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Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative

Raise money for Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative

Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative


Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative, a non-profit organization, promotes and cultivates youth empowerment through educational development, cross-cultural dialogue, and sustainable and environmentally friendly economic growth, among rural Kenyan school communities and American school communities.

ABOUT KIJANA EDUCATIONAL EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVE

Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative, was founded in 2002 by local teachers Jim Cummings and Bruce Huber.The organization has assisted over 25 schools in Kenya since then with a variety of infrastructural and resource needs as well as developed various cross-cultural programs with students in Florida. Most notably, Kijana funded and oversaw the restoration of Mwituha Secondary School, in Bunyore Kenya, which was defunct in 2005, and now educates over 400 students. Most recently, with the support of the Seminole Ridge Community H.S. students and National Honor Society, Kijana installed two new water tanks in schools in Nairobi, Kenya.Kijana now seeks to construct its own unique independent school in Kenya, in an effort to advance creative, globally oriented education. 

Kijana President, Jim Cummings, who taught History and Social Studies for 14 years at The Benjamin School, and the last 4 years at Seminole Ridge Community H.S., in Loxahatchee, is taking a leave of absence for the 2017-18 school year to raise the funds for the school and get Kijana’s new Global Innovative School opened.Huber has taught music at The Benjamin School for the last 18 years.The two combined have over 50 years of teaching experience. 

Cummings anticipates that the school can very conservatively attract as many as 200 students in its first year of operation. A very sizable market exists for private schools in Kenya, he commented. Bridge International Schools, which began around 2008, has approximately 400 primary schools in Kenya alone and thousands of local entrepreneurs have opened schools throughout the nation as the demand for quality education is high and growing rapidly.In 2017, over 40% (over 19 million people) of Kenyans were under the age of 14. That is approximately equivalent to the entire population of Florida, Cummings added.The need and demand for quality education is immense and only growing.The Kijana Global Innovation School will introduce world class education to communities that typically lack access to such opportunities.Cummings argues that the global society is losing out as we leave these capable young talented youths without the opportunities to fulfil their academic and economic potential.Kenya has a large, vibrant, entrepreneurial and motivated population that seeks advancement and growth.We want to nurture future Bill Gates,’ Wangari Maathai’s, Maya Angelou’s, Thomas Edison’s, and on and on. They are out there in the rural villages of Kenya, Cummings is convinced.

Cummings, who was a volunteer in Kenya with World Teach in 1987-88, and has maintained connections with numerous Kenyans, has returned to Kenya over 30 times since his original time as a volunteer teacher at Ebusiloli Secondary School. He has also inspired many former students and others to visit the country.David Watterson’s A Guy In Kenya, provides insights into the work of Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative. It is available on Blurb books (http://www.blurb.com/b/1733698-a-guy-in-kenya).Scores of Cummings’ former students have contributed to the efforts over the years.Elise Pitcairn, who attended The Benjamin School, and was recently profiled in The Palm Beach Post for her plans to work in Kisumu, Kenya, with Mama Hope, commented: " Thank you so much Mr. Cummings! I remember hearing about all of your trips to Kenya when I was in high school. Your support has really touched me!”

The school will be the next stage in his life-long passion to improve education in Kenya, build stronger cross-cultural links between our two nations, and advance creative, critical thinking toward solving global challenges.He has a six-year fundraising target of $1.5 million to get the school on a sustainable path. 


Recent donors

Recent donors
Date Name Amount
Mar 16 Trent Edwards $5.00
Mar 15 Anonymous $5.00
Mar 15 Patrick Duff $100.00
Mar 14 Diane Fiorentino $25.00
Mar 13 Marcy Mandello Good Luck! $25.00
Mar 13 Anonymous $25.00
Mar 12 Anonymous Undisclosed amount
Mar 12 Manny Acevedo $5.00
Mar 12 Anonymous $10.00
Mar 11 Sue Mehok $50.00