1. 1st
March 2012
To whom it may concern
Reference – Alan Coyne
My husband Kevin and I founded an orphanage in Mtepeni, Mtwapa, Kenya in April 2007
www.thegoodlifeorphanage.com. In September 2008 we met Alan Coyne through a chance
meeting and were immediately taken with his kind and friendly manner. On hearing about our
orphanage Alan visited on many occasions, helping wherever he could and especially giving
us advice on personnel matters as he is fluent in Swahili and has vast experience of the
Kenyan Culture which is priceless when working on charity projects in this country. We
have also visited Alan's amazing preschool project for destitute children in the Mombasa slum
of Mshomoroni. This project is an empowering and sustainable support to the poor in the
community.
Alan is a very hard working, well-organised person; he shows compassion and a deep
understanding when dealing with local people and their traditions. We were very pleased
when Alan agreed to volunteer at our project and a planned three-month period ended up
becoming nine months. During this time we had major problems with our manager and felt so
confident in Alan’s ability that we removed her from her position and promoted one of our
existing staff who had very limited experience. Alan trained both the Manager and the
Administrator in Social Work, ICT, HR and financial management during a short period
of time and they are both now very capable members of our team. He also managed the day-
to-day operations of 29 staff, over saw the well being of our 57 orphans and finances
within the GLO. In addition to all of the above, Alan greeted our many volunteers and
arranged a working schedule for them depending on their field of expertise.
Alan also assisted with the setting up of our new primary school which now offers a free
education to 300 pupils, again he implemented many systems including two computer
centers and associated training programmes, from our Security Guards to our Manager, all
have a good knowledge of computers. Alan also assisted with interviews for teachers at our
new school; from his knowledge of Kenyan Culture and the education system he knew
exactly what questions to ask, and pressed for detailed answers.
The one field where Alan especially shone was designing and implementing evaluation
systems where the children at the orphanage receive a very high standard of care, we can
safely say that no other CCI in the Coast Province operates such a system and this is down to
Alan’s dedication and hard work. He spent many hours devising monthly reports so the
children are monitored and any changes in either their health or behavior are noticed; again

2. this is essential as all the children are either orphaned or abandoned and often have suffered
traumatic experiences before arriving at The Good Life Orphanage.
We cannot praise highly enough his dedication and professionalism. Alan has excellent
interpersonal skills, which is a ‘Godsend’ when working in Kenya.
From our experience of working with Alan we feel he will be an ideal candidate and an asset
to any organisation especially a charity based in Kenya.
We trust the contents of this letter will suffice but should you require any further details,
please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned on +254 723 323 040 or
maryemaguire@gmail.com
Yours faithfully
For The Good Life Orphanage
Mary E. Maguire
Mary Maguire
Director & Co-Founder