Who we are

We are Marie and Claartje and in 2013 we founded Lala Salama, Swahili for 'sleep safely'. What started with just one project for a children's home in the south of Kenya, has grown into a fully-fledged foundation that makes a real difference in the entire region through education. We describe our way of working as positive, ambitious and distinctive.

Team Lala Lalama

Lala Salama has grown and we are very proud of that. All team members have their own knowledge and drive, from the Netherlands but especially locally in Kenya. Together we work on the mission of Lala Salama.

Claartje de Rooij

Working as a Pedagogue, our sweet Claartje has an eye for children. As co-founder of LalaSalama, she is the networker among us and brings in all our sponsors. She is pleasantly caring and has a beating heart for Lalasalama, making her the perfect chairman of our foundation.

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Founder & chairwoman
Claartje de Rooij
founder & Treasurer
Marie-Claire Breuning
Marie-Claire Bruining

Her cheerful smile is contagious! As well as her strong willpower and great work ethic. Maria is Lala-Salama’s co-founder and an expert in working with the locals. She knows how to make them just as excited about projects as she is. Also, Maria speaks Swahili, the national language of Kenya, what makes it easy for her to communicate with the residents.

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Project manager
Samantha Shacklethon
Samantha Shacklethon

Samantha is from the United States and is a missionary by profession. She has chosen to use her woman-powers for Lala Salama! She has set up different successful projects in the past and is ready to set up many more. The passionate Samantha works from Kenya and is our local partner.

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Project manager Kenia
Obed Katia
Obed Katia

Born and raised in Oloitokitok, Kenya, Obed has worked for the Teule Home for ten years. He knows best when it come downs to what the children of the home need. He always identifies opportunities for them. Recently, Obed has been self-employed, but continues to have a love for the children’s well-being. Obed is our local partner in Kenya. His enthusiasm knows no boundaries!

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Advisor & secretary
Maurice Schreiner
Maurice Schreiner

Who do you put next to two bubbly women? That’s right: our bubbly Maurice! He joined the team since 2014 and is an official board member. He already went to Kenya several times to help the team. It’s contagious though, with his communication skills Maurice knows exactly how to encourage young local people to do the same

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Our partners

Our partners help us accelerating the achievement of our goals. Whether it’s with practical matters like solar energy, or with communicating our mission.

Our Story

Back in 2009 we were invited to visit children's home Teule in Oloitokitok, a small town in Kenya at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro and bordering Tanzania. Two young girls jumped on a plane, expecting to have a great time.

It turned out to be a great time, yet anything but easy. Despite the warm welcome 'Karibu', we really had to gain the trust of the home and prove that we were not those whites who knew 'better'. By working together with the home, a great collaboration was born with projects that led to Teule's self-reliance.

In 2013, the foundation was officially established and after ten years it was time for a next step: collaborations with a wider reach in the region. Our focus is to create qualitative education opportunities. Nutrition is key because of the poverty in the region, and in several schools we are working with porridge programs towards sustainable food projects.

We are proud of what we have already achieved so far, and believe we can make even more impact together with our partners, employees, volunteers and donors.

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