Samburu Project

History and governing structure

The Samburu Project was founded in the Fall of 2005 by Kristen Kosinski, a former television executive at Paramount Pictures.  during a trip to Kenya. Along with respected Samburu elder, Mama Musa, she was inspired to start the organization as a vehicle for women's empowerment. After ten years, Ms. Kosinski resigned the position as executive director. In February 2016, former board chair Linda Hooper assumed directorship, and the office was relocated to its current location in the historic Helms Bakery Complex in Culver City.

As of 2020, the organization has a staff of three in Los Angeles, and a staff of five at their Wamba office in Samburu county, Kenya. A diverse Board of Directors is composed of 11 individuals in the US. The organization also has an active internship program open to high school and college students.

With 137 wells providing clean water, The Samburu Project has expanded its program to support women with empowerment workshops, teenage girls with menstrual hygiene products and reproductive health information, and gardening workshops as a way to expand food security, food diversity, and income generation.

The Samburu Project is supported by foundation grants, personal donations, events, peer-to-peer fundraising events, and corporate partnerships.

Media coverage

The Los Angeles Times featured the work of the Samburu Project in an article by Iris Schneider in November 2016 that chronicled the daily life of a village called Ntilal. A companion article appeared in LA Observed on December 8, 2016.

References

References

1. (2016-11-16). "Wells are about more than clean water in remote Kenyan villages. They're also symbols of empowerment". Los Angeles Times.
2. "Documenting Kenya and The Samburu Project".