We are honored, and humbled, to wish our visionary founder, Gene Krizek, a hearty 93rd Happy Birthday.
A former Congressional Administrative Assistant, a retired Foreign Service Officer and a retired Colonel in the United States Air Force, Eugene “Gene” Krizek served as the Director of White House Liaison with the State Department in 1961-1962 and as State Department Congressional Relations Director from 1962 to 1981.
Following his retirement from government service, Gene founded Bread and Water for Africa® in 1986 as a direct response to the extreme poverty in sub-Saharan African countries where children die needlessly from easily preventable and treatable illnesses, want nothing more than an education that is out of reach as their parents cannot afford the school fees to send them to school, and, for those orphaned and abandoned children, a loving home where all their basic needs are met.
Among those thousands who have had their lives transformed due to Gene’s vision is Moses who ended up at the Kabwata Orphanage and Transit Centre in Zambia after being abandoned by the side of the road as a newborn. Today, Moses is a 12-year-old sixth-grader looking forward to a bright future!
Moses is just one of the thousands of children that, because of Gene’s vision, have been given a home, an education, and a healthy life.
While Gene may have retired from his position as President in December 2014, he remains an inspiration to us all at Bread and Water for Africa®, and as he stated in his retirement letter:
“I have indeed been blessed to have lived a life of meaning – of achieving many of my personal goals, including helping to make a difference in the lives of so many others in need in so many ways during my exciting tenure with this fine, charitable organization.”
Happy 93rd Birthday, Gene Krizek
