Hilde Back Education Fund
A Kenyan Charity Educating Bright Children from Poor Families
How it all started
The HBEF Story
In
the mid 1970s, a Swedish woman by the name of Hilde Back, left participated
in an international sponsorship program organized by a group of Swedish
nationals committed to helping Kenyan children from poor families pay
for their education. As a result of this support provided by individual
Swedish benefactors, hundreds of children from Githunguri Division of
Central Kenya –who might otherwise have been forced to drop out
of school for lack of school fees- were able to stay in school.
Many of these program beneficiaries went on to lead successful careers and lives, which they owe to a large extent to this sponsorship program.
One of those beneficiaries was Chris Mburu,whose school fees were paid for by Ms Hilde Back for many years. Mr. Mburu was able to proceed with school and to eventually study law at the University of Nairobi and thereafter received a Fulbright scholarship to go to Harvard University in the US where he graduated in 1993 with a Master’s Degree in Iinternational Human Rights law. Mr. Mburu has since been working for different international organizations outside Kenya, including the United Nations.
In September 2001, Mr Mburu together with a team of educationists
from Githunguri Division decided to create a small scholarship foundation
aimed at providing funds and other assistance to bright children in the
area whose chances 
of pursuing education are diminished by poverty. It was decided to name
the foundation after Ms. Hilde Back as a gesture of gratitude to the Swedish
benefactors and others who have contributed to the education of needy Kenyan
children.
HBEF beneficiary Ruth Wanjiru with her grandmother.