FAQ'S
Finlays Community Trust is an independent charity that empowers communities and nurtures sustainable growth in Kericho and Bomet Counties. Funded by James Finlay (Kenya) Limited, The Trust aims to deliver maximum social, environmental and economic benefits by taking a collaborative approach and appointing trustees who represent local communities. By partnering with the community, we ensure The Trust invests in and supports the projects and initiatives that have the most meaningful and enduring impact thus creating shared value.
The Trust is aimed at building a collaborative partnership with the local community providing them with control over how funding is allocated for the different projects. The Trust is independent and has three trustees from the local community. This gives the community an equal voice in the ownership and administration of the Trust. This means that the trust has equal representation from the community.
The Trust aims at engaging in sustainable projects that have a long-term effect in the community. We are supporting a variety of projects and initiatives across strategically important areas of education, infrastructure, health, environment, access to water and disaster relief.
Finlays Community Trust replaced Finlays Charitable Trust. All the ongoing CSR initiatives under the Finlays Charitable Trust were transferred to the Finlays Community Trust.
The New Trust brought with it two major changes:
- The first change is in its governance: the inclusion of trustees from local communities equal in number to the James Finlay Kenya appointed representatives, as well as the appointment of an independent trustee who will be unaffiliated with James Finlay Kenya and will serve as the Trust’s Chairperson.
- The second change is enhanced funding. The funding for secondary school and local university scholarships has been increased from Ksh 12.3 million to Ksh 23.1 million per year. Funding for other projects has also been increased. The amount available each year varies depending on a number of factors, including the number of projects prioritized, the complexity of projects chosen, and the company’s ability to fund the activities.
The Trust is governed by an independent Board that includes trustees from the community, Finlays and an independent Chairperson who acts as an impartial and objective voice providing strategic advice to its members.
The community identifies initiatives. Following that, the Board of Trustees conducts extensive consultations and vetting of the initiatives before making a final decision on which ones will be implemented.
We hold community engagement meetings on a regular basis. The Trust has engaged a Community Liaison Officer who organizes regular meetings with various community groups in order to gain insight into the initiatives that have the greatest impact on them. Members of the community can also learn more about the Trust and contact us via our website, https://www.finlayscommunitytrust.co.ke/, our Facebook page, Finlays Community Trust and our email address, communitytrust@finlays.net.
Finlays Community Trust will publish financial and impact reports on a regular basis, detailing the investment made in various initiatives and the impact they have on the local community. This information will be made available on the Trust’s website.
The Trust provides regular updates on the initiatives that have been implemented as well as future plans for the various focus areas and projects. Annual audits and reports are conducted to better understand the impact of the various projects undertaken and what we can do better to support the community.
The Trust is comprised of three Trustees from the local community, three Trustees from James Finlay Kenya, and an independent Chairperson who serves as an impartial and objective voice, providing strategic advice to the Trust’s members. This means that the community has 50% representation in the Trust.
Scholarship funds are ringfenced. Funding for projects varies depending on a number of factors, including the number of projects prioritized, the complexity of projects chosen, and the company’s ability to fund the projects.
THE CHAIRPERSON, BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Rt. Rev. COL(RTD) Alfred K. Rotich, MBS
Rt. Rev. Alfred Rotich is the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kericho. Prior to his appointment as the Bishop of the Kericho Diocese, he was the Bishop Emeritus of the Military Ordinariate, Auxiliary Bishop of Nairobi and Titular Bishop of Iulium Carnicum.
He was the first full-time bishop of the Military Ordinariate and served as Military Chaplain. He rose through the ranks to become Colonel, the highest rank that a religious person can rise in the military.
He has served as Bishop Chairman of Caritas Kenya and the Social Communications Commissions, Vice Chairman of the Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue and also Vice Chairman of the Family Life National Office. He is a Bishop Member of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission and the Mainstream Church Leader’s Forum. He is also the Vice Chairman of the Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue and Ecumenism and the Bishop Chaplain of the Uniformed and Disciplined Services. He is also a member of the Mainstream Church Leaders’ Forum.
Bishop Rotich joined St. Augustine Major Seminary, Mabanga, for his philosophy training before joining St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary, Langata for Theology training. After theology school, he was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Nakuru.
THE TRUSTEES
Anne Chepkoech
Anne is the Managing Partner & Chief Technical Advisor at Alstar Limited. She has over 15 years’ experience in designing and implementing social enterprise development programs in the agricultural sector.
Her work and leadership as a private sector development and tea professional is focused on the sustainability of the specialty tea sector through empowerment, tea and sustainability education, gender equity advocacy and promotion through fair recognition of efforts by Kenyan small-scale tea farmers.
At Regional and National level, she has coordinated several projects supporting women-owned and agriculture sector specific businesses. Her role has been geared towards supporting women to be more competitive in markets by working with business support organizations and providing direct support to women-owned businesses through training, mentoring, and coaching. Through the projects, she engages market partners to adopt business practices that create economic opportunities for women-owned businesses.
Sammy Kiprono Kirui (HSC)
Sammy is the General Manager – Corporate Affairs at James Finlay Kenya. In his role, he provides Community support, acts as a liaison with government agencies and oversees the procurement, productivity and legal activities.
In 2019, he was awarded the Head of State Commendation (HSC) in recognition for promoting education and conservation of the environment initiatives through Finlays Corporate Social Responsibility programs.
He was also key in the formation of the Fintea Cooperative Union which as over 10,000 small scale farmers. Through this corporation, farmers were trained and acquired the Certification by Rainforest Alliance (RA) and Fairtrade. Sammy was also able to link farmers to international partners such as Netherland’s Rabbo bank which offers soft loans to farmers` cooperatives, Co-operative Union UK, Techno Serve and the EU.
His current projects include working with Sainsburys to help farmers receive premiums for farm development and working with partners, steering the construction of water springs protection projects in Kipchobos in Konoin and Seretut in Belgut constituency and the introduction of a new cash crop, Rose geranium, in Kericho County.
In addition to his role at Finlays, Sammy is the Chairperson of the Konoin Technical Training Institute board and also sits on various boards including Kericho Teachers Training College, Kenya Institute of Management – Kericho branch and the Kenya Institute of supplies management. He is also a retired chairman of the Kericho Golf Club.
Ambassador Joshua Kipkoech Terer
Ambassador Terer is the Secretary of the Kipsigis Highlands Cooperative Society. He served as the High Commissioner of Kenya to India and Nigeria. He also served as the Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Labour & Human Resource Development, Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Labour & Human Resource, Office of The Vice President & Ministry of Home Affairs, Heritage & Sports, and the Ministry of Agriculture.
He formerly served as the Chairman of the the Bomet County Public Service Board, Chairman of the Kapkatet District Hospital, Chairman of the Mau Tea Coop Society, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Education (Nairobi), Member of the Egerton University Governing Council and the Provincial Education Officer- Central Province.
Ambassador Terer holds Bachelor of Arts in Education degree from the Dar Es Salaam University and professional certificates from Bristol, UK.
Dr. Rop Williter Chepkemoi Ngeno PHD(IHRM)
Dr. Rop is a lecturer at the School of Business and Economics, Department of Marketing, Management Science, Tourism and Hospitality at the University of Kabianga.
She holds a PhD in Human Resource Management from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, a Master of Business Administration in Human Resource Management (HRM) from Kenyatta University and a Bachelor of Education degree from Moi University.
As a scholar in the subject of Human Resource, Dr. Rop is highly published, with over 15 published articles across various journals and she has also participated in various conferences on the same subject matter.
Janet Ruto
Janet is the Manager Diversity and Inclusion at James Finlay Kenya. She is tasked with providing technical and strategic advice in the mainstreaming of gender into all the workplace policies, procedures, processes and practices within the Tea and flower value chains.
Janet holds a master’s Degree in Disaster Risk Management and Humanitarian Assistance, Post Graduate Diploma in Gender and Development and Bachelor of Education (Honours).
She has extensive work experience spanning over 27 years in education, humanitarian, development and the business sector in the Horn of Africa and East Africa specializing in programs that promote community resilience, human rights, safety and economic empowerment for all.
Some of the organizations she has worked for at Advisory and Management level include Save the Children UK in Mandera; Northeastern – Kenya, Oxfam GB in Hargesia- Somaliland, Jijiga Region- Ethiopia and Karamoja- Uganda, and Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) in Khartoum Sudan. Janet is passionate about empowering communities and challenging barriers that negate the enjoyment of human rights by all.
Eng. Wesley Bosuben
Engineer Wesley is the General Manager in charge of Tea Estates at James Finlay Kenya. He is tasked with the responsibility of strategically leading the tea estates and factory operations to sustainably achieve stakeholder satisfaction.
Wesley has extensive work experience spanning over 28 years in civil engineering, tea production operations, management, and marketing. He is focussed, diligent and team building oriented. He has capabilities to handle challenging leadership roles and foster growth for the attainment of strategic goals.
Wesley holds a BSc in Civil Engineering (Hons) from University of Nairobi. He is a Registered Graduate Engineer with Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK) and a member of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK).
Wesley started his career as an Assistant Resident Engineer with Ministry of Roads and Public Works in 1993 where he worked until 1996 when he joined James Finlays Kenya as an Assistant Estate Manager. He has had an illustrious career with James Finlay Kenya working in various roles and capacities which has seen him rise through the ranks to his current position.
Wesley is also passionate about public and community service. He has served the community in various roles and capacities. He is currently the Chairman of building and development committee at African Inland Church Kericho; a role he has performed since 2014. He has also been a member of the Kericho Primary School board of management since 2015. Wesley also served Kericho Tea Boys High School as board member between 2010 and 2013 as a board Chair between 2013 -2015. His commitment and diligence have also seen him serve as a Member of Board of Directors of Ndege Chai Sacco between 2006 and 2009.