Born and raised in Kenya, …. Michael, once a homeless teenager working in the local Dagoretti slaughterhouse, is now a senior at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

Born the second child among four siblings, Michael grew up in a one room shanty in Dagoretti Market, on the outskirts of Nairobi. With no father present, Michael’s mother worked domestic jobs in the nearby town of Karen to feed her family.  Understanding the great importance of education, Michael's mother always encouraged hard work in education.  Michael was a good student, completing primary school and two years of high school before family strife and a lack of finances resulted in him dropping out of school and leaving home.

As a street ring leader around the slaughterhouse slums, Michael had the good fortune of meeting Christof Putzel, a University of Connecticut film student making a documentary about the HIV pandemic. For weeks, Michael worked tirelessly as Putzel’s guide and translator, enabling Putzel to film the devastating impact of the AIDS virus through the eyes and voices of street children and slum dwellers infected with HIV. The film, “Left Behind”, went on to win numerous outstanding awards and accolades for the young film maker. For Michael, the film’s exposure resulted in a financial sponsorship enabling him to return to high school and eventually graduate third in his class from the Kikuyu Township Secondary School in 2002.

After graduating from high school, Michael returned to Dagoretti to work with the Pamoja Children’s Trust - a day center for street kids and began the formative efforts to establish D4K. During this time, Michael met yet another young American, Mark Orrs, a 2003 graduate of St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Mark had seen the “Left Behind” film and had come to Kenya to work with AIDS orphans at the Nyumbani Children’s Home.

Through an endearing friendship and two years of communication between Mark Orrs, and the university administration, Michael was awarded a full scholarship in 2005. Today, he is a senior at St. Joseph’s University majoring Economics and Philosophy. After graduation, Michael has hopes of furthering his education in graduate school.

Michael is also a Director of D4K and works with Harambee: African Awareness, an organization whose mission is to bring awareness of the African experience to college campuses.