The Upper School welcomed global change with a new service club. Better Me is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering Kenyan youth. The organization emphasizes that personal growth is the first step toward making an impact on the world. Better Me, based in Kisumu, Kenya, supports over 10,000 children and provides education, training, and life skills to foster progress in their communities.
Better Me’s program educates over 250 children at the Korando Education Center and supports more than 130 high school students by covering a portion of their tuition. Juniors Madeline Walker, Elle Corcoran, and Lila Zecca, Better Me’s club leaders at Sacred Heart Greenwich, aimed to further Better Me’s mission on King Street by raising awareness and engaging students in this organization.
Better Me hosts international volunteers who contribute to community projects, offering them a chance to experience African culture. The organization also works with local governments. Additionally, Better Me supports the Nyalenda Youngsters Football Club, giving students the opportunity to play sports. Through these initiatives, Better Me help over 30,000 people each year, driven by the belief that “A Better World starts with a Better Me.”
Better Me focuses on three pillars, which are education, life skills, and mental counseling. The first pillar, education, provides scholarships, emotional support, social support, and tutoring for 136 youth. The second pillar, life skills, provides opportunities in technical and vocational skills, creative arts, computer programming, and sports. The third pillar, mental counseling, provides mental health support programs through the Youth Unleashed Mentorship Program (YUMP). YUMP supports over 16,000 youth in high-schools with emotional wellness and mental health, through group work and individual counseling. Furthermore, Better Me provides a way to break the cycle of poverty, using the concept of Ikigai. Ikigai is a Japanese idea that combines the terms iki, meaning “alive,” and gai, meaning “benefit.” Together, these terms serve as a guiding principle for living a life full of purpose.
Madeline, Elle and Lila have established a club to expand Better Me’s mission. Their primary goal is to raise $5,000 that will go towards sports equipment, school supplies and resources for Better Me’s 9th grade class. They aim to achieve this goal through bake sales, civvies days, and other fundraising events. The club also plans to launch a pen pal program, which will connect with 17 local students at Better Me. Ultimately, the group hopes to organize a volunteer trip to Kisumu, Kenya.
Madeline expressed the motivation behind establishing the Better Me service club at Sacred Heart. She talked about spreading awareness surrounding Better Me’s core mission of providing counseling to at-risk youth and ensuring they receive the support needed.
“We wanted to support Better Me through starting a club here at Sacred Heart because we believe in the development of the whole person, someone who is responsible, compassionate, curious and empowered to build an independent life full of joy and purpose,” Madeline said. “Our club supports the education, training and life skills of the children in Kenya to produce positive change. This is particularly important to spread awareness because children in Kenya, unlike children from developed countries, lack the support and resources that we benefit and have access to at Sacred Heart.”
Mr. Thomas Ogallo, Program Coordinator for Better Me, shared the message he hopes to convey to the Sacred Heart community through the addition of this club. He envisions the Better Me Club as a way to foster global citizenship among students and aims to inspire them to make a difference with their peers in Africa.
“At Better Me, we envision the Better Me Club at Sacred Heart Greenwich igniting a spark of global citizenship and empowering students to become beacons of hope,” Mr. Ogallo said. “Through this club, we aspire for students to cultivate empathy and understanding, discover the transformative power of education, and embrace the beauty of cultural exchange. Our goal is for students to become catalysts for positive change, not only within their community but also through meaningful connections with their peers in Africa. We believe this club will create a strong foundation for the exchange of ideas, friendships, and perspectives, fostering a shared journey toward a brighter and more compassionate world.”
Featured Image by Maggie Heffernan ’25
