Join us as we turn 1,000,000 steps into a life-changing opportunity for another young person in Kenya.
So we said, “Let’s do something (almost) ordinary.”
Sometimes an idea is too simple to seem possible.
When LeeAnne and I decided that 2024 would be the year we’d walk the Camino de Santiago, we started out planning as if it were another hiking trip. We’ve been fortunate enough to have enjoyed quite a few trails in our lifetime - the Inca trail, Mt. Meru, Mt. Kenya, Mt. Kilimanjaro, two epic weeks in China’s Yunnan province - and our thoughts immediately raced to scouting the terrain of the Camino del Norte, the less-travelled northern route of the famous Way of St. James.
It’s a 42-day commitment to trekking with just the items on our backs and provisions obtained along the way. The total of 835 kilometres connects ancient pathways across nearly the entire width of Spain. It’s just a lot of walking. Seems simple enough.
But…
How incredible would it be for this trek to act as a bridge connecting our friends in Nairobi, Kenya with our friends in Trenton, Ontario?
Our longtime friend, Titus (Tito) Kuria, is a co-founder and field lead for the Canada-Mathare Education Trust. For the past 18 years, CMET has overseen the implementation of educational scholarships for at-need Kenyan youth in the Mathare settlement. We knew Tito from when we lived in Kenya for over 5 years. He’s part of an incredible team that has an active board of directors based in Canada.
Our friends in the Rotary Club of Trenton happen to have Education and Literacy as one of their areas of focus. We’ve known them for 3 years and I’m now a director of the club and International Committee co-chair. The people in this organization are eager to make a difference in communities around the world.
Could we turn our Camino adventure into a global collaboration for education?
Titus (Tito) Kuria and us go a long way back. That’s why we took him maple cookies when we saw him recently 😀. Having grown up in Mathare, Tito now devotes his energies to, among other things, overseeing the implementation of CMET scholarships.
A Million Steps for Scholarship is founded on the simple idea that we can turn the ordinary act of walking into an extraordinary opportunity to change someone's life for the better. Access to quality secondary school education and post-secondary opportunities is not a given for youth in Mathare. But with our friends and supporters, we’re aiming to raise enough support to enable CMETrust to recruit another high-achieving student and put them on an 8-year path of higher education.
Our part of the bargain:
We’ll take well over 1,000,000 steps across the north of Spain. as we follow the Camino del Norte, the northern route of the famed pilgrimage route to Santiago. The trip is self-funded, so we have everything we need to make the trek.
Your opportunity:
Join us as we build bridges across cultures and across social barriers. We know the cost of a full commitment to a scholar is about $6,000 CDN. This seems incredibly affordable in our Canadian context, but education funds can go far in Kenya.
The application process is community-wide and employs a robust protocol of oversight to ensure a fair selection without bias. Our trusted partners specialize in life skills training and mentorship to help youth truly succeed. We have real-time contact with our partners both in Canada and in Kenya, so we can monitor the status of the scholarship funding. CMETrust is also utilized by Global Affairs Canada to administer their program, Empower Her!
“Do ordinary things with extraordinary love”
Please consider becoming part of the story today. Our trek begins in May of 2024 and fundraising is underway!
Charitable tax receipts are issued for support of $25 and more.
Looking for our Media Release Kit?
This is our poster. If you’d like to download and share, we’d be very appreciative:
