My name is Nicholas Dagala and I am the founder of Africa Transforming Lives (ATL). I was born in Kenya in 1986 and grew up in a village where there was no hope of going to school or having a bright future. My dad worked as a carpenter and this could not sustain the ten kids he had to support. We had to drop out of school, sacrificing education for food. We continued with this pattern until one day when it was my turn to be empowered to get an education.

 

I met a German missionary in Kenya who spoke Swahili, which is the Kenyan national language. She asked me why I was not going to school and I answered that I'd had to stop going to school to get food. Then she asked what my dream was and I told her, "To study, get a good job and to support my mum and dad." I didn't know this was the beginning of a brighter future for me and for my village.

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She took me to a shop, where she bought me books and a school uniform. I started school the following Monday, and when we took a test at the end of the month I scored the best in my class. I continued to do well and secured a place at Makongi Boys High after passing my exams. Four years later, I was accepted to Highland Aviation College to study airport operation and flight dispatch. I found I did not enjoy this type of work and chose to continue my education at the University of Eldoret, where I studied social science. After completing my studies in 2011, I used my grandparents' land to practice farming as a  business, which paid well compared to typical employment.

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I later remembered my good friend who had sent me to school, and decided to give back to the community by using what I had to support children in getting an education. My friend Bethany joined the project in 2013 and together we raised local and international funds, providing many children with scholarships to attend school. After Bethany got married and had to stop supporting the project because of her family responsibilities, I came up with idea to help parents learn farming and business skills, empowering themselves to support their kids and send them to school. We began to do outreach by going from house to house with the campaign Kick Hunger Out of Kenya and Take Children to School.

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In 2015, my friend Kelley Kimble raised the issue of me visiting the United States to create connections with like-minded people who might be willing to partner with me in this effort. I travelled to Arizona, where I had no connections other than the creator of the universe. From there I went on to Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana in search of  like-minded partners. Despite encountering difficulty at the outset, I still believed I would find allies to aid me in my mission.

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Through a series of fortuitous connections, I met an amazing couple named Alexis and Debbie, who have joined with Africa Transforming Lives to form a partnership called the Living Energy Global Initiative. Together we aim to help people in Kenya move out of poverty by teaching them how to earn a living through organic farming. ATL provides accessible and appropriate knowledge, delivered in a cost-effective manner, which holds great potential for long-term economic security. Our genuine hunger for ideas, rather than handouts, motivates us all the more to ensure that our friends living under humble, difficult conditions are empowered with training and resources that can help break the cycle of poverty.

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Africa Transforming Lives was formed in 2012 and from that day to this, we have focused on teaching people to fish rather than giving them a fish, as the proverb goes. Years of poverty have been slowly draining the soil of hope in Africa. Millions live on less than a dollar a day, and abject poverty chokes out dreams and often life itself. Hunger, disease, alcoholism, spiritual emptiness and lack of knowledge move through the hearts and homes of countless villages and generations where struggling parents repeat the cycle of raising malnourished, uneducated children who hope for a better life. Transforming poverty is a broad challenge and opportunity. Our ministry has expanded significantly and in recent years has been refined for greater effectiveness. We invite you to join our family of worldwide partners as we bring transformation and empowerment to the poor through training, education and community investment.