Emerging Humanity is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality and quantity of learning environments for thousands of school children in Kenya (Eastern Africa). We are supported by a network of approximately 20 volunteers, one paid staff member in Kenya, board members, and donors. Through this network, Emerge maintains a consistent presence in western Kenya, living and working out of a small house in the city of Kisumu.
Emerge was started in January of 2006 by a few young adults from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Our Principles
Unemployment, disease, poverty, illiteracy, and war cannot be accepted as natural by-products of "progress." These are historical problems that can be solved by a trained and dedicated workforce for Humanity. With enough compassion and hard work, we can finally overcome the economic, political and emotional walls that have kept us divided for so long.
Positive change must begin within the individual before it can be applied to the outside world. As citizens of a global community, we have a responsibility to be in constant pursuit of becoming more compassionate human beings. At Emerging Humanity, we are devoted to the personal evolution of every individual who becomes involved with our development and education programs. We want our organization to evolve in the same way, always struggling to become stronger, wiser, and more patient. These continual pursuits create positive change in the world around us.
To us, sustainable development is the creation of right livelihoods - lives in which people are able to earn a living while continuing to spread compassion and knowledge deeper into their communities. We are committed to supporting this effort by merging ecological, economic and educational strategies. Emerging Humanity is proving that this is a world where hearts and minds can merge together; where economics and ecology can run parallel; and where each day millions of people can be offered new hope in the face of many hardships.
Kisumu is a port city situated on the shores of Lake Victoria in Eastern Africa. With over 500,000 people, it is the third largest city in Kenya, and serves as the capitol of the Nyanza province. Kisumu is by far Kenyan's poorest major city. Over 50% of its population lives below the food poverty line, compared with Nairobi's 8% and Mombasa's 39%. Despite its abundant natural resources, historical factors such as government corruption, social and ethnic conflict, and an abused ecosystem have caused the Kenyan people to suffer a great deal / have all led to an unacceptable humanitarian crisis. Nearly 25% of the population is HIV positive.
In 2002 the Kenyan government announced dramatic education reforms such as free primary education. These reforms have finally offered those who live in sever poverty the chance at a free education (the next generations a chance to live outside of poverty), but they are dramatically underfunded. This is why Emerge focuses its efforts on building infrastructure and providing training for schools, so that the quality of the learning environment can be improved to acceptable levels.
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