distinguish from the informal settlements in other parts of the city, because in a “slum” there are no official public services from the government like water, electricity, plumbing etc.

Since 2017, TCOLF and its partners have reached thousands of local individuals with programs that bring dignity to their daily life, especially those living in the slums.  

If you were to stop by and visit you would probably see a mother filling jugs of water, a neighbor might pass by to use the toilet or shower facilities which are available to the public, as they often lack toilets in their homes, and of course children would be running and playing in the only safe open space available to play in for many miles.  Teaching children the importance of WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) is one of my favorite projects at the Centre!

Each weekend, and daily when school is out of session, the Centre of Love Foundation and partners feed over 600 children. Meals range from enriched porridge to hand cooked lunches with beef stew and chapati.

I arrived in Kenya carrying books and other donations with me. I gathered the donations through Books for Kibera and friends in Washington, DC, including parishioners from the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, from friends who worked at USAID, 202 Dental Care, and other individual donors.

I was able to give quite a few books out on this trip to people who love to read.  We stopped by and visited communities outside of Kibera and made a few donations in these places too. I had the opportunity to visit a home for the elderly in the neighborhood of Kariobangi.

At the Kariobangi Cheshire House for the Aged, run by the Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa (read more here), I met a man who was Oxford educated, but found himself homeless when the family he worked for left Kenya for the United Kingdom. By then he was over 60 years old, and could not find work. That’s how he found his new home at the Cheshire House. When I handed him War and Peace and The Pelican Brief, his face lit up. The books were too heavy for his frail hands to carry when he walked, but he clutched them tightly as we sat and talked about his life and how much he loves to read. He was eager to begin reading them that very day. A small act of kindness from donors in DC restored this man’s dignity and intellectual curiosity.  Reading can restore something personal, even for the elderly who have so little contact with others outside of their homes.

Later our group traveled to visit the nonprofit Friends of Ngong Road, whose education programs keep children in school and guide them toward employment opportunities. Their team knows what poverty can do to young lives, and they know how education changes that path. The books we delivered from our friends at the former USAID program will benefit these young adults immensely.

Back at the Centre of Love Foundation in Kibera, when I finally arrived I read Fiona the Firefly to a small group of children. They crowded in, touching my hair, almost like they were making sure it was still there. One boy, Trevor, stood out. He leaned into the story, smiling as the pages turned. He reminded me that the simple act of reading aloud can make a child feel seen and valued.

We might not change the entire world with our books, but we made a small difference in these lives. The moments we spent with our new friends probably touched our hearts even more though and made an impact on our lives for many years to come. From the elderly intellectual homeless man eager to read again, to a child listening intently to a story about a firefly in the slum all of these souls brought something as basic, and as powerful, as a connection through reading.

Here is what you can do if you feel like joining me and getting involved in the future:

• Donate books for children and adults for our next trip.  Picture books, early readers, notebooks, and accessible novels are good. You can also make a financial contribution for the construction of a library and for more books in Kibera and other parts of Kenya.
• Spread the word about Books for Kibera, the Centre of Love Foundation, and our partners.
• Join the next service trip to Kenya and experience it for yourself.

I came home with dust on my shoes and memories I will never forget. The funny faces of children learning to properly wash their hands before a meal. The Oxford scholar holding onto his novels like a new chapter in his life. Trevor smiling at a firefly in a storybook. If you believe in literacy, in dignity, in opportunity then please join us. Support our work and give the gift of hope to someone in Kenya through reading.