Volunteer profile: Charles Mayenga, Director, CES Canada

Charles Mayenge, left, hands a certificate to CES Alumni Vice-Chairperson Dennis Were, on right. In the centre is Malik Khaemba, CES co-founder and Patron.

Editor’s note: Charles Mayenga, PhD, is Director – Exam Design & Measurement at Moody’s Analytics, based in Mississauga, Canada.

Charles is a Kenyan immigrant to Canada with a lifelong interest in community work and education. His inspiration for community work and support for education, especially for the young people, is a way of paying forward for the kind support he got that enabled him to be where he is now. It was because of the support of others that made it possible for him to succeed.

For instance, he recalls that during his secondary school life, a cousin paid KSH 50 (Kenyan Shillings) as exam registration fees – without which he would not have been able to write the Kenya Junior Secondary School Examination. Also in high school days, his elder brother paid Kes 900 that enabled him to attend school in third term and write his A-Level exams that enabled him to join university. Charles believes that gestures of support, albeit small, made a big impact on his life and helped to shape his life thereafter.

Charles got involved in CES before there was a CES. He knew Malik Khaemba, co-founder of CES, when he was with the Kenyan diplomatic service, on assignment in Ottawa in the early 2000s. When Malik neared retirement, he told Charles about his dream of providing education scholarships to young Kenyans, and Charles enthusiastically did not hesitate to indicate his interest to support the project.

So, in 2005, with others, CES Canada organized an initial fundraising event at a Toronto hotel. They invited people from the Kenyan-Canadian community, and other friends, and were able to raise several thousand dollars. That provided the seed funding to start CES operations in Kenya. The decision was made to work within the district Malik knew best, which was the Kakamega area, which was then Western Province, Kenya – northeast of Lake Victoria.

 Over the years, CES has initiated a number of capital projects, including the Lutaso Water Management project and Musaga SS (see Harambee Report for March-April 2022). One of the causes Charles has had involvement with is the Mama Truphena Nyangweso Mayenga Learning Centre, a project to provide a library and community centre at Itumbe SS in Nyamira County, Kenya. This project is to honor Charles’s mother, who passed on 2017, who was a strong advocate for education. Charles recalls how his mother had to resort to making and selling changaa (local brew) to raise school fees for him and his other siblings. Charles has been raising money for the library project and hope to break ground in late 2022. If you’re interested in supporting this work, you can donate through CES.  

 Charles says, “It's been wonderful to see what some of our graduates have been able to accomplish. They’re making a big impact in education, health care, agriculture, business and other fields. I want to continue my involvement with CES, particularly supporting the work of the Alumni, who are helping current students – sponsoring secondary school students, helping young children get free of jiggers infestations, planting trees, and supporting the children of Divine Providence Orphanage in Kakamega.”