About
What Does “Vulnerable” Mean?
Vulnerable families lack one or two parents. Children might be raised by grandparents, a teenaged sibling, or in a children’s home. One or more siblings may stay home for lack of school fees for primary, secondary, or college attendance.
A child might suffer from hunger, neglect, abandonment, and/or physical abuse. A teenager might be the head of a household.
A community may be isolated, with limited income opportunities. Food might be scarce. Children do not attend or complete their primary or secondary education.
Why Girls & Young Women?
MEA primarily invests in the health and education of girls and young women. Wisdom across the philanthropy world is: When you help a boy, you help one; when you help a girl, you lift the community. This belief is echoed by respected organizations, such as the United Nations Population Fund. Investing in girls and young women yields disproportionately high returns for families and communities, raising the tide of health, education, and economic well-being for everyone.
Donating to MEA is an Investment in Impact
MEA doesn’t simply send money. We have a native In-Country Director and Accountant. Our Accountant ensures that funds are spent as intended and every shilling is accounted for.
The In-Country Director provides social, emotional, and logistics support to our beneficiaries to ensure that our projects and programs achieve their intended outcomes. She provides counseling and guidance to our scholars, as well helps them navigate issues such as landlord problems or bureaucratic glitches with scholarship funds. She also plans and implements trainings and strategizes with partners on community projects.
Because MEA is operational in Kenya, some administrative costs are integral to effective program delivery. In 2025, our start-up year, 25% of donor dollars went to administration. This is well within appropriate guidelines (15%-35%) for nonprofits that deliver programs.
We Give More than We Receive
The vulnerable individuals and communities we support are inspired by Americans’ deep conviction that individuals can transcend the circumstances of their birth. By our example and programming, MEA beneficiaries learn that an obstacle isn’t necessarily a barrier. Once they understand this, the youth, families, and community leaders we work with begin to see themselves as agents of their own transformation.
Those we serve, serve us. MEA volunteers are inspired by the grace, resilience, and perseverance of Kenyans who have endured challenges most of us cannot even imagine. When we see the effort and resourcefulness of our beneficiaries’ improve the quality of life for their families and communities, we know that our compassion has made the world a better place. Donors’ direct experiences and the stories we tell renew our appreciation of and gratitude for our many blessings.
Practically Speaking
Another reason to support work in Kenya: an extremely favorable exchange rate! For example, $1,000 pays a college student’s college tuition for a year: $550 covers a year of high school boarding school fees, meals and lodging, and school supplies for one year. That’s a lot of bang for the buck!
30 +
Years Experience
About
Meet Our Founder: Gary Lichtenstein, Ed.D.
Jambo! I made my first visit to Kenya in 2005 as Board Chair of International Peace Initiatives (IPI).
Among the Meru, I am known as Mutethia (meaning Helper)—a name I constantly strive to live up to. In a 2006 ceremony, the Samburu elders of Ltungai Village named me Menya Ltungai, (Father of the Village). Of the names I have acquired in Kenya, none is more meaningful to me than “Dad,” bestowed by orphans who have adopted me. In 2016, Meru elders interviewed my wife, Kaye, and aptly named her Ntinyari, Joyful Homemaker. She known to our Kenyan daughters and sons as Mum.
In 2006, I launched the IPI College Scholars Program (ICSP), sending seven youth,village orphaned by AIDS to college who otherwise would never have had the opportunity. Many lacked the grades to be admitted, due to having missed so much schooling, usually due to caring for an ailing parent, raising siblings, and lack of fees. Because I guaranteed their tuition fees, all were admitted to university.
The results were striking. These students quickly overcame their knowledge gaps and excelled. By 2016, all 7 had graduated, attained middle- or upper-class jobs, and have since broken the cycle of poverty in their families. Their college education trumped the tribalism, nepotism, and high unemployment that characterizes the Kenyan job market. In 2016, IPI took over the program and over 100 other students and their families have experienced similar results.
In 2006, I launched Mutethia Enterprises Africa, a for-profit business designed to ensure fair profits for farmers who are typically exploited by brokers. The business went dormant two years later, but deepened my understanding of Kenyan culture and taught me lessons that guide our work today.
Since 2005, I have periodically supported Ltungai, a village started by a Samburu woman for other women and their children cast out from their traditional villages for being HIV+. In a 2006 ceremony, the elders named me Menya Ltungai, (Father of the Village). After Covid and drought threatened the existence of the village in 2020, a compassionate donor gave a substantial sum to help the community. I have worked with Ltungai leaders and a US-Meru team to implement a rock-crushing business. The machine was installed in 2023 and the Ltungai Women’s Ballast Company was launched. Training is ongoing.
In 2025, I elevated my personal philanthropy into MEA, a non-profit, 501c3 corporation, which became fully qualified by the IRS in August 2025. MEA is governed by a volunteer board that includes business owners, a church leader, accountant, and program evaluators. MEA staff includes a part-time book-keeper, part-time administrator, and myself as volunteer Executive Director.
MEA pulls together my passions for community service, social entrepreneurship, analytical thinking, and love of Kenya
Thank you for visiting. Please enjoy this website, learn about what we do and the youth and communities we engage. Perhaps MEA will become a vehicle for expressing your compassion as well.