THE BOMA STORY
BOMA founder Kathleen Colson fell in love with Kenya during her Semester in Africa as a student at St. Lawrence University. After graduation, she returned to the country as president of African Safari Planners, leading trips there for more than 25 years, and working to raise funds for numerous conservation and humanitarian organizations. In 2005, she was invited to travel to Northern Kenya by Member of Parliament Joseph Lekuton, a local elected official and friend from St. Lawrence. Lekuton wanted Kathleen to see firsthand what was happening in Northern Kenya, where climate change had devastated pastoral communities that for centuries have tended livestock on this arid and semi-arid land.

BOMA was founded on two guiding principles:
1
2

In late 2008, BOMA launched its cornerstone program, the Rural Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP), with a pilot of 40 micro-enterprises near the remote village of Korr.