Pastor James Onyango Owuor

Pastor James co-founded St. Catherine in 2000 with his son George. After realizing the need for education in the Kibera slum, particularly for vulnerable and orphaned children, the children’s home and school was born.

Pastor James is responsible for oversight of the school’s operations, including maintaining relations with the community. He and his wife serve as guardians for the 24 orphans. He lives with the children in the home.

Pastor James is also active in the Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), serving as a co-leader in the Nairobi area.

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Reagan Omondi Onyango

Reagan, Pastor James’ second son, serves as St. Catherine’s Director of Finance and Administration. But he is also coordinating and supervising the St. Catherine Greenhouse Project and all of the other activities related to St. Catherine.

Reagan has a degree in Water Engineering from the Kenya Water Institute and worked there after coming back to support St. Catherine. He has served in various capacities for St. Catherine, including as a teacher, a community organizer, a secretary, and a projects supervisor.

Reagan enjoys organizing and playing in football games in the community and frequently leads local church services. He lives in Kibera. Contacts are omondireagan@yahoo.co.uk or omondireagan@gmail.com

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Peter Varnum

Peter has visited Kibera twice, most recently spending five weeks with the St. Catherine community in the summer of 2011. He is organizing the fundraising effort in the United States, especially for the St. Catherine Greenhouse Project.

Peter’s connection to St. Catherine came through Flying Kites Oasis, an organization for which he volunteered last summer. FK Oasis introduced him to St. Catherine and its founders, and from there the relationship flourished.

Aside from helping the St. Catherine effort, Peter currently works for Carleton College in the Admissions Department. He graduated from Carleton in 2008 with a degree in English. He returned to Kibera in the summer of 2012. Contact Peter at peter.varnum@gmail.com.

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Tim Vinke

Tim came to St. Catherine in November 2012 through Word Corps Kenya  for a Microfinance Institution in Nairobi. Getting in contact with Pastor James and all the children, he was immediately convinced about the important work, he could do there. Tim organised construction Projects and is coordinationg the expansion of the farm and a funds for the orphans.

After doing an apprenticeship in Banking, Tim did his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Business and Economics at Bielefeld University, Germany. He stayed in East Africa for eight months, with another project in Tanzania. Now Tim is working for a NGO in Vienna, Austria. Contact Tim at vinketim@gmail.com.