The work that Flying Kites provides to their students - both on-campus and to schools in their network - is leaving such a meaningful impact that will be felt for generations to come. Their ability to connect their supporters to the students and happenings on campus (through mail, social media, and pictures!) allows for a deeper connection to the mission. They provide opportunities to visit the campus, meet the students and experience Flying Kites first-hand through impact trips - including climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro!
Flying Kites is a fantastic non-profit making incredible strides on the ground in Kenya. Their strong commitment to the community where they work has allowed them to make a real impact in development and education. Their volunteer program allows those who travel to Kenya to experience the challenges facing Kenyans while also making an individual impact on the children they serve.
Flying Kites is a fantastic organization doing amazing work on the ground in Kenya. Their volunteer program is top-notch. They have created a strong relationship with the people in the rural Kenyan village where they work. This has created an amazing opportunity for volunteers to truly engage with the community where they work. An amazing organization dedicated to bettering the lives of disadvantaged Kenyan youth through education and opportunity.
I've been involved with Flying Kites for a little under a year now and it's been nothing short of an incredible experience. I currently sponsor a child (Miriam!) and volunteer on their committee that organizes and puts on various fundraisers. I was lucky enough to partner with Eliza Shirazi (from Kick it By Eliza) to host a "Kick-A-Thon" for Flying Kites back in June. It was an AMAZING event and the support from the Flying Kites staff in Boston and Kenya was tremendous. No matter what level you're participating on, the staff makes you feel involved and that you have a voice in the nonprofit. Nothing is too small and everything is appreciated! The Flying Kites team has big dreams and I cannot wait to see where they go next (and hopefully be a apart of the ride!).
Flying Kites is in the unique position to be the perfect size for volunteering and working. They are big enough to be making a tangible and incredible impact in Kenya, but small enough to have you feel a part of the family making it happen.
At Flying Kites I was allowed to grow creatively and professionally, be a team player, and collaborate with the worlds leaders on education and poverty reform. But that doesn't encompass the amount of love that goes into everything they do. The love for their staff, the children the serve, and the work they are doing. That's what makes working for FK so rewarding and vibrant.
I don't know if it's possible to find a non profit with so much heart, doing so much good, that is as kind and loving to their employees as they are to the world their making better every day.
Work for Flying Kites for 3 major reasons;
1. The people are incredible.
2. The work is challenging, engaging and rewarding.
3. You will be changed as a person and change the world in return.
My husband and I have sponsored a child through Flying Kites for several years and have thoroughly enjoyed watching both him and the organization grow. We had the opportunity to visit the children's home in Kenya this July and also climb Mt. Kilimanjaro as a way to raise additional funds. Every person we worked with was absolutely wonderful! Flying Kites is an exceptional organization and I encourage just about everyone I meet to learn more about them.
Flying Kites is one of the most inspiring, beautiful, unique and extraordinary organizations I've ever come across. I was fortunate enough to spend ~3.5 months in Kenya with the kids, the moms, the staff and it was the best experience of my life. They have found a way to raise the most intelligent, joyful, hilarious and loving kids, to build them a safe home and a great school, to support and encourage them, and to give them a family unlike any other. Flying Kites gives children who have lost so much the opportunity to learn, to overcome and to thrive despite any and all obstacles they've faced. I would encourage anyone and everyone to support and to experience Flying Kites firsthand - it'll change your whole life!
I was scared to take off from Toronto for a month to volunteer in Kenya at Flying Kites. Even though I am fifty years old, have raised three kids, and volunteered for years in my own community, setting off into the unknown to an unknown charity was daunting. I heard about Flying Kites at a conference and was inspired by their mission. I decided that I had to see for myself if a small grassroots charity could really make dreams come true for neglected, abandoned and abused children.
I had no idea what to expect and I was travelling alone.
GO! You must go and volunteer at Flying Kites. GO!
Those kids are nurtured, educated, supported, clothed, well fed, motivated and healed. There is a commitment to sustainable living - a huge garden, a green house, a couple of cows, rabbits and sheep. There is a commitment to good health - clean bedding, nutritious food, workshops on mental health and self esteem and living with HIV. There is a commitment to healing - trauma training for the staff, daily meetings to connect on the days events, a staff social worker. And there is a commitment to education - a big beautiful school built a few kilometres away which consistently ranks high by national standards.
As for me, I was so well taken care of. Thirty kids hugged me daily. The Country Director and Program Director became like sisters (even though I could have been their mom!). The staff educated me and included me. As it turns out, I was the one who was given so much by Flying Kites and it was my dream that came true.
My husband, children (ages 12 and 13) and I came to know Flying Kites when we visited their home in Njabini in October 2014. Since that time we have spent Christmas with them, donated goods and funds in support of their programs, and have never passed up an opportunity to visit the kids when we are in Kenya (about 4 times per year). My daughter recently spent 3 weeks volunteering at their home and school, experiencing for herself the incredible impact of the Flying Kites philosophy on the children and their larger community. From a focused commitment to world-class education (their school is consistently top-rated in the region) to an innovative and progressive approach to the most challenging issues (including HIV), it is easy to see with absolute certainty the value gained from each donated penny and each donated hour of volunteerism. I have raised much-needed funds through my personal network in support of Flying Kites and have received uniformly positive feedback from friends and colleagues who are (even if just through me) able to see the world through the lens of the kids who benefit from their hard-earned donations. Each child not only has a name, a face, and a story... but genuine from-the-heart hopes and dreams for the future. Not surprisingly, their aspirations mirror the wishes and goals of my own children, yet the circumstances of the "where you are born lottery" present them with a more daunting challenge. At Flying Kites, each child is loved, nourished, seen (in every sense of the word), and supported. Join the Flying Kites tribe and see for yourself. Believe in the dreams of these kids - their dreams will become your own. I promise.
I was first introduced to Flying Kites in 2007 when they were just beginning to establish meaningful opportunities for children born into extreme poverty. Last month, when I returned to Kenya to visit the children served by Flying Kites, I was deeply impressed and inspired by the progress that had been made throughout eight years of expansion and commitment to their mission. Orphaned, abused and once-homeless children receive exemplary care in an environment that fosters knowledge, creativity and leadership skills. As I watched the children at Flying Kites play in their tree house, swim in the river by their home and share nourishing meals grown on their farm, it was easy to forget the sad and dangerous circumstances that had brought them there. I look forward to following Flying Kites as they grow and will support their work as they continue to transform the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children.
I went again this past month and was greeted with such warmth and love not only from the children who remembered me, but from the entire community! I am the one who is blessed to be a part of this terrific caring organization. I was able to sit in on the classes for the 7th and 8th grade students on a Saturday! This organization captured my heart many years ago and still has a hold on it! Thank you, thank you, thank you
Flying Kites is an incredible organization with big dreams and a lot of heart. For starters, they strive to constantly expand and build on their networks and connections, which, in the long run, benefits the children that they serve and the community that they contribute to. As a volunteer, I was encouraged to lead initiatives and see my visions and dreams for my time there through, but I was also welcomed and encouraged to help with the tasks that the organization needed assistance with. I gained a greater understanding of the non-profit world by working on administrative tasks, fundraising and sponsorship initiatives, and by working on the ground with day-to-day and necessary tasks. The children living at Flying Kites reflect the positivity that is this organization. They are resilient, playful, and curious. Flying Kites has given them a childhood that they could have missed out on, and not only does FK give them the opportunity to be a child again, but they afford them the opportunity to have an extraordinary childhood with exceptional care, nurturing, education, and love.
Flying Kites is an incredible organization with a big vision. They are making it a reality one child at a time. It is impressive what the group has already accomplished considering its youth. The children living at the Kinangop childrens center are thriving and happy. The organization hopes to expand and help more of Kenya's youth fulfill the needs they require to become productive citizens.
I spent the last 4 months volunteering at Flying Kites Kinangop Children's Center and teaching first grade at their on-site school. Living at Flying Kites was an experience of a lifetime. Flying Kites is an exceptional organization with a strong commitment to providing their children with remarkable care and a first-class education. I was very impressed how well-run the center is. The 16 children are cared for by 3 adoring matrons, 4 full time teachers, and various founders and volunteers. They children are happy, healthy, and well taken care of. It would be a privilege for any one to have the opportunity to visit and volunteer with Flying Kites in Kenya.
Flying Kites is an innovative, passionate organization with an excellent organizational structure and a lot of promise. The goals and ideals of FK really resonate with me in that the intention is to give their children the kind of care and education you would hope to give your own children. Very few children's homes in the world really try to give their children the kind of community and support that kids really need to grow and develop. The issues with this organization are just that it's difficult for a start-up organization to develop a donor base and a reliable board of directors, so the early years are shaky in terms of sustainable professional support. However, this is only the beginning, and I believe that Flying Kites Global has the capacity and intellect to succeed without a doubt.
Flying Kites truly stands apart from most other organizations serving orphaned youth overseas because its comprehensive three part model- exemplary care, community strengthening, and cooperation & collaboration- provides a strategy for combating so many facets of the challenges orphaned children in the developing world(and the non-profits that serve them)face. Also, I think the fact that Flying Kites' vision focuses on the root causes of poverty with the aim of breaking the cycle, rather than just putting a band aid on the problem, is an incredible strength of this organization. Flying Kites is still in the nascent stages of its lifespan, but every move the founders have made has been well-thought out and carefully planned which gives me great confidence that the organization will blossom and achieve its full potential in due time. Lastly, Flying Kites stands out in the way they allow the public to engage with their children. Even on the website there are individual bios of the children with their likes and dislikes- To me, this shows me that the organization values each and every one of them as precious individuals.
Flying Kites is a fabulous organization run by some seriously dedicated people. They've pulled together resources from all over to provide for these kids, and their future plans are even more impressive. If they manage to pull off everything they're aiming for, they'll be unstoppable. It remains to be seen whether and where the funding will come from!