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HSBC Africa supports Nairobi’s Starehe School

06 February 2012

5 November 2011, Nairobi, Kenya: Jaap van Luijk and Marion Kabiru, both from HSBC Africa, recently attended The Starehe Future Appeal and the unveiling of the donor boards at the Starehe Boys’ & Girls’ Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. As one of the many projects of HSBC Bank’s on-going corporate responsibility initiatives, a donation of GBP100 000 was made. The donation was used to award 18 students with a full scholarship for the duration of their entire secondary education.

Background of the school

Starehe Boys' Centre was the result of the vision of Geoffrey William Griffin, assisted by Joseph Gikubu and Geoffrey Geturo. Its genesis was the State of Emergency declared by the Governor of Colonial Kenya during the 1952 Mau Mau Uprising, and the resultant overflow on to the streets of poor and destitute Mau Mau orphans.

The first 17 boys entered the school from the Kariokor Rescue Centre in Nairobi in 1959, which then comprised two donated tin huts. After a few months, it moved to its current location at Starehe in Nairobi. The name Starehe is Swahili for “tranquility”, “peace” or “comfort” – an apt title for a place where orphaned boys can find solace and inspiration.

Since its foundation in 1959, Starehe Boys’ Centre has consistently proven that children who arrive barefoot and underfed can become high-achievers in their society, and that poverty can be reversed in less than a generation.

The Starehe Girls' Centre opened its doors in 2005, with the aim of developing a new generation of educated female leaders in Kenya. Following a successful local fundraising campaign, 72 girls were accepted in the first intake – all with full scholarships.

Today, the number of students in Starehe's care stands at over 1 300 children. The school has a well-earned international reputation for producing top achievers and leaders. In fact, two of the aspiring Presidential candidates for the Kenyan general election – Honourable Raphael Tuju and Peter Kenneth, are old boys of the school. Starehe has also welcomed many esteemed visitors, including President Mwai Kibaki, HRH the Princess Royal, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the late Mrs Indira Gandhi.

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