Hilde Back Education Fund

A Kenyan Charity Educating Bright Children from Poor Families

From right to left: Jane Wanjiru Muigai, Hilde Back, Chris Mburu and A Small Act Director, Jennifer Arnold at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

HBEF is highlighted at Sundance film festival in the USA

The HBEF Chair had been invited to the festival by the organizers and was accompanied by board member Jane Wanjiru Muigai as well as HBEF patron, Madam Hilde Back. The three made a number of media appearances, and met with some important global figures including Mr Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and one of the most influential business leaders in the world.

A number of people watching the film made instant financial donations and pledges to HBEF, including a lady in the audience who issued a cheque of 5,000 dollars on the spot. More financial support is expected as more people learn about the work of HBEF through the film. “This is absolutely amazing”, Mr Chris Mburu told reporters following the initial screenings, “our small village-based organization has been catapulted into the international stage in just a few days. We have been operating on a shoestring budget of just over 5,000 dollars a year, helping only a handful of needy kids in one Kenyan village, and all of a sudden we receive this kind of instant support”.

The HBEF Board has welcomed the enormous support generated by A Small Act as the signal they awaited all along to expand HBEF operations. Being fully aware that “with fame comes responsibility”, HBEF has fully embraced the task of multiplying sponsorships to match the incoming donations.