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About Us
Starting from humble beginnings in 1977 with the establishment of Windle International Kenya in Nairobi by founder Dr Hugh Austin Windle Pilkington, Windle International is today an international NGO with members based in and operating across eastern Africa, Europe and North America.
Today, we empower refugees and people affected by conflict to achieve their academic potential, and contribute to sustainable development, by acting as a lead provider of quality education and training. We run education and vocational training programmes, manage Early Childhood Development and Vocational Training Centres, manage primary and secondary schools, and deliver postgraduate scholarship programmes. Our vision is a world in which everyone has the opportunity through education and training to make the most of their potential and contribute to sustainable development.
A visionary with a breadth of insight
In 1977 Dr Hugh Pilkington was teaching at the University of Nairobi and pursuing his interest in ancient scriptural texts, which were written in the Ethiopic language of Geez. Through his work he met young refugees who had fled violence in Ethiopia, desperate to continue their education but unable to do so. Using his own funds and contacts, he sought to secure places at Cambridge or Oxford (where he had studied for his own Bachelors and PhD), to give them an opportunity to fulfil their education potential.
Having realised the extent of the crisis and future repercussions for the whole region, Hugh established Windle International Kenya (then called Windle Trust Kenya) to sponsor young people who had the educational potential and commitment to their studies. The universities responded to this vision by offering scholarships, giving the students hope for their future.
A visionary of breadth and insight, Hugh could see that unless the young of the country were able to get an education and continue their learning, when peace was declared and refugees returned there would be no-one in a position to sustain peace, to develop systems and infrastructure and rebuild the country. There was therefore a greater danger of returning to conflict. Hugh’s understanding was ahead of its time, but is now recognised as a vital part of breaking the cycle of conflict.
