Dikembe Mutombo, the global ambassador of the NBA, represented Cindy McCain at a visit to 3rd year scholar Michael Murigi’s (pictured at right) cassava project in Maragua Division.
The visit was arranged by the Ministry of Agriculture so that the delegation, including senior officials from the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa and the U.S. embassy, could witness a success story of how one community has used cassava cultivation to escape hunger in an area of raging famine. Journalists from the CNN and BBC were in attendance.
Michael reported, “Our message was that African problems required African solutions and if supported, our lives would greatly improve. PATHWAYS Student Coordinator, Catherine Kaimenyi, and Vice President, Dr. Mbaabu Mathiu, were in attendance and explained the link between PATHWAYS and our group. The Americans told me that they were happy that an American organization (PATHWAYS) has helped to better our lives. Dikembe Mutombo conveyed Madam Cindy’s apologies and promised that she will visit in the future to experience the success herself.”
March 27, 2010: PATHWAYS Leadership for Progress held its fifth Annual Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference included comments from the President, Deb Gust, and Vice-President, Mbaabu Mathiu, educational presentations on topics of interest to the scholars, the presentation of special awards to two scholars and comments from representatives from four communities where projects have been implemented. Additionally, each of the scholars reported on their community projects listing accomplishments for the past year and plans for the coming year. 