This month marks 10 years of knowing our ambassador Suzanne Payne.
Suzanne’s relationship with the charity began following a visit to Kasigau in December 2013 when she accompanied a friend who was leading a group of medical students from Western Kentucky University in the US on a medical mission to the area, which led to an introduction to Kiteghe Primary School and subsequently to African Promise, as we were already in partnership with the school at that time.
In January 2014 she wrote us an email with the simple subject: “Looking for Charles (our founder)!” and the rest, as they say, is history.
Over the last decade Suzanne has become a loyal friend to and supporter of African Promise and, in particular, Kiteghe Primary, raising through her Baskets4Bread initiative more than £47,500 which has primarily been used to provide pupils at the school with a daily lunchtime meal.
However Suzanne has also helped the school in other ways, including raising funds for educational trips for pupils, directly donating supplies of stationery and educational materials, and using her knowledge and experience as an educator to assist the staff and pupils.
We haven’t been able to see much of Suzanne either in Kenya or the UK over the last few years following her move back to the US but distance has not come between us and, after a little break during Covid, Suzanne’s fundraising resumed last year and looks set to continue for a while yet!
Thank you, Suzanne, for your friendship, for your tireless fundraising, and for your enduring love, support and compassion for African Promise, for Kiteghe Primary and its teachers and pupils, and for the whole Kasigau region.