Events
Washington, D.C.: Build 4 Africa
On May 28, 2010, attend the Build 4 Africa fundraiser in Washington, D.C., to benefit Jitegemee’s new building fund. The event will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at Local 16, 1602 U Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009 and will feature $4 Smirnoff drinks and a raffle. Read More →
Washington, D.C.: Bachelor(ette) Auction
Washington, D.C.: Bachelor(ette) Auction On Saturday, Aug. 21, 2010, attend the Jitegemee Bachelor/ette Auction in Washington, D.C., to benefit our new building fund. The event will take place from 7 p.m. to midnight on the rooftop at 1010 Massachusetts Ave., Washington, D.C. 20001. Read More →
New Building Project Overview & Photos
Jitegemee has outgrown our current facility, a rented house in Machakos, Kenya. We are raising $200,000 to build a new environmentally sustainable education center using a $90,000 matching grant. Overview Three classrooms to be separated by removable walls, which can be taken out to create a large hall for big assemblies. Solar shading and strategic building orientation (positioning the building to take advantage of the sun path) to keep our new facilities... [Read more]
A Life Changed from ‘Worse to Good’
From when I was born up to when I joined Jitegemee, my life experience was very bad. Before I joined Jitegemee, I was in the streets just sniffing glue and also drinking alcohol. I could be arrested and taken to a police station at any time. There was no one who came to see me in the police station, so I sometimes stayed there for months. When I was about seven years old, I went to the city of Nairobi. I used to take other people’s property and run away.... [Read more]
Architect’s General Plan Unveiled at Board Meeting
The architect’s general plan for our new education center was unveiled and finalized April 24, 2010, at a fundraiser and board meeting in Boston. The project will cost about $200,000. The final design and plan reflects the recommendations the Jitegemee Board of Directors and the volunteer architects from the Washington, D.C., chapter of Architects for Humanity made in December 2009 to the planning committee in Machakos, Kenya, along with the planning... [Read more]
‘Nyama! Nyama! Nyama!’ Shouted the Boy
“Nyama! Nyama! Nyama!” shouted the boy in the center of the circle as he cupped his hands around his mouth and leaned back, his voice cracking at the effort. “NYAMA!” everybody else responded. Looking around the yard of Jitegemee’s rented house, I was shocked to realize that every single student had contributed to the thunderous echo. Nyama means “meat” in Swahili and is the refrain in a Kenyan children’s game, signaling that the leader was... [Read more]
New Building Project Workshop Video
Jitegemee has partnered with the Washington, D.C., chapter of Architecture for Humanity (AfH) to design our new center. AfH is a group of volunteer designers that promotes design solutions to global, social and humanitarian problems. In August 2009, Rayya Newman and Mark Palmer, two volunteer architects, visited Kenya with Jitegemee board members to begin the design process. They conducted a five-day workshop introducing our teachers, parents and students to... [Read more]
Continued Success in Hard Economic Times
Hard economic times have hit Machakos this year, but Jitegemee has remained firm in its commitment to help vulnerable street children and youth grow in mind, body and spirit. Our region in Kenya has experienced a serious drought, combined with a financial crisis that hit Kenya like so many countries. As a result, the price of food has increased considerably. A bag of maize that used to cost about $17 (1,300 Ksh) now costs about $40, making it even more difficult... [Read more]
Plans to Build New Center Moving Forward
Jitegemee is pushing forward with plans to build a new center, where we can build classrooms big enough for our expanding program, dorms for homeless youth, a permanent kitchen for our feeding program and a library. Jitegemee has entered into a contract to buy a one-acre plot of land in Machakos on which our new center will be built. We plan to complete the sale in 2009 and begin construction in 2010. To make the dream of a new center a reality, Jitegemee will... [Read more]
Positive Effect on Almost Every Indicator
In early 2009, four students from Columbia University’s International Affairs program visited Jitegemee to conduct an independent professional assessment of our vocational program. The complete report, including all data and recommendations, are available by clicking here. This January I travelled with Emma San Segundo Riesco from New York City to Machakos, Kenya. Emma and I had been working on our Masters in International Affairs and fervently studying everything... [Read more]
