By Debra aka Brique Zeiner | Chairwoman
It began with a dream—one born around a kitchen table in Selb, Germany, and carried all the way to the red soil of Nakuru, Kenya. A dream that children living in the slums—so often overlooked and forgotten—deserved more than borrowed classrooms and broken desks. They deserved a true place for learning. A safe haven. A place that belonged to them.
Today, that dream stands proudly in the heart of Baruti as the Live and Learn in Kenya International Education Center—a vibrant, child-centered campus that has grown step by step over the past 25 years. Its buildings are not just stone and mortar. They are proof of perseverance, partnership, transparency, and belief in children.
In the early years, LLK worked wherever space could be found—rented rooms, borrowed buildings, overcrowded public schools. Sponsored children often sat on broken desks in classrooms that offered little safety and no consistency. Everything changed in 2007, when LLK registered as its own NGO in Kenya and committed fully to a bold new vision: to build a permanent education center, designed for children by people who truly cared about them.
Finding the right land took patience and determination. When a large, accessible plot near Baruti was finally secured, the future could be planted. The campus would grow in carefully planned phases—always aligned with the needs of the children and the funding made possible by donors and sponsors. First came classrooms, then the kitchen and dining hall, followed by sanitation facilities, offices, a clinic, a library, vocational spaces, labs, gardens, and playgrounds. Each building rose with community involvement, local labor, and locally sourced materials. Hope quite literally rose from the ground.
Today, the Education Center includes twelve bright classrooms from kindergarten through Grade 9, as well as a computer lab, science lab, and tailoring workshop. Thick stone walls, large windows, colorful walls, proper desks, clean water, and space to breathe make each classroom a place where learning feels safe and joyful. Every room tells a story—not only of lessons learned, but of generosity and trust.
From the beginning, care was as important as education. One of the first priorities was the kitchen and dining hall, now the beating heart of the campus. Here, hundreds of children gather twice a day for warm, nutritious meals, prepared in a modern, hygienic kitchen and shared in a bright dining space filled with laughter and conversation. No child is excluded. No child is asked if they have paid. Dignity comes first.
Health and imagination soon followed. A day clinic now provides first aid, basic medical care, malaria testing, and dental hygiene support, ensuring early intervention and prevention. Next door, the library invites children into worlds beyond Baruti, with books in English and Swahili, quiet reading corners, and tables for study and homework. It is here that many children begin to dream of futures once unimaginable.
Skills and empowerment are woven into campus life. The tailoring workshop trains young people in sewing, budgeting, and entrepreneurship—producing school uniforms and creating livelihoods. The science and computer labs give students hands-on experience with technology and experimentation, opportunities still rare in many schools in the region. Sports fields, playgrounds, and open spaces allow children to run, climb, laugh, and heal. Play is treated not as a luxury, but as a necessity.
Along the walls and fences, gardens flourish. Children learn to plant, care for crops, and understand nutrition and self-reliance. Families are encouraged to grow food at home as well, extending food security beyond the school gates. Rainwater tanks, a well, solar panels, guard houses, a cow shed, and carefully planned security structures ensure that the campus remains safe, sustainable, and resilient.
And now, one of the most joyful chapters has been added.
The MadPeaPod Day Care Center—completed and fully in use—has opened its doors to 30 lively three-year-olds, who now spend their days in a beautiful, safe classroom filled with color, song, and laughter. Guided by a loving, professional teacher, these little ones are learning their first routines, their first words, their first friendships. The center includes child-sized facilities, early learning materials, rest areas, and a secure outdoor play space designed especially for tiny feet and curious hands. For parents, it offers peace of mind and the freedom to work, train, or care for older children. For the children, it offers something even more precious: a gentle, nurturing start to life.
Every building on the LLK campus has been constructed with integrity—full transparency, local workers, community oversight, and careful reporting to donors. There is no corruption here. Every euro, every brick, every nail is accounted for. Many buildings proudly carry the names of donors, families, and fundraising groups whose generosity turned ideas into reality.
Visitors often say the same thing when they walk through the gates: this place feels different. It feels honest. It feels joyful. It feels alive.
After 25 years, Live and Learn in Kenya is no longer just a project. It is a living community—a place where children learn, eat, play, grow, and dream; where teachers teach with pride; where parents belong; and where the smallest learners are now cradled in care from the very beginning.
To everyone who funded a wall, sponsored a classroom, bought a desk, planted a tree, or dared to dream alongside us—
Asante Sana – Thank You.
You didn’t just build buildings.
You built safety.
You built dignity.
You built a future.
And every time a child walks into a classroom, laughs on a swing, or a three-year-old toddles into the Day Care Center with a smile—you are there.
With gratitude and pride,
Brique Zeiner
By Debra aka Brique Zeiner | Chairwoman
By Debra aka Brique Zeiner | Chairwoman
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