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Brief History of KVDA
KVDA was founded in 1962, when the
Pan- African movement was at its peak continentally. It
was a period of time when Kenya was looking for its independence
from Britain and seeking to find its own destiny. “Mzungu
aende ulaya ili mwafrica apate uhuru”, shouted the
Kenyans by those days.
However, the Kenyans were not the ones
that founded KVDA, it was a man from, from Zimbabwe called
Cephas Munanairi, a social scientist and teacher by profession
that was a legendary figure that played an active role in
the liberation struggle from colonialism.
His philosophy was to liberate people’s minds by fighting
for their rights.
He arrived to Mombasa-Kenya in 1959, with
the Quakers missions and after escaping from the Ian Smith
authorities of Rhodesia (as Zimbabwe was then named)
He arrived to Nairobi with the idea of creating an Association
that integrated, through the work camps the black and the
white. Through “Kenya Work Camps Association”,
later KVDA, he wanted to erase the scars from the past and
to mobilize resources for sustainable development. The motor
force of the Association was “development against
dependence”.
 However,
the Government of the day deported him on suspicion thanks
to a liberating streak at a time majority Africans were
willing tools of colonialists, thwarted his first efforts.
It was his long ally from Britain Diana Stock that intervened
and it made it possible for him to return to Kenya to continue
with his noble mission.
In 1964 things had cooled down a little
bit, confidence was coming slowly and KVDA was little by
little gaining momentum. Mr. Africa (As Cephas Munanairi
was popularly known) started working closely with UNESCO
and with OAU (Organization for African Unity). He was, little
by little, building a strong voluntary movement and gaining
a lot of support amongst international organizations. He
had organized over 457 work camps in Kenya with over 15,
000 volunteers from 120 nationalities on them.
Together with John Magesi, a Kenyan and
Donald Thomas from Britain, currently working in Kenya,
they constituted the first KVDA Committee. By 1970 the Association
had the goodwill from the Government and many international
organizations. Kenyan and international volunteers started
to go to the communities to build up roads, schools and
to solve health emergencies. The challenge by that time
was to penetrate the communities.
 In
1980 the link between KVDA and the international organizations
became stronger. Organizations as MS-Denmark, Novib in Holland,
Concordia in UK, Una-Exchange in Britain, and CCIVS in France
became key partners of the Association. They provided not
only economic resources for the KVDA but also human, by
recruiting volunteers in their countries. Networking was
one of the most important issues by that time.
However, at the end of the 80s KVDA felt she were great
imbalances in partner relations prompting dictate of external
interests that could compromise the ideals espoused by the
Association.
The 90s were a difficult epoch for KVDA.
In 1994 the founder director died after battling with a
leg ailment and in 2000 the KVDA chairman Kiraithe Nyagah
died in an airplane crash.
Political changes were also a threaten
for KVDA by that time. The State changed from a one party
state in the 70s and 80s into a multiparty state in the
90s. Under the one party system the Government was suspicious
of the intentions of civil society and NGO s were on the
receiving end by Government functionaries.
 In
the year 2000 the Association started to renew its personal
by letting the old ones go and bringing young people with
new ideas to become part of KVDA general Council.
KVDA moved its venue from Race course road to Gilfilian
House in the Kenyatta Avenue in 2000. Today the biggest
challenge of the Association is to consolidate the gains
made over the years and to rally the local people to accept
the reality of self-reliance and shun the culture of dependence
that is buttressed by global imbalances in al facets.
About KVDA >>>
The staff >>>
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