Welcome to the new African Kids In Need blog site. Hopefully you have come here because you are interested in the work we are doing in Kenya. For those of you who are familiar with our program, we are very excited to announce that A.K.I.N. has received tax exempt status that is retroactive to March 2007. So any donations received since then will qualify as a tax deductible contribution. Naturally, all donations received from now on will be exempt, and I will happily provide anyone who makes a contribution a receipt that will list our federal tax ID number. Donations can be made via check, credit card or through Pay Pal-which is also a feature of this blog.

In addition, we have applied for registration in Kenya and hope to have that process finalized in the coming weeks. This will make it possible to open a bank account in the country, and that will make it easier for us to do our work.

Finally, the pages that follow talk about the retreat that was held at Thika Variety Village in early August. It was a three day event that was attended by all 25 of our sponsored students.
My wife, Shelley, daughter, Tess, and I were able to attend as well. It was a wonderful experience on many levels. First it gave these wonderful children a chance to come together and see each other for the first time in many months. Secondly, they had the opportunity to share their experiences with each other and talk about their schools. It is heartwarming to see the beginnings of a family of children coming together as a result of our program.They were very articulate in expressing their appreciation to all those who have given them the opportunity to attend secondary and vocational schools. We were pleased to represent all the donors.

The current school year will end in November and it is important that we raise the funds to send these 25 Kenyan children back to school in January. In addition, 25 new students will be eligible to enter our program and we are hoping to make that possible. The cost of a year of secondary school education is approximately $750. We are not asking for contributions to underwrite the operational costs of the program. All money collected will be applied to tuition and school expenses. Please help us help these wonderful children. In the coming weeks, I will post profiles of each of our students so you can get to know them individually. You may even wish to direct your donation to help a specific student.

Thank you for your continued support.

Paul Miller