The Story of Davis Karambi

The story of Harambee for All Children is intertwined with the life of Davis Karambi. His story began in Ikumbo, a town located in the Eastern Province of Kenya, one hundred miles northeast of Nairobi. There he was raised by his grandmother, a hard‐working woman who instilled in Davis a strong devotion to education. Davis received high marks in school as a young man and was selected to attend one of the finest secondary schools in the region. His grandmother, however, could only raise the funds to send Davis to school for one term. She sent him nonetheless, stating that even a short exposure would be worth the sacrifice.

Davis attended the first semester but as expected, he was unable to gather the money to return for the next term. When the second term began, though, the principal of the school visited Davis and his grandmother in Ikumbo to share his exam results: Davis had earned the highest grades in his class. Upon hearing Davis’ explanation for dropping out, the principal initiated a fundraiser to cover Davis’s school fees. Davis’ grandmother also gathered the people of Ikumbo together for a harambee, a communitywide fundraising meeting. Through the generosity of his teachers and fellow villagers, Davis returned to school with renewed vigor and purpose. He achieved top grades throughout secondary school and received a full scholarship to study at Strathmore University in Nairobi, one of the country’s most prestigious private colleges. While in university he not only excelled as a student but also matured into a steward of his community. Upon graduation Davis received the University’s highest honor in community service for his work on the nascent Ikumbo Secondary School. He continues to direct his passion for education into a mission for his community: to endow every child in Ikumbo with the same opportunities for advancement he had received.

Davis is currently a mentor to many of the students of Ikumbo Secondary, and member of the Ikumbo Secondary Board of Governors. He has also led the creation of the Ikumbo Education Trust, a mechanism to provide savings and scholarship opportunities to the students and parents of Ikumbo. Davis has worked for the Clinton Foundation Health Access Initiative in Nairobi, Kenya since 2007. He is engaged to Lucy Kithinji. The two will be wed in August 2011 in Nairobi.