Charles Maina grew up in informal settlements of Korogocho in Nairobi. He co-founded Child Peace in Kenya together with Peter Mwashi, an organization that gave youths in the slums a platform for civic engagement and youth participation in the affairs of the community. Charles and Peter have been involved in collaborative community and social education projects in Korogocho, using drama techniques, digital technologies and project-based assignments to train communities in children rights, responsibilities and life-skills.
Charles has worked as educational consultant with Edward Education Services from 2012 specifically in the non-profit Abbas Project and the youth leadership program iLead21 in Nairobi and its surrounding areas. Charles was part of a 3-person team that organized and facilitated iLead 21 training to Kenyan youth in 2014 and 2015 together with Work-force Development Global Alliance.
In 2014, Charles was among 500 other Young African Leaders who participated in the Mandela-Washington fellowship in the United States. Charles attended Clark Atlanta University and received training in Civic leadership, Business and Entrepreneurship. Part of the fellowship program included an internship at Microsoft in the Citizenship program from April to July 2015.
Charles is a trained teacher, having graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Nairobi. Additionally, Charles has attained a Post-graduate diploma in Community Development and Rural Sociology.