Nothing has made me prouder of our work with Jitegemee than seeing the success of the microfinance pilot project. This year, after much planning and research, Jitegemee finally ushered in the final phase of its vocational program: loaning small amounts of money to young people who have mastered their vocational trades. During my trip to Kenya, nearly every Jitegemee graduate who took a loan reported significant increases in their monthly earnings. John Maingi Nzau, a freelance electronics … [Read more...]
Student Always in Top 20 of His Class
Years ago, primary education in Kenya was not free and mandatory. Many children from poor backgrounds were unable to receive an education. Many problems forced these children out of school—broken families, hunger, poverty, and lack of money to pay school fees. One of our sponsored children frequently hung out with a very jovial boy in tattered clothes. This boy, a smiling kid named Kivua Kiilu, appeared very comfortable in the streets. He did not have anywhere to go, anywhere to sleep or any … [Read more...]
Grooming Young Kids to Succeed in School
The Jitegemee scholarship program is a very unique program. Under the program, we identify needy children at a very young age and reach out to them with nurturing and assistance. We ensure that they remain focused and motivated in pursuit of academic excellence. We believe it grooms a child at very early age to succeed at school and shapes both their present and their future. In order to motivate these children to work hard in school, Jitegemee has committed itself to paying for secondary … [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. However, the Jitegemee … [Read more...]
No Longer Sniffing Glue & Abusing Drugs
Life has been hard right away from my childhood. I used to live with both of my parents. When I attained the age of six years, they took me to a nearby primary school, where I was enrolled in class one (1st grade). By then my father was a drunkard with no source of income and he was not able to pay my school fees. My mother worked as a casual laborer and with the little she earned, she bought us food and paid my fees. Sometimes when dad came home drunk, he would beat mum mercilessly, making her … [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 me and 19 other family members and … [Read more...]
‘Pioneer’ Class of Vocational Students Graduate
This year, we are celebrating many accomplishments. We marked 10 years of a steadily growing program. We moved to a new building, where we have classrooms, a minilibrary and offices. We built a kitchen and began a lunch program for our students. We have an active advisory board of local professionals who have been instrumental in the planning and implementation of our programs. But perhaps the most exciting development has been the graduation of our “pioneer†class of vocational students. … [Read more...]
Struggle with Poverty, Prostitution & Drugs Over
Last year, our new vocational class was a collection of shy youth struggling with poverty, prostitution and drug use. This year, these same 25 young people are confident, reliable workers immersed in their second phase of training. Each morning, they go to work as apprentices to carpenters, welders, tailors and hairdressers. Every lunch hour, they eat together as a class and share experiences. Once a week, they meet Jitegemee staff for counseling, learning and support. Mike Kimeu, our program … [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 important to … [Read more...]
A Child with Sticks & Weeds in Her Hair
Years ago, when I was teaching street children in Kenya, a little girl came into my class who had a particularly troubled look about her. She had sticks and weeds in her hair, as if she had just come from sleeping on the ground. She had torn clothes on, an unruly smile, and an undoubtedly empty stomach. Something about her was wild and different from the other children in the class, who were also destitute, but well accustomed to the daily exercise of our informal classroom. I learned then that … [Read more...]
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