For more than three decades, Global Development Project (GDP) has stood alongside Kenya’s most vulnerable communities, bringing practical care, compassionate presence, and sustainable solutions where they are needed most. What began in 1991 as a small band of committed people serving in Kenya has grown into a trusted nonprofit organization with roots in both the United States and East Africa — always grounded in the simple conviction that every person deserves dignity, hope, and the chance to flourish.
Who we are
Global Development Project Kenya (GDP) is a U.S.-based, registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 93-1730164) with operational leadership in Nairobi, Kenya, and a headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida. Our team combines decades of field experience, technical skill, and long-term relationships with communities, government partners, and local leaders. Many members of our leadership have worked together for more than 35 years, bringing a rare depth of continuity, cultural understanding, and commitment to the work.
Our mission
We create lasting social impact by addressing the immediate and long-term needs of disadvantaged women, children, and communities across Kenya and East Africa. We do this by providing holistic care, education, trauma-informed recovery, clean water, economic empowerment, and community resources — all rooted in principles of love, hope, and compassion.
- Children’s Homes and Orphan Support
– We support three children’s homes and a specialized therapy center for children with special needs, providing food, clothing, healthcare, education, psychosocial support, and trained caregiving staff.
– Together, these programs serve approximately 590 children, creating safe environments and opportunities for growth.
- Women’s Empowerment
– Our programs include trauma recovery, financial literacy, entrepreneurship training, and career development seminars.
– We facilitate Intercontinental Women’s Development Conferences and provide round-the-clock crisis support and trauma-informed counseling to survivors of gender-based violence.
- Clean Water Projects
– We drill wells and install solar-powered pumps in drought-affected and underserved regions, and we maintain water infrastructure to ensure reliable access to clean water.
- Community and Resource Centers
– We build multipurpose centers that host clinics, vocational training, social services, and small business incubation — helping communities develop sustainable livelihoods.
- The St. Rita Project
– St. Rita is a safe, self-sustaining campus for girls who are survivors of gender-based violence, early forced marriage, and trafficking. The project includes classrooms, dormitories, a trauma center, clinic, farms, and water systems on a five-acre compound.
Kenya and the broader East African region face urgent and overlapping challenges: high rates of orphanhood and vulnerability, gender-based violence, limited access to clean water and healthcare, and constrained economic opportunities for women and youth. Without targeted, long-term interventions, children and families are left exposed to hunger, illness, exploitation, and lost futures. GDPK’s locally informed, faith-driven approach focuses on prevention, healing, and self-sufficiency so communities can rebuild with dignity.
Sustainability is built into our projects through vocational training, income-generating activities, and local partnerships that allow communities to maintain facilities and services after initial implementation. GDPK provides monthly project reports to the Board and donors, and we undergo voluntary third-party audits to ensure financial accountability. Our monitoring and evaluation work tracks educational outcomes, health indicators, community participation, and long-term impact.
We deepen our impact by working with trusted local and international partners. Our collaborations — including churches, foundations, businesses, and specialist organizations — have enabled classroom expansions, medical and educational supply deliveries, community center construction, and IT and logistical support across projects.
From feeding programs that doubled attendance at rural schools, to scholarships that sent students like Mercy from Nairobi’s Mathare community into medical training, to creating safe sanctuaries for survivors at St. Rita, our work is measured in transformed lives. These stories are why we continue to show up — season after season — bringing practical help and an unwavering presence.
Whether you give, volunteer, or raise awareness by spreading the word, your partnership matters. Together we can extend love and hope across borders — turning compassion into lasting change for children, women, and communities in Kenya.
– Love & Hope: Compassion drives everything we do — believing every act of help matters.
– Empowerment: We train and equip beneficiaries so they can become leaders and providers in their communities.
– Integrity: Transparency, accountability, and ethical stewardship are central to our operations.
– Humble Leadership: We lead by serving — listening to local leaders and partnering respectfully.
– Global Community: We build cross-cultural partnerships that connect donors, volunteers, and sister organizations to communities in Kenya.
Our work relies on the generosity of donors, the energy of volunteers, and the faithfulness of partners. Priority funding needs are focused on clean water projects, vocational and community centers, home refurbishments, and completion of St. Rita — projects that will multiply benefits across hundreds of children and families. Specific funding goals include:
– Clean water projects (wells and solar pumps): $46,000
– Career training center and small-business complex in Mombasa: $168,000
– School and community centers in Bamba and Eldoret: $86,000
– Refurbishment of children’s homes and a therapy center: $160,000
– Completion of The St. Rita Project: $310,000
Total priority funding target: $770,000
Our leadership blends lived experience in the field with professional expertise:
– Michael Wright — President and Overseer of Operations
– Eric Wright — Field Director and Project Manager
– Greg Hoffmann — Construction Engineer and Consultant
– Dr. Erin Anthony — Trauma Recovery Counselor and Educator
– Yira Hoffmann — Financial Advisor and Accounting
– Jocelyne McLemore — International Business & Logistics Manager
– Patricia Wright — Director of Women’s Programs
