June 2012 Building Progress Update

Dear friends of Jitegemee,

It has been a long process, but this spring, we finally were issued our title deed to our land. We are currently in the process of seeking competitive bids for contractors and we intend to break ground on the building this summer. Here is a recap of how far we have come, as well as the blue prints for the master plan, which we intend to build in phases.

July, 2009:

• Signed a contract to purchase an acre of land after securing seed grant from the Kaplan Foundation and $50,000 in matching funds from the Andrew and Bonnie Weiss Foundation.

August 2009:

• Conducted a school design workshop with Architects for Humanity in Kenya, to educate teachers, students and parents about the process of building a school to give them a voice in the process. Our school planning committee visited several schools around Kenya that have used environmentally-sustainable architecture.

December, 2009:

• Architects for Humanity completed first draft of drawings and sent to Kenya for comment.

January, 2010:

• Title deed was delayed at the Ministry of Lands, due to chaos at the ministry and a corruption probe. Documents had to be re-submitted.

March, 2010:

• Architecture for Humanity finalizes its sketches based on reaction from Kenyan planning committee.

July, 2010:

• Surveyors were engaged to begin to subdivide the plot of land to pave the way for our purchase.
• Over $30,000 raised for the building through the GlobalGiving “Green Open Challenge.”

January, 2011:

• Jitegemee obtains competitive bids for Kenyan architects.

May 2011:

• Jitegemee receives first installment on a $40,000 matching grant from an anonymous donor.

November, 2011:

• Green Designs, a Kenyan architecture firm that specializes in environmentally-sustainable building finalized the master plan and gave an initial budget estimate.

February, 2012:

• Jitegemee receives its title deed from the Ministry of Lands!

March, 2012:

• Jitegemee submits documents to change land use from residential status.

May, 2012:

• Jitegemee begins to seek competitive bids for contractors.

We sincerely thank your for your continued support, and we look forward to celebrating the completion of this important addition to the Jitegemee program, and the city of Machakos!

Sincerely,
Farah Stockman
Founder and Executive Director