Ten years ago, Michael Deriaz quit his job in an Investment Bank to run Friends of Kipkelion, a small NGO focussed on a deprived area of rural Kenya.
Since 2011 the NGO has raised over £1 million which has been spent on projects in Kipkelion including WASH, menstrual hygiene, maternal health and combatting FGM/C. Friends of Kipkelion is entirely run by volunteers in the UK and relies on its excellent local implementing partners in Kenya, BCW, for project delivery. Michael first worked in Kipkelion as a volunteer over 45 years ago and believes that a long term collaboration with the local community is essential to any small NGO.