Your sessions create scholarships

Nakupenda. I love.

In 2012, Nakupenda Photography was born out of love for a child.  It was a simple desire to save her life and a huge dream to pay for her school all the way through University. Together Elizabeth and I dreamed of what that future would look like and her enthusiasm for life fueled my desire to fight for her. Elizabeth has now graduated from college but we continue to sponsor students.

School scholarships are created through session sales at Nakupenda Photography, but the primary source for scholarships comes from our annual fall fundraiser. Our date for 2019 is Nov 2, 2019 (register here www.nakupendaphotography.com/fundraiser). In 2018, Nakupenda was able to send Deborah (college) and Janette (grade school) to school.

Asanta Sana (thank you very much) my friends. Your patronage is making dreams come true in a way I never imagined.

How it all began

In 2009 I spent a moment (2 months) of my life in Kenya. I fell in love with the country, the language, the people and most of all the children. All their little faces looking to be recognized, their voices wanting to be heard, their hands wanting to be held, their souls wanting to be loved. When I left the country, I was changed.

In 2010, Monica (foster mother of 100 orphans) contacted me and my life shifted again. Elizabeth. She wanted so desperately to attend high school. She was born in a small village town. Her father had died of preventable diseases, but medicine is unavailable in her village. Her mom wanted her to marry at age 12, she would receive a cow to feed her family as a bride price. The man was more than 3 times her age, but the cow would feed her starving family and the marriage would take the burden of feeding her away. Monica intervened and took her to the city, where her uncle promised to pay for school. Things were looking up for Elizabeth, for the first time she felt hope. She studied hard to catch up in school, passed her entrance exams and enrolled in high school. Elizabeth allowed herself to dream of a future, to dream of becoming a doctor and returning to her home village and improving life for her friends and family that lived there.

Then, disaster struck again. Before the first tuition payment could be made her uncle was killed in a car accident and Elizabeth was asked to leave high school. There was no one else to help her. She was devastated and returned to city filled with despair and a desire to die. Without an education, girl her age are forced to turn to prostitution to feed themselves. Elizabeth declared she would rather die than live that life. I could feel her pain in the words I read. I knew that if I sponsored her I had to see her through to the end.

... and so Nakupenda Photography began. 

Are you a non profit?

No, Nakupenda Photography is and always has been a for profit business with a charitable aim. It is registered as an LLC in the state of Arizona.  

"An Education IS a Future" -Elizabeth

Did you know an entire year of primary school, with a uniform and lunch at school only costs $200 in Kenya? It costs more than that to drive myself to work every month!