WHAT WE DO

KenSAP provides access to world-class higher education for gifted, needy Kenyan high school graduates who would otherwise have no chance to pursue such an opportunity. Most of our students come from simple, rural backgrounds that would be utterly unrecognizable to their North American classmates, and many are from families that even by Kenyan standards count as disadvantaged.

KenSAP selects its students — 15 to 20 each year — through a lengthy, rigorous process that considers their academic attainments, family background, extra-curricular accomplishments and other personal qualities (see SELECTION OF SCHOLARS). The selected students then take part in 15 weeks of residential training consisting mainly of preparation for the American SAT exams and guidance through the complex university application process. The training also includes a general orientation to American culture and the unfamiliar academic conventions of American universities.

KenSAP continues to support its students after they are admitted to their distinguished universities, helping them navigate US immigration and international travel, conducting a stateside orientation, organizing multiple annual gatherings, and providing guidance throughout the students’ undergraduate careers and beyond (see SUPPORT).

KenSAP’s initial aim was simply to extend access to world-class university education to a few students in parts of Kenya where such opportunities had scarcely existed. As the program’s students began to achieve success at their distinguished institutions, however, it became clear that KenSAP was helping to develop the future intellectual leadership not only of its students’ communities, but also of Kenya as a whole. Indeed, since KenSAP began to make its mark, at least three new programs have sprung up in Kenya doing much the same sort of work. KenSAP’s aim has therefore grown: its students are pledged to use their education for the benefit of Kenyans less fortunate than themselves and to contribute to Kenya’s development in ways commensurate with the quality of their education.