Our Story
The Charity grew out of a successful Global Schools Partnership Project between two UK schools and two Kenyan schools: Thomas Adams in Wem partnered with Miriu Secondary School, Kenya Buntingsdale Primary in Market Drayton partnered with Innis Primary, Kenya Both Kenyan schools are located on the Sondu plateau in Upper Nyakach District, a remote rural area in the west of the country where subsistence farming is the main source of income.
Alongside the classroom links, a student sponsorship scheme, supported by parents and friends of Thomas Adams school, was set up to support individuals at Miriu who struggled to achieve regular attendance due to lack of family means. Shortly after the scheme started Ross Jones, a Thomas Adams student, died in a motor accident. His parents created a project to celebrate his life and to generate income for the partnership - a memorial rose named Zest for Life.
As the scheme grew it became apparent that a more formal mechanism was needed to manage the sponsorship scheme, one that could also aid fundraising from external sources. Thus in 2008, the name of the rose was adopted as the name of a new Charity. Zest for Life now operates independently of the schools partnership.
Our income is generated via 20+ monthly donors, community fundraising efforts (coffee mornings, quiz nights, presentations to local philanthropic societies, sponsored events and one off donations) and occasional grants from trusts and foundations. In a typical year, for every £1 donated 97p is spent directly on our charitable work. External funding has been sourced from a number of UK trusts and foundations to support capital projects. Networking opportunities continue to raise our profile. As Chairman, Karen has twice been successful in Vodafone’s World of Difference Awards participating in events at the Reading HQ.
We are currently a Trustee board of 3 meeting 3-4 times a year. We issue quarterly newsletters to update our 20+ regular donors plus friends and supporters. In Kenya, alongside our regular contact with the Head teacher at Innis, we rely on 2 associates: Martin Ogondi a former sponsored student, now a secondary school teacher, is our projects manager and link with the women’s groups we support. Seth Osano is the former Deputy Head at Miriu and now Head Teacher at Senator Otieno Kajwang High School. Seth is our educational advisor offering invaluable advice and keeping us up to date with education policy