Of all the things Phyllis Keino is known as; a nurse, a philanthropist, a mother, a wife, an entrepreneur – her favourite title is the simplest one – mummy. The umbrella term for everything she feels is her destiny and is what over 400 children call her.
Phyllis grew up in Nandi County as the third of six children. She attended local schools throughout her primary and secondary education before plunging into a new desire. She packed her bags and set for Nakuru where she joined Nakuru Nursing School to gain knowledge on caregiving. This was where her transformation ensued. While fellow classmates were unimpressed by the practicals that involved working in the children’s ward – solely because of the cleaning routine that nurses were tasked with, Phyllis found her calling to serve. The sick children she met touched her heart, and she did everything she could, as a nurse, to ensure they were relaxed.
Her first job posting was at Kiganjo Police Training College in Nyeri. A site where orphaned, abused and abandoned children of the area were brought for medical examination. Local community members would also come to the station in search of food. It was while in Nyeri that Phyllis met budding professional athlete Kipchoge Keino. They got married and started their family.
Towards the end of 1972, the Keino family moved to Eldoret as a family of seven, having had two children and taken in three. Phyllis took on the role of motherhood with patience and firmness. While in Eldoret, Phyllis started purchasing small pieces of land and started farming in earnest. The income she generated was sufficient to educate her children and purchase more land. In doing so, she thought of using her innate talent and growing resources to care for more children: taking them in, educating them and most importantly, showing them love.
The eighties came and with them the hope of starting something new. Phyllis, through the support of her husband, moved to one of their newly-acquired farm and set up a larger home to foster more children. By the early nineties, Phyllis saw the need to make it official. She registered ‘Kip Keino Children’s Home’ in 1992.
But it all didn’t seem enough. Another essential need: the children could be taken in but needed to be educated. Phyllis acquired more land, this time in Lewa Downs. She relocated the home there and decided to change its name. Construction began, for both a children’s home and a school block to ensure that both the children in the home and those of neighbouring areas could have access to affordable entry-level education. Kip Keino Children’s Home became Lewa Children’s Home, Eldoret, Kenya, and the school was named Kip Keino Primary School.
To date, over 400 children have passed through Lewa Children’s Home, calling Phyllis ‘mummy’ and had a chance to get the basic education they needed. The school has grown to having 25 staff members catering to all the children from nursery to Class 8.
Phyllis Keino’s philanthropy was celebrated mid-2018 as she was welcomed to World of Children’s family of honourees and received the Humanitarian Award. Hongera Phyllis Keino, mummy, for being a blessing to several children in Kenya and shining your light in their lives.
