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he Rotary Club of Collingwood - South Georgian Bay hosted well-known philanthropist Dr. Charles Mulli last week.

Mulli is the founder of Mully Children’s Family, an organization that assists street children in Kenya and provides them with healthcare, food, clothing and education.

The club donated $5,500 to the organization.

“I really want to thank you so much. I can’t take it for granted,” he said. “There are so many projects in the world and choosing MCF to be closer to you, means a lot to me.”

Mulli said Kenya has been hit hard by rain and flooding over the last several months and the organization had built dams to stockpile water and fish for the orphanage. He said rain and high winds caused the dams to break and they lost all of the fish.

He said they also lost a greenhouse, which was where they grew beans for export.

Frank Tilley, a member of the Rotary club, also serves as executive director for the Mully Children’s Family Foundation.

He says the cost to replace the dams and greenhouse will be about $600,000.

Tilley says over the years, the South Georgian Bay Club has donated more than $10,000 to the organization.

Mulli spoke about his history and how he came to start the organization.

He said he was on his own at age six and was begging for money in Kenya. He eventually found a job and was then able to purchase a taxi. This led to him starting a transportation company.

However, his life changed when he was in Nairobi in 1986.

“I went to the city of Nairobi, drove my car, I saw the street children and they came around me, they were begging,” he said. “They asked me to give them money and I never gave them anything.”

When he came back, the car was gone.

Mulli said he was troubled by this decision for years and in 1989, decided to help the children of Kenya.

Since its inception, the organization has assisted more then 7,500 children. The program also puts a focus on helping young mothers, providing them healthcare and education to allow them to better care for their children.

“My work over the years, has been expanded,” Mulli said.