ODFL bought 2 milk cows for an orphanage in Kenya.

The cows will produce milk for eight years and will provide daily protein to 120 children in Kenya.

180 miles north of Nairobi on the high plains that define Central Kenya, sits the town of Nanyuki. It is a small town, about 3,000 people, supported by local agriculture and native tribal lands. In the town is an orphanage, the Nanyuki Children’s Orphanage.

The Orphanage raises some 120 children, from age 2 weeks to 18 years. In addition to health, nutrition, and adult guidance, the Orphanage tries to teach its children a basic skill so that when they leave they may be productive members of society.

In the summer of 2007, ODFL traveled to Nanyuki to build its first school in the nearby village of Naromoru. That was when the ODFL students encountered the Orphanage. The children are like all children everywhere: energetic, timid, but above all, curious. They wanted to show the ODFL students their garden.

The garden was an acre plot of cabbages and corn, meticulously tended by the children themselves. It is the source of most of their nutrition so they care for it literally as a matter of life and death. One of the ODFL students asked the Orphanage’s Drector what they did for protein for the children. The answer: “We have none.”

Most people know the damage to child development that occurs when growing children have no protein. When asked what they intended to do about it, the Director replied, “If we had two milk cows we could feed each child a glass of milk every day.” That’s when The Plan was born.

First milking of orphanage cow

Orphanage children drinking milk.

The ODFL students resolved to come back to the U.S. and raise the money. Before leaving Kenya, they researched the cost. It came to about US $1,200 apiece which included food for a year and supervision by a ministry of agriculture representative to ensure the cows were healthy. Each cow can produce milk for eight years.

Back in the U.S., they approached a teacher they knew at Jordan Middle School in Palo Alto, CA. The teacher thought it was a great idea and believed the students would rise to the challenge. Jordan has 800 students so they would have to contribute an average of $3 each. To help, the student organizers enlisted the commitment of the entire faculty, each of whom gave something.

ODFL Shining Stars at Jordan Middle School!

In March 2008 Jordan’s student body organization conducted its drive and raised the money. ODFL conveyed the funds to the orphanage through its Kenyan partner, SEANet, which has performed work for the World Bank and UNICEF. The cows were delivered in May 2008.

According to Nancy Smith, the sponsoring teacher at Jordan, “This was the best drive we’ve ever done at Jordan. These students are genuine heroes.” She added, “They will remember for the rest of their lives that they fed an African child for eight years, and for a dollar. I can’t think of a more noble deed.”