I will first begin by introducing myself. I am a student who just graduated from Jomo Kenyatta University with a Diploma in information technology, sponsored by Jitegemee. I have been a child in Jitegemee from 1996. I hope to continue my education if that chance opens up for me. It was during our school vacation, in August 2009, when the Director informed me about some visitors who were to come that year. The visitors were none other than architects Mark Palmer and Rayya Newman, board member … [Read more...]
‘Street Children Need Support to Succeed in Life’
Over the past year, the staff and children at Jitegemee have faced many challenges emanating from difficult economic times. In 2009, Kenya experienced one of the worst droughts in our history, which killed animals and crops across the country and created wide-spread hunger. Today, thankfully, rain has returned and our economy has begun to recover. But the price of food and basic goods has remained too high for many poor families. Many children dropped from school due to lack of food and money … [Read more...]
‘Green’ Education Center Overview & Photos
Jitegemee has outgrown our current facility, a rented house in Machakos, Kenya. We are raising $200,000 to build a new "green" 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 cool naturally. A large garden, which could be … [Read more...]
Q&A with ‘Green’ Education Center Architect
Q: What is Architecture for Humanity? A: Architecture for Humanity (AfH) is an organization that provides design services to people and groups that might not typically have access to architects, engineers, or designers. There are local Architecture for Humanity chapters all over the world. Q: What kind of projects have you worked on with Architecture for Humanity? A: I've been fortunate enough to work on some small projects locally here in Washington, D.C., and also around the world. … [Read more...]
Jitegemee Places Second in GlobalGiving Challenge
Thanks to Jitegemee's generous supporters, we won second place in GlobalGiving's July 2010 Green Open Challenge— for both total donations and most unique donors. Combined with our matching grant, our $23,250 raised and $7,000 in bonuses totals $60,500 for our new "green" education center! This is huge for an organization with an annual budget of $70,000 a year. Watch the YouTube video below to find out more about what coming in second in the competition means to us. (Special thanks to … [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. One day luck was not on my side. I … [Read more...]
Architect’s General Plan Unveiled at Board Meeting
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...]
‘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 about to announce the name of an … [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...]
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 for poor parents to feed their … [Read more...]
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