Watu Wangu Foundation

Watu Wangu Foundation is the initiative of the Kenyan-Dutch Hellen Kavinya Muthengi. She was born in Kenya where she had a very eventful youth, living in tremendous poverty and having to survive on the streets of Nairobi. She was fortunate enough to receive help from a Dutch aid organisation. In the year 1989, Kavinya moved to the Netherlands, where she raised her children. Now that her children are grown and on their own feet, Kavinya has returned to Kenya to offer others the help that saved her from of her miserable circumstances.

Watu Wangu Foundation was established in the year 2007 to initiate and execute small scale and grassroot aid projects in Kenya, particularly in the area Kitui West sub-county around the town Tulia. The Foundation does this in cooperation with her local partner Watu Wangu Kenya.

Initially Watu Wangu Foundation focused primarily on the establishment of a children's home, Watu Wangu Children's Center. In addition, the Foundation has carried out various other projects, some related to the children's home, but also some projects that stand alone.

At this moment the focus is on empowerment. The best way to do that, is through education. The Foundation does this through the vocational education program Watu Wangu Academy; driving courses; and individual study support for young people who would otherwise not be able to afford an education. In addition the Foundation aims to provide basic necessities, such as water, food and medical aid.

Of course Watu Wangu Foundation does not do all this alone. Through the years Watu Wangu Foundation could count on the support of many donors and volunteers. On behalf of all the people the Foundation has been able to help, thank you very much!

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Method

Watu Wangu Foundation believes that sustainable development begins with listening. It is not the foundation that determines which projects are needed; the community shows where the greatest needs lie. Through years of close collaboration with residents, local authorities, schools, health workers, and other partners, a clear picture emerges of the challenges people face daily, as well as the opportunities to achieve lasting change.

Therefore, new programs do not arise from a predetermined agenda, but from concrete questions and practical experiences. Watu Wangu Foundation chooses to first thoroughly understand what people need before seeking a suitable solution. As a result, the projects align closely with the reality of the people for whom they are intended.

The foundation is convinced that help is only truly valuable when it helps people to continue as independently as possible. Therefore, the programs do not focus on creating dependency, but on strengthening one's own capabilities, knowledge, skills, and future prospects. Education, practical support, and economic independence form recurring guiding principles in this process.

Watu Wangu Foundation consciously chooses quality over quantity. It is preferable to provide intensive and sustainable support to fewer people rather than reaching large numbers superficially. Therefore, investments are made in personal guidance, long-term commitment, and solutions that can also be sustained by the community itself in the long term.

Respect and dignity form the basis of all activities. People are not approached as recipients of help, but as equal partners with talents, dreams, and possibilities. The goal is not to take over problems, but to enable people to take control of their own lives.

In this way, Watu Wangu Foundation builds sustainable change, step by step and together with the community.

Policy and Action Plan

Since her inception in the year 2007, Watu Wangu Foundation has taken on and completed several projects, such as the care for orphans and street children; building of a borehole for drinking water; a sanitation project at a local primary school; a greenhouse project for food security. A complete overview with a brief description can be found on the homepage of this website.

For the next years, the focus of Watu Wangu Foundation will be on an educational program for girls and young women without a completed education. The aim of this program is to support them to become economically independent and socially resilient, so that they can support themselves and their families.

In addition to Watu Wangu Academy, existing activities will be continued, such as individual study support; support for setting up businesses, particularly by students of Watu Wangu Academy; providing assistance to the elderly; providing support with medical expenses; supplying water to the local community; etc.

In the course of 2026, Watu Wangu Foundation hopes to launch the new project, the Girls’ Health, Dignity & Empowerment Initiative. With this project, Watu Wangu Foundation aims to support girls and young women aged approximately 12 to 21 in the areas of menstrual health, hygiene, education, reproductive health, and awareness. The project focuses on increasing the health, dignity, school participation, and self-reliance of girls and young women within the community.

And finally, Watu Wangu Foundation is preparing a Rain Water Harvesting project, through which rainwater collection and storage will be set up for families and small communities that cannot afford it themselves, to make them less dependent on surface water, which is typically polluted and full of bacteria and parasites.

The projects are financed with donations of funds, private people and companies; and through fundraising activities by the foundation or its volunteers.

Board members and volunteers, both in the Netherlands as in the project country (Kenya), receive no salary or compensation of any kind. Only expenses made, for example for fundraising and administration, are reimbursed. This will not be more than 5% of donations received, but in reality it has always been less than this.