Michael Farley Bio

Michael Farley arrived in Kenya, East Africa on his twenty-third birthday, October 16th, 1977, to begin a two-year stint with the US Peace Corps. His assigned post, while working for the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture, was in Makindu, a poor rural community about 150KM southeast of Nairobi.

He thought he was going there to help, and he did, but in giving that help, got much more than he gave. He taught them about selling their produce, forming a Co-op to get better prices, rotating crops – mundane, practical things. They taught him by example – by being kind, caring, tolerant, happy to share what little they had. He grew to love the people and their fascinating country, and dreamed of someday walking the entire Rift Valley - from Egypt to South Africa.

His experience while serving with the Peace Corps had an incredible impact on his life. When he left for home in 1980, it was with a vow to return. He has been true to that vow, making the trip back twenty times in the past twenty-seven years.

He often visited "his" village in the coming years and was devastated when he realized that each time there were more homeless, hungry children, most of them orphaned by the AIDS pandemic, roaming its dusty roads and the near-by bush.

In the mid 1990’s, Farley became a consultant for the Baraka project, an innovative alternative boarding school that took "at risk" teenage boys from the mean streets of Baltimore, Maryland, and flew them to Africa to live and learn at a campus deep in the Kenyan bush.

It was when he was in Kenya checking on the Baraka School that Farley met the folks who had started the Makindu Children’s Program, a non-profit organization founded in 1998, serving the needs of orphaned, abandoned and other particularly defenseless children in Eastern Kenya. He was impressed – asked what they needed most. Their answer was simple, "Money".

On that trip, he also became acquainted with Jasper Evans, a renowned camel expert who has a ranch in Northern Kenya. Japper, as he is called, told him about African Proper Walks – treks that involve walking many kilometers in a day, many days in a row. Remembering both his dream of walking the Rift Valley and the plight of the orphans in Makindu, Farley came up with a plan to celebrate his twenty-fifth anniversary of first arriving in Africa, and help the youngsters at the same time: he would "do" a Proper Walk in the Rift Valley to benefit the children.

Michael Farley

After more than a year of planning and soliciting funds, Farley and his wife, LeeAnn, along with Japper, and several friends walked up the Suguta Valley in Northern Kenya – traveling 140 miles in 10 days. The Suguta Valley is also known as the Valley of the Black Death because of the volcanic lava flows and intense heat. By noon on most days the temperature is close to 120F. That first Proper Walk in August, 2002, raised $43,000.

Since then, Farley has organized and led two additional Proper Walks. In 2004, the hikers covered 160 miles traveling down the Milgis River from Haut to Ol Maisor. 2006 found them following the Ewaso Nyrio River Valley for 171 miles. Both were completed in a time period of ten days. Altogether, the three Proper Walks have raised $180,000 for the Makindu Children’s Program.

Tim Cahill, adventure writer for National Geographic, walked with Farley in 2004. His article A Proper Walk in the Kenyan Bush - was featured in the September 2005 National Geographic Adventure Magazine.

"The magnitude and multiplicity of miseries that plague Africa are not subject to any wholesale fix. It seems the only reasonable response is utter despair. Or a person could choose a charity or program and work on that one small aspect in one small place where it is possible to see tangible evidence of problems solved. This is what was happening in Makindu: the orphans had been taken off the streets, lived in the community and were both well nourished and well educated. The Makindu Children’s Program was an example of selfless people doing what they could for others."
Tim Cahill, National Geographic Adventure Sept. 2005

Farley calls the Proper Walks Adventures for a Cause and is presently working on plans for a fourth one in 2008.


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Michael Farley arrived in Kenya, East Africa on his twenty-third birthday, October 16th, 1977, to begin a two-year stint with the US Peace Corps. His assigned post, while working for the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture, was in Makindu, a poor rural community about 150KM southeast of Nairobi. He thought he was going there to help, and he did, but in giving that help, got much more than he gave. He taught them about selling their produce, forming a Co-op to get better prices, rotating crops – mundane, practical things. They taught him by example – by being kind, caring, tolerant, happy to share what little they had. He grew to love the people and their fascinating country, and dreamed of someday walking the entire Rift Valley - from Egypt to South Africa. His experience while serving with the Peace Corps had an incredible impact on his life. When he left for home in 1980, it was with a vow to return. He has been true to that vow, making the trip back twenty times in the past twenty-seven years. He often visited "his" village in the coming years and was devastated when he realized that each time there were more homeless, hungry children, most of them orphaned by the AIDS pandemic, roaming its dusty roads and the near-by bush. In the mid 1990’s, Farley became a consultant for the Baraka project, an innovative alternative boarding school that took "at risk" teenage boys from the mean streets of Baltimore, Maryland, and flew them to Africa to live and learn at a campus deep in the Kenyan bush. It was when he was in Kenya checking on the Baraka School that Farley met the folks who had started the Makindu Children’s Program, a non-profit organization founded in 1998, serving the needs of orphaned, abandoned and other particularly defenseless children in Eastern Kenya. He was impressed – asked what they needed most. Their answer was simple, "Money". On that trip, he also became acquainted with Jasper Evans, a renowned camel expert who has a ranch in Northern Kenya. Japper, as he is called, told him about African Proper Walks – treks that involve walking many kilometers in a day, many days in a row. Remembering both his dream of walking the Rift Valley and the plight of the orphans in Makindu, Farley came up with a plan to celebrate his twenty-fifth anniversary of first arriving in Africa, and help the youngsters at the same time: he would "do" a Proper Walk in the Rift Valley to benefit the children.
After more than a year of planning and soliciting funds, Farley and his wife, LeeAnn, along with Japper, and several friends walked up the Suguta Valley in Northern Kenya – traveling 140 miles in 10 days. The Suguta Valley is also known as the Valley of the Black Death because of the volcanic lava flows and intense heat. By noon on most days the temperature is close to 120F. That first Proper Walk in August, 2002, raised $43,000. Since then, Farley has organized and led two additional Proper Walks. In 2004, the hikers covered 160 miles traveling down the Milgis River from Haut to Ol Maisor. 2006 found them following the Ewaso Nyrio River Valley for 171 miles. Both were completed in a time period of ten days. Altogether, the three Proper Walks have raised $180,000 for the Makindu Children’s Program. Tim Cahill, adventure writer for National Geographic, walked with Farley in 2004. His article A Proper Walk in the Kenyan Bush - was featured in the September 2005 National Geographic Adventure Magazine. "The magnitude and multiplicity of miseries that plague Africa are not subject to any wholesale fix. It seems the only reasonable response is utter despair. Or a person could choose a charity or program and work on that one small aspect in one small place where it is possible to see tangible evidence of problems solved. This is what was happening in Makindu: the orphans had been taken off the streets, lived in the community and were both well nourished and well educated. The Makindu Children’s Program was an example of selfless people doing what they could for others." Tim Cahill, National Geographic Adventure Sept. 2005 Farley calls the Proper Walks Adventures for a Cause and is presently working on plans for a fourth one in 2008.
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