North Wales lawyer has teamed up with a global singing superstar to build a state-of-the-art medical centre in Kenya.
Gareth Kelly, a director of law firm Gittins McDonald, in Wrexham, is working on the project with Kenyan musician, entrepreneur and philanthropist Esther Akoth, better known to her millions of fans by her stage name Akothee.
Esther, who has 3.6 million followers on Instagram and 3.1 million Facebook followers, hopes her huge influence will ensure plans for the life-changing medical centre come to fruition.
Also earning the moniker “Madam Boss” because of her business and brand success, afro-beat star Esther has performed at the biggest venues in the world, including London’s O2.
Gareth says having such a prominent celebrity supporting the medical centre project was a huge boost, and would also help develop closer tourism and charitable links between North Wales and Kenya.
The celebrity, who says she attracts “90 million eyeballs” to her social media content each month, is promoting partnerships between the region and her home country during her visit.
She is already deeply involved in a North Wales-backed charity project in Kenya – the building of a 150-pupil village school called Pendine Academy which is due to open to students in January.
The building of the school is being spearheaded by Gareth with support from the owners of the Pendine Park care organisation, Mario Kreft MBE and his wife, Gill, through the Pendine Arts and Community Trust.
Gareth asked mother-of-five Esther to get involved in the Pendine Academy project after hearing about how she had previously used her own Akothee Foundation to fund the building of a 100-pupil village school.
The working relationship has now reached a new stage with the plans to build the medical centre in an area of Kenya called Migori County.
Gareth said: “We got to know each other when I asked Esther for help with Pendine Academy.
“Esther has been 100 per cent supportive and we work together very well.
“That’s why I then went out to Kenya to take a look at building a medical centre and that’s the next project that we’re going to do together.
“The medical centre project is in its embryonic stage although I have been able to secure very helpful funding for it already from Wrexham benefactors which will be anonymous.
“I mentioned to Esther my next project would be a medical centre and she said ‘well, I was going to do that as well’ so we agreed to work on it together.”
He said having somebody of Esther’s fame on board would help bring the project forward.
Gareth said: “The fact is we have got somebody who is an established philanthropist, who is assisting benefactors and donors from North Wales.”
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Esther, who is also an author and motivational speaker and has 900,000 followers on TikTok, has reached global stardom after starting from humble beginnings in Kenya.
Esther said: “I’m the president of the Akothee Foundation which mainly deals with giving back to the community in terms of making sure every vulnerable person has access to basic needs.
“My main focus is that each and every child has proper education.
“The other part that I am really involved with is the medical part.
“The area where I come from has a lot of malaria and non-communicable diseases which have never been diagnosed.
“I also have a feeding programme in Turkana feeding 300 families living with HIV and AIDS.
“Sixty per cent of my performance fee goes to the foundation.
“Most of our doctors don’t have enough equipment and facilities and that’s why I am here at Gittins McDonald because we are planning to put up a hospital in Migori County.
“Most of the elderly people in the area don’t have a place where they can be taken care of.
“The medical centre will have a speciality in diabetes dialysis because that’s very important. There will be CT scans available.
“And my main dream is to make it a research area for non-communicable diseases.”.
“I want the Welsh to take their space in this part of Kenya.
“I want them to have something in Kenya which they can identify with.
“It would be a good dynamic to say that the Welsh have finally arrived in Kenya and are coming for philanthropic reasons to save and support the community.”
Esther added she was the marketing consultant for a popular tourist area of Kenya called Homa Bay County where she is involved in the development of an eco-lodge complex called Camp Nyapity.
She said: “There is a lot of investment opportunities there and there are lots of chances for collaboration.”
Gareth agreed the growing links between Kenya and Wales also opened the door to investment opportunities between the two countries.
He said: “There is a real opportunity for business between the two countries, and an opportunity for benefactors from North Wales to assist with projects out in Kenya.
“A lot of people would like to do that.
“It’s a case of establishing links between North Wales and Kenya, without Esther that bridge wouldn’t be there, I look upon Esther as the bridge.”
Gareth said Esther would be giving presentations to potential investors about business and tourism opportunities in Kenya during her stay in Wales before she leaves at the end of September.
