Meet The Team
Chris Derrico is the founder and president of The Konga Project. Helping individuals with disabilities has always been important to him because his brother was born with Cerebral Palsy. After graduating from the University of Richmond in 2017, Chris spent a month volunteering with the Kenya Volunteer Service at The Ongata-Rongai Special Care Center. This is what sparked the idea for The Konga Project. Chris saw an opportunity to help people that genuinely had the best intentions in mind, but limited resources. After a few years of helping The Ongata-Rongai Special Care Center in a more casual fashion, Chris officially launched The Konga Project in 2022. His vision is to create centers for people with disabilities in developing countries in a sustainable way with their long-term success in mind.
Don was born and is currently living in Kenya. He now is working as a manager/admin at scom disabled children’s home in Rongai, Kenya. Don lost his father during a doctor strike in Kenya, he was the one taking care of his father prior to the incident. Don then joined The Ongata-Rongai Special Care Center where he worked as a volunteer caregiver with children & youth with disabilities in his community. He also fights for rights for people with disabilities in Kenya.
“The impact you put into these children will come back like blessing in disguise”
Ryan is currently a nanny and gymnastics coach in Charleston, South Carolina. She absolutely loves working with children and traveling. She joined The Konga Project after she completed a volunteer trip in Kenya working at an elementary school. During her time in Kenya she was able to visit The Ongata-Rongai Special Care Center. This is when she absolutely fell in love with Kenya and all the children at the center. Seeing how happy every child was, even with the limited resources truly inspired her. She then knew she wanted to support theses children and other children in similar situations, leading towards her passion in The Konga Project.
Emily is currently residing in New York City working in marketing analytics for a fin-tech company. She has always been a passionate advocate for supporting disadvantaged youths. She has dedicated all of her volunteering efforts towards nonprofits that focus on youth education, as well as sitting on youth sustaining boards in her local community. After learning about The Konga Project, The Ongata-Rongai Special Care Center, and the already immense impact this organization has had, she knew she wanted to join the team. She cannot wait to help grow the reach of the organization and support those with disabilities ensuring they have the proper access to care and resources.
Alvin was born and raised in Kenya. He is currently in his second year as an analyst at Piper Sandler, an investment bank that is engaged in providing a range of financial services to individuals, corporations and governments. Alvin loves giving back to the community. Giving back, to him, brings a great sense of fulfillment because he understands how much light it can bring to one’s life in a variety of ways. He would like to achieve this fulfillment to the extent he can. Alvin was inspired by Chris Derrico and The Konga Project considering its base in Kenya. He admires the vision Chris has for the project and wants to help out as a way of giving back to his community.