Mission
The Hilde Back Education Fund (HBEF) is a Kenyan charitable organization that helps provide children from low-income families complete secondary school education in Kenya. The fund’s main focus is to make education a fundamental human right. By awarding various academic scholarships, bright children from disadvantaged backgrounds receive the support they need to achieve proper education, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, and gender. To date, the fund has provided support to 835 beneficiaries who were enrolled in various schools all over the nation.
Supported Causes
The Hilde Back Education Fund offers a wide range of local and international opportunities in various educational programs, including arts, science, sports, and technology. The fund also helps promote and protect the right of a child to have a proper education.
The youth benefiting from the fund are encouraged to participate in community development projects. These projects show them how they can help make their struggling and poverty-stricken community stronger and more self-reliant, with better funcitoning systems in place.
The Foundation's History
During the mid-1970s, a German woman named Hilde Back participated in an international sponsorship program in Sweden. This program was designed to help pay for the education of Kenyan children coming from low-income families and promote quality education in the face of economic hardships.
A young boy from Mitahato Village in Githunguri Kiambu named Chris Mburu was honored to be the first recipient of Ms. Hilde Back’s sponsorship. Years later, Chris founded the Hilde Back Foundation with other Kenyan professionals from the Githunguri area. They established the fund so that Chris and others who became successful could give back to the communities in need. From 2001 to 2009, the founding members backed most of HBEF’s activities with their own resources. Chris named the fund to honor Ms. Hilde Back, who changed his life with her support.
Programs
Sponsor-To-Child (STC) Program
The Sponsor-to-Child (STC) program is the Hilde Back Education Fund’s main program. It allows sponsors to assist the children and participate in their educational journey. Sponsors can contribute financially to the child’s education and can correspond with them, receiving updates such as report cards, pictures, and letters.
Leadership Training And Psychosocial Support
The Hilde Back Education Fund developed the HBEF Leadership Training and Psychosocial Support program to help children overcome obstacles. They learn to focus on their studies while dealing with poverty. The program provides psychological support to the children to help them develop leadership and vital life skills.
Right to Education Advocacy
The Right to Education Advocacy is an initiative that aims at sensitizing policymakers and raising awareness of the human right to a proper education. With this program in place, the goal is to create free education for all children in Kenya.