I am currently reading Kitty Kelly's biography of the Bush family. It is not a well written biography. Rather than just telling their story, she continually interjects her judgments on them and their choices. But, her best efforts to the contrary, one is able to construct a relatively independent view and  evaluation of the characters.
It is fascinating how one family can produce 2 presidents within 12 years of each other. John Adam, the second president also had his own son become a president of America in the early years of America's independence. Closer to home, in Kenya and in Africa, the Kenyattas, the Kabilas in Congo, and the Khamas in Botswana have also produce multi-generational heads of state but I doubt that anybody would seriously view the African examples as models that if emulated would lead to good things.

In reading the history of the Bush family, a few threads start to emerge that seem to echo threads in other high achieving narratives. My conclusion so far is that their achievement is tied to money and connections. Samuel Bush - the originating patriarch is an affluent businessman in Ohio. But his wealth is not trans-generational i.e. it does not offer the ability to maintain or secure a comfortable lifestyle for even the first generation of his descendants. They do get something when he dies but they are not able to leverage his wealth to support themselves or to create new wealth.  beyond the first generation.

What his wealth does, is it allows him to send his kids to top prep schools and to elite universities. The value of these institutions is (a) it changes the way the children think about themselves. In being in the company of wealthy and successful people they view themselves as wealthy and successful or destined for wealth and success - this is what Alliance did for those of us who went there. His descendants are careful to ensure their children likewise go to institutions that have the same effect. America, as imperfect and unequal as it is, is probably more egalitarian than any other society in human history. And it is interesting to observe that most of the people who have made a mark in America have passed through an elite institution even if they dropped out. At least every third or fourth success story will have Harvard or Stanford or Yale somewhere in there. This is certainly true in politics, business, academia,  the arts, and the non-profit world.

But it is not necessarily true in Kenya today. The independence generation certainly had a high correlation between success in government/business and the school you went to. But today, such a connection is not as certain.

My conclusion therefore is that part of giving your kids the foundation for success is to ensure they are (a) able to build the right mindset about themselves - by being around communities and individuals that view themselves ad world-changing leaders and that (b) they are able to build relationships that they will leverage down the road to help them achieve their goals.

If I bring that down to Kenya, then the conclusion is that sending your kids to the right schools is absolutely essential. The right schools are schools that have a tradition of excellence and leadership - ala Alliance, Starehe, Strathmore AND/OR schools where society's elite send their kids. These are the expensive schools that were primarily the domain of expatriates but that now have increasing numbers of Kenyan Africans. If your kids go to these schools, then (a) it will help them to perceive themselves as part of society's elite  and the leadership (b) they will have an opportunity to build relationships that they can leverage later on in life.

Now, this won't guarantee their success. Their achievement will come down to their personal choices.

But in terms of giving your kids a foundation for success, this seems to be as good a place as any to begin. Ask yourself (a) "which kinds of environments will cause my kid to perceive themselves as a leader in excellence and achievement? (b) where does my kid need to interact so that he can develop comfort with the upper classes and build connections that will be useful later? Go out and create access to those environments