Microsoft awards 5 winners of the #UpgradeYourWorldke with Ksh 5,000,000 each

The top five Kenyan NGO’s that emerged as winners of Microsoft’s #UpgradeYourWorldKe campaign were recently announced with each of them receiving $50,000 (Ksh 5,000,000) in donations and technology from Microsoft.

#UpgradeYourWorld was a global competition by Microsoft, #UpgradeYourWorldKe was the Kenyan version of the initiative whereby, five NGOs who have contributed immensely towards upgrading their part of the world were selected.

The public was given a chance to vote for 5 Kenyan NGOs to get $50,000 to fund their activities. Voting was done through; posts on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using #UpgradeYourWorldKE], #vote, and tag the @[NGO].

These organisations included: Africa Yoga Project, AIESEC Kenya, Beacon of Hope Africa, Kids Comp Camp and Vision Africa, received online votes from thousands of people.

“We are so excited to be part of this great initiative by Microsoft to Upgrade Our World. We are glad to be empowered to empower our children and youth to achieve more for themselves, and their communities. This is in line with Kids Comp Camp mission statement ‘Shared Passion, Combined Efforts, leads to Greater Impact,” said Caleb Ndaka, Kids Comp Camp Lead.

“Vision Africa is delighted to be in partnership with Microsoft Corp. We truly believe that partnerships such as this pave the way for wider, more sustainable impact. Vision Africa is extremely grateful to have been endorsed by our community and, in turn, by Microsoft. We look forward to working together to create brighter futures for vulnerable children and young people through Provision, Protection and Preparation.” said Deborah Kimathi, Field Director, Vision Africa

Microsoft celebrated the launch of Windows 10 on July 29, 2015, by committing to the Upgrade Your World initiative which included a series of partnerships with ten global and 100 local nonprofit organizations making an impact in the following 10 countries: Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States. The initiative is in line with Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and organization to achieve more.

In September this year, Microsoft identified 50 of the nonprofit organizations (five of the 10 in each country)to receive a monetary donation of $50,000 each, and invited people around the world to vote for their favorite local nonprofit organizations in each country to help select the additional 50 organizations.

In Kenya, the five pre-selected organizations were the African Centre For Women, Information and Communications Technology (ACWICT), Computers for Schools Kenya (CFSK), Homeboyz Foundation, I Choose Life – Africa and inABLE.

“We have seen and heard from thousands of people who have shared their stories and the stories of their nonprofit organizations,” said Mr. Kunle Awosika, Microsoft Kenya Country Manager during a celebration party to unveil the organizations in Nairobi.“We admire the great work done by the 10 Kenyan Non-profit organizations in their respective causes and look forward to working with them” he added