CTC International is a non-profit working alongside Kenyan communities to create sustainable change.
Back in 2000, Zane was introduced to Maai Mahiu, where he experienced a level of poverty and desperation he had never known. Since his first visit, Zane has been returning to Kenya, listening to stories from the community, addressing problems, and promoting fundamental human rights. With the help of a lot of amazing people, CTC was born and has been creating sustainable change in Maai Mahiu for the last 11 years.
Jeremiah is responsible for introducing Zane to the community of Maai Mahiu, and their friendship and collaboration resulted in the creation of CTC International. After earning his master's degree in the U.S., Jeremiah returned to Kenya to serve as our Kenya Director, where he now oversees all initiatives, programs, and personnel working on the ground in Maai Mahiu.
Native Austinite Shannon Owen studied at the University of Texas going onto Acton Business School. She has a passion for International Relations, which she has implemented in her work abroad, as well as within the Austin community. Before joining in February 2013, Shannon connected with CTC though her involvement with the Whole Planet Foundation. As U.S. Director of Operations, Shannon is working as "The Coach" for the Stateside office.
Charles started working as a volunteer for CTC over 5 years ago. He worked as the liaison between CTC and its volunteers, while going to school and completing his Master's in Development Studies. He now serves as Program Director for our rapidly growing HIV/AIDS program, overseeing our clinic, outreach programs, support groups, and income-generating activities.
Growing up with an interest in international development, Whitney has been traveling and learning from the successes and struggles of non-profits since she was 12 years old. She joined CTC in the fall of 2010 to fulfill an internship for her master's in non-profit management, and she loved it so much that she just never left. She now focuses on program development, partnerships, and monitoring and evaluation of Kenya programs.
From the moment you meet Rocky, his overwhelming desire to care for our earth is undeniable. Rocky began working with CTC as a volunteer and served as the spokesperson for the community's environmental needs. He currently manages several demonstration gardens, a tree nursery, and he educates the community, young and old, on sustainable agriculture.
Joining the team in January 2010, Cali helped with the rebrand of CTC International. She led a team of artists in 2011 to work with Maai Mahiu youth on income generating art projects and most recently traveled to Kenya for L.I.F.E. Line product development. As creative director, Cali manages CTC's brands and leads the marketing and product development efforts.
After graduating from Maai Mahiu Polytechnic School, Liz joined CTC in 2008 to teach the Malaika Mums how to sew. She now coordinates LIFE Line production in Kenya by overseeing training, production, and quality control of all LIFE Line products.
Our Malaika Mums are the amazing group of women that produce CTC's L.I.F.E. Line of handmade and environmentally conscious products. The L.I.F.E. Line provides an income for the Mums and their families and supports the education of special needs children in our Malaika Kids program. There are 27 Mum's in the program, most of them pictured here.
Our Malaika Kids, a group of special needs children in the community, are taken care of by this wonderful group of women. They have been trained to oversee physical therapy, education fundamentals, and childhood development.
Originally from Nairobi, Faith joined our Kenya staff in the summer of 2010, assisting with finances. In Fall 2012, Faith graduated from the Kenya School of Management with a degree in Human Resource Management, which she now uses to manage the CTC Kenya office, and doing whatever it takes to make sure all of our programs are running smoothly.
After interning with such distinguished non-profits as Livestrong, Nobelity Project, and Greenlights, Damon brought his non-profit expertise to CTC to assist with fundraising, event production, and general office operations. In 2012 Damon will oversee our Donor Relations, L.I.F.E Line & CTC Garden venue as the Development Coordinator.
Patrick is a Kisumu native and received his Bachelor's Degree in Special Needs Education focusing on the Mentally Challenged. He loves working with Special Needs learners and seeing smiles on their faces is something that inspires him. He is a goal-oriented, fun-loving and a self-driven teacher.
Martin, a Western Kenya native, joined CTC International Kenya staff at the start of the second quarter in 2012. From Nairobi, Martin worked with the Autism Society of Kenya for 2 years. He is working closely with the Malaika Kids, the students of our special needs school, teaching new skills and techniques to improve their performance. Next time you visit Maai Mahiu, be sure to meet Martin as he's engaged as an Occupational Therapist in the Malaika Kids program.
Owino joined CTC 5 years ago as a volunteer, and he committed himself to bringing positive activities to the youth of Maai Mahiu. He officially became an employee in 2010 to assist with the launch of our HIV/AIDS program, then transitioned to Youth Coordinator in 2011. He now oversees our Waste Management program (fully staffed by CTC youth) and facilitates trainings, extracurricular activities, and career preparation for youth in the community.
Nancy gained experience planning & producing events with Summit Series. She began with CTC as an intern in May 2011, promoting our beautiful Austin event space, the CTC Garden. In fall 2012 she took over stateside teams coordination and will continue to promote community engagement.
Ruth a.k.a Ruby Ruth is CTC's team host and also our resident education and technology expert. Ruth provides tech support for the Kenya office as well as Adult Literacy training in the local community. She also keeps the CTC family up to date with goings-on in Maai Mahiu through her prolific photos and updates on Facebook.
Originally from Central Kenya, Samuel joined CTC at the beginning of the 2nd quarter of 2012 as an intern in the Environment Program. Currently, he is working as an Environment Coordinator Assistant who is very passionate about conservation and environmental issues. He likes traveling and adventuring around East Africa slopes.
A recent graduate of Auburn University, Olivia began interning at CTC's Austin headquarters in May 2012. Assisting with program finances and office management, Olivia is joined the July medical team and experienced programs on the ground in Kenya first-hand. Back in the Austin office, Olivia is assisting with program development, social media, marketing and PR.
Emily is the HTC counselor at CTC's HIV Voluntary Counseling & Testing Center. She is in charge of community moblization and human rights education as well as the Grandparents Against Poverty and AIDS (GAPA) Project.
Elvis is a Jomo Kenyatta University graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce Finance as his trained profession. He joined CTC in September 2012 as an intern in the finance department. Elvis is now Financial Manager and working on the internal control system and computerization of CTC's financial book-keeping system.
Born in the Great Rift, Eliud is a graduate of Makerere University with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration. He currently heads the Livestock Co-op Project as we partner with Brown's Cheese Company. Eliud strongly believes that the greatest room in the world is the room for improvement.
James is our Livestock Co-op Coordinator at the Suswa milk station. He is a focused and passionate person who started as a volunteer in the Youth/Community department. He likes to travel, making him a good narrator of most places he visits.
Samuel is a trained accountant from KCA University. He has worked as a volunteer at the CTC Ngong office since July 2012 becoming an ambassador in the Maasai land. Samuel is now the L.I.F.E. bands coordinator and works to empower the Maasai women in Kajiado County, Ngong Division.