By Nyang’au Araka
A Kenyan-born community leader who helped mobilise resources to deliver an estimated 225,000 books to schools and libraries in Kenya has died in the United States.
According to Mshale.com, Paul Morande, 64, died on Thursday, October 29 at his home in Minnetrista, Minnesota, after battling a rare form of cancer for more than four years.
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He leaves behind a legacy of service spanning two continents.
Born and raised in Kisii, Morande was instrumental in the Gusii Books Project, an initiative that brought together Kenyans living in Minnesota and education partners to address book shortages in schools back home.
Working through the Minnesota Kenyans International Development Association (MKIDA), Morande helped establish a partnership with Books for Africa, a Minnesota-based non-profit organisation that supplies books to schools and libraries across the continent.
The initiative resulted in nine shipping containers of books being sent to Kenya, each carrying approximately 25,000 books.
His longtime friend and former colleague in community leadership, Gerald Nyachae Ondimu, said Morande invested considerable time and energy in making the project successful.
“He invested his time, energy and leadership in making the project happen,” Ondimu was quoted by Mshale as saying, describing the undertaking as one that required persistence, coordination and the ability to mobilise people around a common purpose.
The project adopted an innovative fundraising approach to overcome the high cost of shipping books from the United States to Kenya. Rather than depend on a few major donors, Morande proposed that individuals sponsor schools at $250 each.
Forty sponsors could therefore raise the $10,000 required to meet the shipping cost of a container.
At the time of his death, he was mobilising resources for a tenth container, which would have delivered another estimated 25,000 books to Kenyan learning institutions.
Patrick Plonski, executive director of Books for Africa, said Morande’s commitment to education and willingness to share ideas made him an important partner.
“He cared deeply about education and he was very willing to share his ideas on how we could end the book shortages in Kenya,” Plonski told Mshale, the African community newspaper in Minnesota.
Morande’s contribution to education extended beyond the books initiative. In 2016, he was among MKIDA representatives involved in an initiative that received a $12,000 Wells Fargo grant to support an online mentoring platform for young people.
His involvement in community development was also reflected in his leadership of Mwanyagetinge, an organisation rooted in the Gusii community in Minnesota, and Saint Charles Lwanga Welfare.
As president of Mwanyagetinge, he helped bring together members of the Kenyan community, encouraging participation in cultural, social and development activities.
His influence extended to younger leaders, including Minnesota State Representative Huldah Momanyi Hiltsley, who later became the first woman to head the association.
Hiltsley said Morande helped shape her understanding of leadership and remained a source of encouragement and advice even as she took on greater responsibilities.
“His leadership in Mwanyagetinge helped shape my understanding of what it means to serve,” she said.
“He showed me that leadership is rooted in character, in caring for people, and in making time for others.”
From Kisii to the United States
Morande was the eldest of 11 children born to Joseph Morande Onyambu and Yovensia Nyaboke Morande.
He graduated from the University of Nairobi in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in physics before briefly teaching mathematics at Buru Buru High School.
He subsequently joined Siemens Communications, which sent him to Milan, Italy, for 18 months of training in telecommunications engineering.
His professional career took him into telecommunications infrastructure work in Kenya and a consultancy assignment in Mozambique.
In 1998, he immigrated to the United States with his wife, Betty, and their two young daughters after being selected through the American diversity visa lottery.
The family settled in Minnesota, where their two younger children were born.
Morande subsequently built a career as a telecommunications engineer, working in the industry for approximately 27 years while remaining actively involved in Kenyan community affairs.
His wife said he was diagnosed with stage four cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare cancer affecting the heart, in September 2022. Doctors initially gave him three to six months to live, but he survived for more than four years after the diagnosis.
Despite his illness, he continued working and participating in community activities whenever his health permitted.
Those who knew him remember a man whose interests extended beyond professional and community responsibilities. He enjoyed reading, particularly the novels of American author John Steinbeck, followed current affairs and loved music, especially Afro-zouk and rumba.
His Catholic faith was also central to his life, and he was a longtime member of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Mound, Minnesota.
Ondimu described Morande as a leader who valued service above titles and recognition.
“Paul understood that leadership was not about titles, recognition or occupying positions,” he said. “It was about showing up, taking responsibility, bringing people together and contributing to something larger than oneself.”
Morande is survived by his wife, Betty, their four children, his mother, siblings and two grandchildren.
A requiem Mass is scheduled for Thursday, November 12, at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Mound, Minnesota, followed by burial.
The Mshale story is here: https://mshale.com/2026/11/01/paul-morande-influential-minnesota-kenyan-american-community-leader-dies-at-64/
