About The Founder: Cynthia Bauer

Cynthia was raised in Hampton, New Hampshire where her parents still live. She is the oldest of 4 children....2 sisters and a brother. A charity like this was never in her life plans, like was mentioned in the history of Kupenda. She is a wildlife biologist working for her own consulting company to make more time for Kupenda work. She went to college at the University of Maine where she majored in Wildlife management/conservation biology. She spent some time working for the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Audubon Society in Southwest Florida before going to Eastern Kentucky University where she earned a master's degree in Applied Ecology with thesis work on the coast of Kenya. While in Kenya, she worked with a Christian conservation group called "A Rocha" while researching the effect of illegal logging on the rare golden-rumped elephant shrew. Her love for African wildlife drew her to Kenya, and eventually to these children. Like she has said repeatedly, this charity was brought to her...there's no other way to explain it.

She wasn't always able to talk about her own disability openly. She never really considered being born without her left hand a disability but just the thing that made her “different”. Her friends and family also thought that the word “disabled” never applied to Cynthia. It wasn’t an often discussed subject so the fact that she speaks about it often now in reference to Kupenda is still kind of strange. Growing up, Cynthia spent a great deal of time at the Shriner's hospital for crippled children. Though she chose not to use a prosthetic arm (it gets in the way of her guitar and piano playing, typing, etc.), she was able to spend a lot of time around a variety of disabled children and saw how they were helped. It was this experience that made her aware that the people with disabilities in Kenya could be helped if given the right opportunities.

When walking through Nairobi Cynthia met a man begging on the streets of Nairobi with the same handicap as herself. It made her thing about what opportunities she would have if she had not been brought up in a family and a culture that allowed her to be anything she wanted to be, that let her experience the world and all it has to offer? What if she had been brought up in a country that thought physical deformities were a curse of God as some still do in countries like Kenya? Of course as a child not quite like the rest, she often wondered why God would allow her to be so different. She has had and sometimes still does have issues with Him about it. However, she is pretty sure that if it hadn't been for her birth defect, She wouldn't have been drawn to these children quite so strongly though their challenges are much greater than her own. However, she can admit that she knows a bit of what it's like to stand out. She knows the desire to hide away from other children, or just keep to herself so they don't stare or ask questions. However, she believes that God "comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God" (2 Corinthians 1:11). God has empowered her to get over the self-pitying attitude that can be so easy to fall into and do something outside herself, using her own life struggles. She really thinks that's when true healing begins for any of us. She thinks each one of us has our own "handicap" to overcome, though some are more visible than others.

Kupenda's existence continually amazes her. She can't stop asking herself "who am I to be doing this?" However, God keeps pushing her forward in spite of her inadequacies. Every time a new person contributes, time or money to this, she is humbled once again. There is no way she could have pulled any of this off by herself. God has brought so many amazing people with such a variety of gifts and abilities into this project. Each supporter is such an incredible blessing to the children and to her own life. Who would have imagined the girl who favored animals over people would be "called" to a work dealing not only with people, but discussing the very handicap that caused the preference. She welcomes any questions or comments about Kupenda, or anything else you feel like asking her about. Just email cynthia@kupenda.org.

Thank you!


	About Kupenda Children Ways to Contribute Photo Gallery News & Events Mission History About The Founder: Cynthia Bauer People of Kupenda Where is Kupenda? FAQs Financials Contact Us About The Founder: Cynthia Bauer Cynthia was raised in Hampton, New Hampshire where her parents still live. She is the oldest of 4 children....2 sisters and a brother. A charity like this was never in her life plans, like was mentioned in the history of Kupenda. She is a wildlife biologist working for her own consulting company to make more time for Kupenda work. She went to college at the University of Maine where she majored in Wildlife management/conservation biology. She spent some time working for the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Audubon Society in Southwest Florida before going to Eastern Kentucky University where she earned a master's degree in Applied Ecology with thesis work on the coast of Kenya. While in Kenya, she worked with a Christian conservation group called "A Rocha" while researching the effect of illegal logging on the rare golden-rumped elephant shrew. Her love for African wildlife drew her to Kenya, and eventually to these children. Like she has said repeatedly, this charity was brought to her...there's no other way to explain it. She wasn't always able to talk about her own disability openly. She never really considered being born without her left hand a disability but just the thing that made her “different”. Her friends and family also thought that the word “disabled” never applied to Cynthia. It wasn’t an often discussed subject so the fact that she speaks about it often now in reference to Kupenda is still kind of strange. Growing up, Cynthia spent a great deal of time at the Shriner's hospital for crippled children. Though she chose not to use a prosthetic arm (it gets in the way of her guitar and piano playing, typing, etc.), she was able to spend a lot of time around a variety of disabled children and saw how they were helped. It was this experience that made her aware that the people with disabilities in Kenya could be helped if given the right opportunities. When walking through Nairobi Cynthia met a man begging on the streets of Nairobi with the same handicap as herself. It made her thing about what opportunities she would have if she had not been brought up in a family and a culture that allowed her to be anything she wanted to be, that let her experience the world and all it has to offer? What if she had been brought up in a country that thought physical deformities were a curse of God as some still do in countries like Kenya? Of course as a child not quite like the rest, she often wondered why God would allow her to be so different. She has had and sometimes still does have issues with Him about it. However, she is pretty sure that if it hadn't been for her birth defect, She wouldn't have been drawn to these children quite so strongly though their challenges are much greater than her own. However, she can admit that she knows a bit of what it's like to stand out. She knows the desire to hide away from other children, or just keep to herself so they don't stare or ask questions. However, she believes that God "comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God" (2 Corinthians 1:11). God has empowered her to get over the self-pitying attitude that can be so easy to fall into and do something outside herself, using her own life struggles. She really thinks that's when true healing begins for any of us. She thinks each one of us has our own "handicap" to overcome, though some are more visible than others. Kupenda's existence continually amazes her. She can't stop asking herself "who am I to be doing this?" However, God keeps pushing her forward in spite of her inadequacies. Every time a new person contributes, time or money to this, she is humbled once again. There is no way she could have pulled any of this off by herself. God has brought so many amazing people with such a variety of gifts and abilities into this project. Each supporter is such an incredible blessing to the children and to her own life. Who would have imagined the girl who favored animals over people would be "called" to a work dealing not only with people, but discussing the very handicap that caused the preference. She welcomes any questions or comments about Kupenda, or anything else you feel like asking her about. Just email cynthia@kupenda.org. Thank you!