Hope can, and will, heal the world
Friends of Eldoret Kenya Welcomes You
“Sports can create hope, where there was once only despair.” Nelson Mandela
Sports have the power to inspire and create lasting, powerful bonds among people. Sports are a universal language that all peoples of the world speak—without regard to race, religion, or ethnicity. Friends of Eldoret, Kenya's initial inspiration was to share the language of sports with the children in and around the village of Eldoret.
Since it's founding, we have built a beautiful soccer pitch giving the children a safe place to play--and the opportunity to inspire one another on and off the field.
Over time, the ambitions and objectives for Friends of Eldoret have grown to encompass support for the construction of cancer treatment facilities and more. Today, all efforts are headed by one of its founding members, Harrison Piré.
Learn how you can lend your support.
There Is So Much More We Can Achieve
Snapshot of Where We Are Today - And Where We Want to Be Tomorrow
A freshman at Emory University and an Emory Eagle on the Emory Men's Swimming and Diving Team, Harrison Piré remains steadfast in the initial mission: improve the lives of children in Eldoret, Kenya.
Like, its founder, the desire to drive change has grown over time. In the face of COVID-19, all of us are learning to cope with and address new challenges and new realities -- fear of illness, loneliness propagated by the necessity of physical distancing, and difficulty communicating without the ability to read lips or facial expressions obscured by a mask. For the foreseeable future, this may continue to be life as we know it. The challenges we face here in the U.S. are magnified for those in Eldoret, Kenya. But we can help. Now more than ever, access to clean water is critical. Soap alone is not sufficient to protect against COVID-19 or other infectious diseases.
While statistics indicate that more than 70% of the Earth is covered in water, much of the World's population has inadequate access to clean, safe water. In Kenya, water rationing means that many households are unable to follow best practices for preventing infectious disease: frequent hand washing.
Follow our progress as we work to provide greater access to safe water and work towards longer-term solutions for the children in the region.
Your donation, no matter how small, can help us to save and empower the lives of children in Eldoret, Kenya.
In the Beginning...
A look back at how we got started
Friends since preschool, Harrison Piré, Vincent Gioannini, and Camillo Guarducci were united by a single goal: improving the lives of children in Eldoret, Kenya. During its inception, these three rising seniors at Lycee Francais de New York, Harrison, Vincent and Camillo, were part of an academic community whose purpose is to "prepare students today to be the thinkers, innovators and leaders of tomorrow." Passionate about sports and how athletics develop courage, mental acuity and bring hope, their initial goal was to raise sufficient funds to create a soccer pitch where the children of and around Eldoret would have a safe place to play. From these roots, Harrison has grown the organization with the purpose of improving the cancer treatment facilities at the Shoe4Africa Children's Hospital. Today, as Harrison leads the organization forward, he aims to deliver on sustainability efforts targeted at making safe water available.
The Inspiration that Sparked
Creation of Friends of Eldoret Kenya
Shoe4Africa Led the Way
The Children Inspired our Mission
Service Subitle
Toby Tanser, the founder of Shoe4Africa and the children he helps, first inspired the launch of Friends of Eldoret Kenya. Seeing the incredible work Toby has accomplished, they knew that they wanted to help too! Harrison explained, "for Toby, it all started with the gift of one pair of dusty running shoes...for Vincent, it was an old soccer ball... and for me, Harrison, it started with a pair of swim fins." Each of them have been touched and humbled by how a simple act of kindness can change a life.
Your donation, no matter how small, can help us to save and empower the lives of children in Eldoret, Kenya.
The First Pair of Shoes and Shoe4Africa
It all Started with Toby's Shoes
Toby spent nearly seven months running and living with the Kenyans between 1995 and 1996. When he left to return home to Sweden, he took off the pair of dusty running shoes he planed to fly home in. Toby gave them to the needy taxi driver who wanted to start running to change his life. Once back in snow-covered Sweden, barefoot, Toby was met with the kindness and generosity of a woman who drove him home. She too took off her shoes so Toby could send them back to Kenya for someone who needed them more than she did. And so Shoe4Africa was born. Today, Shoe4Africa is so much more. Since it’s founding, Toby has now built the first children’s public teaching hospital in Sub Saharan Africa, Shoe4Africa Children’s Hospital.
Since it's founding in 2017, Harrison has expanded the efforts of Friends of Eldoret, Kenya to support construction of new wards and other improvements to the Shoe4Africa Children's Hospital.
The Mission to Further Improve the Lives of Children in Eldoret, Kenya Continues
Inspired to follow in his footsteps, Harrison Piré wanted to start a nonprofit that reached outside his Franco-American community. The objective: to build on Toby’s mission to “Save and Empower African Kids’ Lives.” While Shoe4Africa’s advanced pediatric care will help ensure the future of a healthy East Africa, Friends of Eldoret Kenya initially ‘adopted’ a vacant plot of land adjacent to the hospital where it sponsored the construction of a soccer pitch. The children undergoing cancer treatment regularly enjoy a therapeutic game of soccer on the field -- an accomplishment Friends of Eldoret Kenya is very proud of.
Our Mission and Vision for the Future
Now More than Ever the Children of Eldoret Need our Help
We want the children of Eldoret and surrounding communities to have a safe place to live and play. Our initial objectives were to bring these children empowerment and healing through sports. Providing the children with opportunities for fun and physical activity in a safe environment would have a strong, direct, and positive impact on their lives. Bringing a soccer field to Eldoret that stands up to the local elements can deliver powerful lessons, such as goal setting and how to work as a team. Spaces for play also help the children feel more comfortable at the hospital and, in turn, make much-needed healthcare more accessible to them.
In the spring of 2020, Friends of Eldoret, Kenya also delivered on its goal of raising funds to contribute to making cancer treatment accessible to children in and around the area.
In the face of COVID-19, Friends of Eldoret Kenya has turned its attention to expanded goals aimed at sustainability issues facing the region.
Contact Friends of Eldoret Kenya
