Joseph Wang’endo (Kenya)
CEO & Founder, Bloodlink FoundationJoseph is the founder and Executive Director of Bloodlink Foundation, a charitable trust registered in Kenya in 2004. Bloodlink Foundation is a partner with the National Blood Donor Services and the Ministry of Health in recruitment of blood donors. Bloodlink Foundation is also a first aid training accredited institution.
He is an alumnus of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government Executive Leadership Program. He undertook his MBA in Non-Profit Management at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) and a three-month internship at Children Heartlink, a non-profit based in Minneapolis in 1995 through sponsorship by USAID. He is also a graduate of Egerton University.
Between 1995 and 2000, he was the General Manager of Heart To Heart Foundation where he established the Dettol Heart Run (renamed the Mater Heart Run), an event he successfully managed for six years raising funds to help children with heart ailments undergo heart surgery. From 2001 to 2002 he was the Executive Officer at the Kenya Medical Association.
Joseph has been a speaker at different fundraising forums around the world, including the International Workshop on Resource Mobilization, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2008; International Fundraising Congress, opening plenary, Netherlands, October 2008; and the Association of Fundraising Professionals annual meeting in Chicago 2011, Baltimore 2015, and San Francisco 2017. He is also a regular speaker at the annual Eastern Africa Workshop on Resource Mobilization organised by the Kenya Association of Fundraising Professionals. He has consulted for many organizations around the world, including World Society for Protection of Animals (UK), International Baby Food Network, American Jewish World Service, Forum for African Women Educationalists, World Vision, Resource Alliance, Oxfam Novib, Association of Donor Recruitment Professionals (USA), Egerton University, Catholic University of East Africa, and Compassion International.
A keen marathon runner, Joseph managed the International Women’s AIDS Run 2004 and has consulted for the Standard chartered Marathon 05/06. He has run and completed 9 international marathons including London (2), Nairobi (4) and Chicago (3). He was listed on the International WHO’S WHO of Professionals 2006/7 edition for “exemplary achievement and distinguished contributions to the community”.