Tod Parkinson spent years as a salesman for Valliwide Organic. In 2010, he left the sales desk to return to the fields and farm land that he leased.

The shift from sales to farming also marked a shift from profits for the Reedley, CA-based sales company to building the first high school in the Huruma slum in Nairobi, Kenya.

What prompted the move was Parkinson’s involvement in a nonprofit and a small group study of Rick Warren’s best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life. The nonprofit, When I Grow Up, partners with local leaders.

“I was looking for my bigger purpose and began giving 10 percent of my gross income to church,” Parkinson said. “Within three weeks, this all developed. It just fell in our laps. I knew the kids we had been supporting would be entering high school this year [2013], so we needed a bigger business plan.”

What developed was the lease of organic peach farms, which had solidified Valliwide Organics as a sales company, and development of an organic label. Parkinson’s plan was to gain income from the sales of the organic peaches to pay for the lease and give 50 percent of the profits to When I Grow Up.

Parkinson’s wife, Traci, developed logos for this special organic peach program — the “First Fruits” and “Growing to Give” labels. They went with “First Fruits” because they are aiming to give their best — their firsts — not their seconds.

“We had to borrow to farm, but have made significant donations each of the first two years. We want to get our capital out and get it running on its own,” Parkinson said.

“We also want to honor the family that has worked that land for generations,” Traci Parkinson added. “It’s all relational for us — with customers, with growers, with charities. It’s not business first. But it is still run very much like a business.”

The land is being leased from DB Harris and Grand Island Farm. Organically Grown is Valliwide’s biggest business partner.

“The organic business has been a breath of fresh air,” Parkinson said. “There is a lot of trust among companies. I’ve been able to take advantage of promotional strategies learned from the conventional side. We’ve been coming at it from a different angle than Fair Trade, so we’ve had a hard time getting people to buy in. It’s a new concept for most.”

Prior to making this major life-changing decision, Parkinson and his wife traveled to Nairobi, where they observed extreme poverty firsthand.

The San Joaquin Valley has been ranked as one of America’s highest regions of people living below the federal poverty line with significant food insecurity. But what they saw in Nairobi’s Huruma slums was beyond comparison.

In these extreme poverty situations, 25,000 people die of hunger-related diseases and 11,000 children die of starvation every day, according to Gilbert Foster, president and executive director of When I Grow Up.

The Furaha Community Foundation operates a school and other programs in the Huruma slums. Earlier in 2013, the school burned completely to the ground due to poor wiring. The surrounding community gave a total of $3,500 to help rebuild the school, which equates to about two-and-a-half-months’ salary in the slum. To the When I Grow Up team, that is a clear sign that the community sees the value of the Furaha School. Churches in the San Joaquin Valley also raised $38,000 to help in the rebuilding of the school.

“We feed about 1,500 children every day, but It’s not enough,” Foster said. “Food gives them help, but education gives them hope. So the cycle doesn’t continue to get repeated. We don’t view this as a cause. We view it as a scandal and a crime. It’s a justice issue. It’s a human rights and human race catastrophe. It’s not a lack of money, it’s a lack of option. Where you live should not determine if you live.”

Foster said that what the Parkinsons have been able to provide is substantial. The money goes a long way to empower these children living in extreme poverty. He stated that the ROI is off the charts, because it is literally saving thousands of lives.

When I Grow Up saw the completion of a rural high school with a boarding facility outside of Nairobi. The school cost $162,000 to build. All 60 kids who graduated from the Furaha School are now in the high school. The dormitory is a temporary building. When I Grow Up hopes to build a permanent facility that will house 200 students within the next four years.

To further demonstrate the effectiveness of the Furaha School, Foster noted that 92 percent of its students passed Kenya’s national exam. The national pass rate is 51 percent. He added that maybe only two of the 60 kids would have been able to attend high school without Furaha.

Tod Parkinson has traveled to Huruma three times and Traci, 13 times. He also traveled to Haiti after the big earthquake several years ago with $5,000 in his pocket. There, he spoke to city leaders under mango trees. Now, the Haiti partners are starting their third building to house up to 200 kids. Their partner in Haiti is a young man named Lucson, who graduated from Reedley College and returned home to help his native community.

Traci Parkinson also serves on the board for When I Grow Up. She has also traveled to Haiti and Guatemala, where the nonprofit partners with Chicos Vivos.