The architect's general plan for our new "green" 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 committee's subsequent … [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 environmentally sustainable designs, … [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 need to raise $150,000. A … [Read more...]
When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade
Our new building project is a perfect example of the old adage, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." We were in for a shock when we went to Kenya in 2008 to purchase the sprawling one-story building and grassy compound we are currently renting in Machakos. We learned the landlord had changed his mind about selling it, and that we only have about three more years there before we have to leave. Initially, it was a big disappointment, but we soon realized we could dream even … [Read more...]