Swahili (East Africa) 
Dutch (nl-NL) 
English (United Kingdom) 
Give a child the opportunity to return home.
Mwanzo supports The Ark in Kenya with shelter, guidance, and reintegration into families.
PBI status
Donor pledge
Zero overhead
What we do
Mwanzo is a small Dutch foundation with one very concrete purpose: making sure The Ark Children's Home in Ngoliba, Kenya can keep running every single day. Nothing more, nothing less — but that one purpose we pursue with full dedication.
Our role: bridge between donor and child
The Ark takes in children who have nowhere else to go. Orphans, children from vulnerable families, children in crisis. Caroline and her team do the direct work: shelter, care, education, reintegration. We make sure they can keep doing that.
Mwanzo raises funds in the Netherlands and channels them directly into The Ark's operational costs. Food, clean water, school fees, medical care, and salaries for the staff who are there for the children around the clock.
Get involved
Behind every child at The Ark is a story. A story of loss, of resilience — and of people who decided they wanted to do something about it. You can be one of those people too. Not because you need to be important, or wealthy. But because small contributions add up to something big.
Below you'll find a few ways to get involved. There's bound to be one that fits you.
Help us tell the story — content & social media
Mwanzo has beautiful stories to tell. Stories of children coming home. Of a shamba in full bloom. Of a workshop where an entire village thinks together about the future. But stories only land when someone tells them — and that is where we could use your help.
Specifically, we are looking for someone to help us create content for the newsletter and social media. Think: writing or editing texts, creating posts for Instagram or LinkedIn, turning photos and updates from The Ark into something that speaks to people. You don't need to have visited Kenya — you just need curiosity, a feel for writing, and a bit of time.
Here's something exciting: we are also teaching the older children at The Ark how to make short films about their own lives and their home. So you could literally help amplify their own voices.
Does this sound like you? Reach out through the button — tell us who you are and what you'd like to do. We'd love to hear from you.
Spread the word — become an ambassador
Did you know that most of Mwanzo's donors find us through people they already know? Word of mouth is our strongest engine. And it doesn't ask much of you — just that you talk about us.
Tell people about Mwanzo at work, at your sports club, at church, or among friends. Share a post on LinkedIn or Instagram. Send a message to someone you think would care. It takes five minutes and could change someone's life.
Want to go a step further? Become an official Mwanzo ambassador. That means actively helping us find new donors — in your own way, within your own network. Get in touch and we'll think through how to make that work for you.
Who we are
Mwanzo was founded from one simple, powerful desire: that every child gets the chance to come home. We are a small, personal foundation — no bureaucracy, no overhead, no intermediaries. Three people who believe that genuine involvement and trust can make a real difference.
Clements Radenborg — Chair & founder
In 2023, Clements founded Mwanzo — “mwanzo” means “new beginning” in Swahili. Since then, he has travelled to The Ark two or three times a year, at his own expense, to contribute ideas, help with construction and see how the children are growing. He is now also a member of The Ark's Board of Directors — a sign of the mutual trust that has been built up over the years.
Martijn Tempelaar — Treasurer
In his professional life, Martijn is head of procurement at a global organisation — a role that requires strategic insight, a keen eye for quality and an extensive international network. He brings those same qualities to Mwanzo. During his working visits to Kenya, he worked with Clements to purchase supplies for The Ark's new kitchen and bought school materials for the children — practical, purposeful, effective.
Lente van der Stel — Secretary
Lente is a primary school teacher, friends with Clements' daughter — and now indispensable to Mwanzo. She was touched by The Ark during a holiday in Kenya, together with Clements' daughter and a friend. She couldn't forget what she saw. And so she remained involved — in her own way.
She brings the warmth of the classroom to the board: patient, clear-headed and always with the bigger picture in mind.
What we've done
We have achieved some great successes over the past three years. We are so proud, but above all grateful to all our donors!
We hope that this will inspire you to contribute too.
A shamba for The Ark
Shamba is Swahili for a farm, or rather, a piece of land where you can grow vegetables.
It actually started in 2022. At that time, we had conceived a plan to help The Ark become more self-sufficient. With a loan, we helped lease a piece of land and purchase a water pump and hoses, seeds for corn and beans, fertiliser, and hire labour. The goal was to earn some money for The Ark.
The plan has been very successful: we now harvest different crops three times a year, we have some cows, goats and even pigs, and this provides food, milk and income for The Ark.
A shamba for the Ark
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Mwanzo Foundation
About Mwanzo
Mwanzo was founded in 2023 and has an ANBI status. This means that it is officially recognised by the Dutch Tax authorities as a Public Benefit Organisation. Do you want to know how this benefits you? Look at PBO
Mwanzo has joined Donateursbelangen Look here to see how this benefits you.