Student
Support &
Initiatives
We ensure every young person has the tools and
support needed to navigate challenges, build
resilience, and reach their full potential.
Scholarships:
Support a Scholar, Transform a Future
Our Scholarship Program is a direct investment in Kenya’s most promising, most motivated young leaders. We identify talented students from high-need backgrounds and provide them with the two things they need to succeed: funding and support.
It’s More Than Just Tuition
This program is designed to remove the financial barriers that stand between a talented student and their future. But our support doesn’t stop there. Beyond financial aid, each BPL Kenya Scholar receives ongoing, one-on-one mentorship from our staff. This holistic support helps them navigate their educational journey, build the critical skills, and develop the confidence and networks needed for lifelong success.
Our Impact
This program is entirely funded by donors like you. Your contribution is one of the most powerful, direct-impact investments you can make. It removes the single greatest barrier to a student’s potential.
Passing the Mic:
Our Storytelling
Mission
At Big Picture Learning Kenya, we use the power of stories to change the way the world views marginalized youth. We “pass the mic” for our young people to tell their own stories and challenge the dominant, single narrative about their communities.
We help our youth understand themselves, their roots, their systems, and how those systems work—and how to challenge the ones that limit them. We read about local leaders who have done amazing things in difficult circumstances, proving that these limiting stories are just that: stories.
The Global Challenge of the
“Single Story”
We know these limiting stories are not unique to Kenya. Globally, societies maintain “single stories” about groups of people based on race, religion, or community.
When young people internalize these narratives, their true potential is overlooked or lost. The impact weighs most heavily on the poorest and most marginalized: in Australia, among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations; in the USA, amongst Native, African-American, and Latino communities; and in Kenya, within the informal settlements surrounding our cities.
As the educator Paulo Freire wrote,
LIBERATION IS A PRAXIS:
the action and reflection of men
and women upon their world in
order to transform it.”
Our Solution: Action & Reflection
At the Kuna Nuru Leadership Academy (KNLA), storytelling is our tool for this praxis. It is more than just words—it’s a powerful vehicle for communication, identity, and change.
We are shifting the dominant narrative by focusing on transparent, personalized methods for capturing student learning and achievements. Through storytelling, our young people serve their communities, secure further education or employment, and build a core belief in their ability to chart new paths for themselves, their families, and their communities.
As Dr. Sonn Sam, BPL’s National Director of Partnerships,
observed when he visited us:
Yes, there is poverty. Yes, there are
real struggles. But there is also
BRILLIANCE, CREATIVITY, and A FIERCE
DETERMINATION TO RISE ABOVE
THOSE CHALLENGES. Carol is not
just transforming education, but
transforming lives.”
Our Global
Storytelling
Initiatives
We are actively connecting our students with schools and organizations around the world in the following ways:
Photography & Storytelling with POLAH
Through a pen pal exchange with students from Port of Los Angeles (POLAH) High School, our students build cross-cultural connections and global understanding. They use cameras to capture meaningful moments in their communities, using visuals to tell powerful stories of resilience, creativity, and hope.
Hadithi Exchange with Big Picture Learning Australia
In a collaborative blogging initiative, BPL Australia and BPL Kenya unite First Nations students from regional and remote Australian schools with students from our Kuna Nuru Leadership Academy. This project, which kicked off on August 19th, 2025, encourages the exchange of personal, social, and cultural narratives through a shared blog platform.
Students contribute songs, poems, community stories, films, and artwork, allowing them to connect globally and foster deep cross-cultural understanding.
Digital Class with Bronx High School
Digital literacy is essential for social inclusion and access to opportunities. BPL Kenya and Bronx High School are providing digital literacy and design training to KNLA students through remote sessions. Our students learn practical, career-ready skills—like logo creation, business card design, and the principles of design—that enhance their chances of employment and enable them to thrive in the expanding digital economy.
Become a Global Partner School
We warmly invite schools and organizations to partner with our KNLA students. Our most important goal is to build deep, life-changing relationships. We want to connect your students with our students in Kenya, opening the hearts and minds of everyone involved.
As a partner, your school, advisory, or class will connect with our students to exchange letters, artwork, and stories. We will help facilitate video calls (like Skype or FaceTime) to build genuine, personal connections.
To make this deep level of partnership possible, we ask participating schools for a yearly contribution of $2,995 USD. We want to be clear: this isn’t a fee. This is a direct, essential contribution that sustains the program. It covers our dedicated staff time, data costs for our students, and the resources needed to manage a meaningful, year-long global exchange.
Our primary goal is building relationships. If the full partnership contribution isn’t feasible, we still want to hear from you. We believe in the power of connection, and any and everything helps. From fundraising drives to smaller class-to-class projects, your support gives our youth a chance to step into a better life. We want friends, really.
If your school or organization is ready to build a life-changing global partnership, please fill out our interest form. We would love to work out the details and find the right connection for you.
Kwetu Paradiso Residency
KwetU Paradiso is more than a program; it is a commitment to ensuring that the most vulnerable and promising young people can build a future defined by agency and leadership.
Program Overview Finding Our Paradise
In Swahili, KwetU means ours, and Paradiso means Paradise. When our first scholars—Vyetty, Barlin, and Sharon—moved into their new space, they consistently described the feeling as “our own” and “Paradise.” We named the program the KwetU Paradiso Residency in their honor, cementing our mission to mentor youth with the mindsets and skills necessary to see themselves as leaders of change in their communities and the broader world.
Addressing a Critical Need
Kwetu Paradiso Residency is a specialized residency program. It was founded in April 2021 as a direct response to a critical crisis emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic exposed and exacerbated vulnerabilities, leaving many children and adolescents facing critical needs, including different forms of abuse. Recognizing the urgent requirement for safety and stability, the Residency was launched with essential seed funding from Elena Aguilar, co-founder of BPL Kenya.
Currently, Kwetu Paradiso hosts 6 young people who live and learn within the BPL Kenya facility and office space, which provides a stable environment for their growth and education.
Comprehensive
& Holistic Support
The KwetU Paradiso Residency is designed
to provide comprehensive, holistic services
to youth from marginalized communities.
This includes:
The three pioneer scholars quickly demonstrated their leadership potential, undertaking community projects to raise awareness about COVID, mental health, and the rights of girls and women. Today, we are proud that these initial KwetU Paradiso pioneers are now active members of the BPL Kenya board, directly amplifying the youth voice in our organizational strategy and direction.
Our Asset-Based Approach
At KwetU Paradiso, we take an asset-based view of working with youth from under-resourced communities—we build on what’s already there. We are not here to prescribe external solutions; we relentlessly strive to prioritize student voice, equity, and liberation. As BPL Kenya transitions its focus exclusively to student-centered programs, the KwetU Paradiso model—specifically designed for students with demonstrated leadership potential—will be key. By leveraging the potential of this select group, BPL Kenya will develop a strategy for its future school, the Entrepreneurial Academy, and more broadly, shape its student support programs.
