Visitors Diary
‘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]
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]
Bringing the Internet to Jitegemee’s Youth
I had the opportunity to visit Jitegemee with Farah, a friend since childhood. It was my first trip to Africa, let alone Kenya or Machakos, and I had very little idea what to expect. Farah promised me the people would be friendly and that as long as I avoided drinking water from taps I’d remain healthy. She was right on both counts. S ince I work primarily on the Web, Farah tapped me to help connect Jitegemee’s classroom to the Internet—something I was... [Read more]
‘Street Children? These Were Normal Kids’
Having known Jitegemee’s founder, Farah Stockman, for over ten years, I have watched Jitegemee grow from an idea into an institution. This summer, when the opportunity to visit Kenya presented itself, I jumped at the chance to learn more about Kenya and Jitegemee. When Farah first told me that Jitegemee served street children in Kenya, I didn’t know what to expect. My first thoughts were of the destitute children that you often see on television commercials. ... [Read more]
Seeing Ancestral Africa with Own Eyes
As a child growing up in rural Mississippi, I always dreamed of traveling to Africa. My mother and father used to tell my siblings and me about how our ancestors came from there long ago. I wanted to visit that distant place from which our ancestors were stolen. Books and films did not satisfy me. I wanted to see Africa with my own eyes. This May, I got the chance. My niece Farah Stockman founded Jitegemee, and for the program’s 10th anniversary, she invited... [Read more]
Camping with the Jitegemee Kids
After hearing about Jitegemee for several years and seeing only glossies of the kids and staff, I finally got the opportunity to make the visit and see it all for myself, in August of 2004. I wasn’t disappointed. We arrived in Machakos to find the program’s small classroom of energetic students on the first floor, nestled amongst other quieter businesses. A class of 25 vocational students were convened in the classroom, where they were learning about things... [Read more]
Trip Highlight: Meeting the Kids
This August, I flew to Africa to meet the children. When I joined the board of Jitegemee last year, I knew only what founder Farah Stockman had told me about Africa and the street children she had taught there. I spent a lot of time before the trip looking at maps of Kenya and reading about Machakos, the semi-rural town southeast of Nairobi, where Jitegemee runs a scholarship program for homeless and destitute kids. Of course, nothing could have prepared me... [Read more]
