Greetings!

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our brand-new Mentorship Program for our sponsored children and their families! This initiative connects them with inspiring mentors, empowering each child to dream bigger, build confidence, and unlock their full potential. We can’t wait to share the incredible stories this program will create! 

While we celebrate this new beginning, we’re also proud to share the continued success of our food program. Thanks to your support, over 1,000 children enjoy nutritious meals every day – nourishing their bodies, fueling their learning, and bringing hope to their families. 

All of these amazing programs are only possible with your generosity. Right now, we need your help securing the funding needed to sustain and grow these life-changing opportunities. That’s why we’ve included a special article in this issue about how you can help us find new grants and speaking opportunities. If you know of churches, organizations, or resources that offer grants for programs like ours, your guidance could be just as valuable as a donation! 

Thank you for being part of our journey and for helping us turn possibilities into realities for the children we serve. 

Jennifer Wynne

President and Founder

Prepared by: Wyclif Gitonga

Changing Lenses, Changing Lives (CLCL) has made significant progress in transforming the lives of hundreds of underprivileged children and families across Meru County and the Mathare informal settlements in Nairobi County, Kenya. This progress has been achieved through programs such as child sponsorship, mentorship, the distribution of reusable menstrual cups to young mothers and girls attending day secondary schools, and a robust school feeding program.

The school feeding program is one of CLCL’s most impactful initiatives. With an annual expenditure of about $9,000, it provides essential support to vulnerable learners in four sponsored public elementary schools in Meru County. Initially launched as a simple hot lunch program serving approximately 800 learners, the program has since expanded to benefit over 1,200 learners daily during the school term. The provision of reliable, nutritious hot meals has become a cornerstone of academic support and directly contributed to improved student concentration, attendance, and overall well-being. Teachers report that learners are more alert and engaged in class, while parents express relief knowing their children are guaranteed at least one healthy meal each day.

The program has led to a marked reduction in hunger-related absenteeism and ensures that learners attend school consistently throughout the academic year. Before its introduction, many children attended school on empty stomachs, had their packed lunches stolen by their peers, or consumed spoiled food. Since the program began, cases of stomach-related illnesses have declined across all the sponsored schools. The feeding program has also become integrated into school culture, with new pupils enrolling in these schools now prioritizing bringing a plate and spoon as part of their enrollment requirements, underscoring its central role in daily school life.

The impact of the program is further reflected in increased enrollment. One sponsored school admitted more than 190 new pupils within a single year, which demonstrates the trust and confidence that families place in the initiative. For many parents, the assurance of daily meals is a decisive factor in school attendance, which plays a critical role in breaking cycles of poverty and illiteracy. Beyond the classroom, the program strengthens community bonds by engaging local suppliers and cooks in meal preparation, thereby creating small-scale economic opportunities and reinforcing the idea that education is a shared responsibility.

The school feeding program addresses multiple challenges simultaneously, including hunger, absenteeism, poor health, and low enrollment, while creating an environment where learners can thrive academically and socially. Thanks to the generous support of our donors, countless children have already benefited from daily nutritious meals. With your continued partnership, we can continue to break down the barriers that prevent children from achieving their full potential. With our next food distribution in April 2026, we invite you to join us in this vital mission and creating a lasting impact in the lives of all these children under our care.

Prepared by: Suesan Patton

Help Shape the Future: Seeking Your Ideas on Funding CLCL’s Mission 

Did you know that—in addition to sponsoring almost 130 school kids in Kenya—CLCL also provides school meals to more than 1,000 primary school kids? We also fund salaries for three workers in Kenya, pay Kenyan office rent, provide girls’ and women with menstrual cup training, support a mentoring program, and are trying to raise enough money to buy a car for our Kenyan office!  

How in the world does our small non-profit pay for all of this? Firstly, to those of you who sponsor a child, thank you! Our child sponsorship program is mostly self-sufficient, only requiring an occasional infusion of funds from CLCL to help pay for extraordinary expenses, like MRIs, rescuing a child in a dangerous situation, or family help in cases of illness or death. To pay for our other programs and to cover the costs of running a charity, we look to special donations from our donors and sponsors. Recently, we have begun searching for donations from outside groups, such as churches, family foundations, and civic organizations. 

In 2023 and 2025, we received a total of $12,000 for our food program from a small church in Colorado, where one of our sponsors was a member. She told us that her church had an endowment program, suggested they may enjoy contributing to CLCL, and who to contact. We wrote our first grant application in June 2023 and received $9,000 from the church’s endowment fund that July! Two years later, another group in the same church gave us an additional $3,000. This is a huge help, but since we spend about $9,000 a year on food for schools, it obviously does not cover the entire program. 

Now, we are trying to raise money for a car in Kenya, so our staff there do not have to pay for rides on unreliable and unsafe scooters, all while covering our current expenses, and attempting to add a mentorship program for our sponsored kids. How will we do it?   

Outside Funding! 

We’re not talking large organizations like Save the Children or CARE.  

We need suggestions from our sponsors and donors about where to look, such as family foundations, civic clubs, and your church. After receiving $12,000 from a small church, we realized that many churches are likely to have available funds, we simply do not know who they are. Your church may not have an endowment fund, but many churches are willing to help with foreign missions. Or there may be a member in your church who would be interested in helping with a specific program, such as our feeding program . Civic organizations are also great. Our founder, Jennifer Wynne, was asked to speak at a local Lion’s Club. After her speech, the club presented CLCL with a check for $1,000. In 2025, we received $5,000 from a small family foundation. We know there are hundreds of family foundations in the U.S., but we don’t know who they are. This is where you come in! We need your help to find other opportunities such as these! We have volunteers to speak to groups and to write grants, we just need to know who and where to ask! 

A little can go a long way. With your help and ideas, we hope not just to sustain, but to grow CLCL! Let’s see if we can fill 1,000 more bellies in 2026! 

Got any ideas? Please send a note to Jennifer Wynne by email to jennifer@ChangingLensesChangingLives.org, 

or send a letter to Jennifer Wynne at PO Box 23181, Sante Fe NM 87502. 

Thanks so much, in advance!