The goal of Dear Friend is to sustain long-term, 1:1 relationships between as many pair of U.S. and Kenyan children as possible, and to help all participating children achieve literacy goals, heighten their cultural awareness, and feel the joy of knowing another child across the world cares about them. This project will preserve the art of letter writing for our generation's children, teaching them to communicate well through the written word.

Any child in either country, between ages five and sixteen, is eligible. Once matched with a child of similar age and same gender in the other country, each child will begin the pen pal exchange. Dear Friend will provide all necessary writing supplies and postage to the parents, teachers, orphanage staff members, and other supervising adults of the enrolled children. All mailings will be directed to the addresses the supervising adults provide at registration; these addresses will either be schools, orphanages, or parents' homes.

Dear Friend will also provide support, ensuring that all children receive letters from their pen pals on a regular basis. (Letters between Kenya and the U.S. typically take two weeks to travel, and we expect that children on each side will reply to letters within a few days to two weeks of receipt.)

To enroll a child, please send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the child's name, gender, and age. Katie Burke, the Special Programs Director, will personally reply, to facilitate the child's pen pal matching process.