Dedication of A Man Helping His People – Peter Liech

CategoriesAchievement / Inspiration / Passion / Sponsorship

Florence Wairimu

February 28, 2018

The Friday AP Happy Hour met in Sivers Center on July 11th to welcome Peter Liech Adede and his son George. Peter is a Kenyan guide whose unusual abilities impressed Merry Meek and others, especially the owners of “Willamette International Travel,” during a recent Kenyan safari.

Several of the participants decided to pool their resources to bring him and 10-year-old George to the U.S. to visit Peter’s 15-year-old daughter and George’s sister, who is attending a camp in New Hampshire followed by a visit to Portland. Here they are being hosted by their safari friends in a series of get-togethers where Peter talks about his special program to help impoverished Kenyan children.

Peter is from the Luo tribe of Western Kenya near Lake Victoria. He caught the attention of an American who paid for his high school education, which he completed in 1989. He then moved to Nairobi and volunteered to work in the National Museum in the departments of Ornithology, Mammalogy, Paleontology and the Herbarium.

He also trained as a Driver Guide at Kenya’s Utalii College, completed first aid training offered by the Kenya Red Cross, before joining “Origins Safari in Kenya” as a licensed Driver Guide in 1996. He has performed this job so well that he earned the coveted Silver Level Certificate from the Kenyan Professional Guides Association.

In his spare time, Peter acts as a Museum and Arboretum Guide and especially enjoys guiding the National Museum trips to the so-called “Cradle of Mankind” where the 1.5 M year old Homo Erectus skull was excavated. In 1999,he won the Museum’s top award: a cast of the famous Homo Erectus skull.

At the AP Happy Hour, he spoke about a project to help Kenyan girls from poor families who need clothing, especially underwear, in order to encourage them to attend school. To find out more about this program and how to contribute, please https://nyashep.com/sponsor-a-child/

Everywhere Peter speaks, he inspires people as evidenced by a long talk he had with Ray Fields about the possibility of getting Rotarian support for the children of Kenya. Later, he also spoke at length with Bill Rollins at the Portland Downtown Lions Club. It is heartening to witness the dedication of a young man helping his people.

– Carol Wallace