Kids 2 Kids fundraiser helps children in Kenya

What started as a safari vacation to Africa in 2008 for Redondo Beach’s Sean Johnston, has become a pilgrimage to improve the living conditions of youth in Kibera, Kenya.

Johnston, a server at Fonz’s Restaurant in Manhattan Beach and also works at Bacchus Wines, hosts a fundraiser, Kids 2 Kids, Monday, April 30, from 6 to 8 p.m., at his restaurant to help fund his next trip to Kenya and advance projects that he and other volunteers have been working on for years.

Kids 2 Kids has helped construct new school rooms and build water tanks, among other projects, at Siloam Orphanage. Johnston launched an effort to build a new orphanage, for 20 boys and 20 girls, from the ground up on five acres of land he purchased for $20,000, thanks in part to previous fundraisers.

While he isn’t working directly with the orphanage anymore, he continues to support youth that started in the system.

“They kind of get pushed aside. I don’t want my kids to be homeless … we’re trying to make it as comfortable as possible,” Johnston said. “We don’t give them handouts; handouts don’t help anybody if you can educate them and keep them moving forward. People want to see progress. People don’t want to donate to something that’s not going forward.”

One success story, Johnston said, is one girl who he helped put through beauty school and now works at a salon. Through her work, she is able to support her own child as well as two younger brothers.

Johnston hopes the fundraiser on the 30th will help build a guard tower to keep an eye on the property as well as advance previous projects and help those youth he has in the past, whether it’s finding them a job or keeping them in school.

“It’s hard to work with kids this far away sometimes because you can’t keep an eye on what they’re doing,” Johnston said.

They are also working on a water drilling project, which can be costly.

“They have ranches on both sides so we got to make sure we don’t hit someone else water supply,” Johnston said. “The group that we bought the property from has its own water supply and we can pipe it in from them and we pay a very minimal amount for tap water for the kids. We’ll have fresh water, but we want our own eventually, so we can help the area. That way other neighbors who need some water on the other side of the road, they can come and get it for pennies so they don’t have to go as far to get water.”

Johnston leaves for Kenya at the end of May and will spend the entire month of June in the country.

Tickets for Kids 2 Kids are $50 and include food, cocktails and a raffle at Fonz’s, which is located at 1017 Manhattan Ave.

For more information or to make reservations, visit kidsdonate2kids.org, or call (310) 433-4106.