Nikki Necklace

I am very excited to announce the new Nikki necklace being sold by Jimani Collections. The necklace is a special piece being sold to fund the work I am doing in Nairobi, Kenya. This piece is great to wear or to use as a great gift!

This piece is a brass pendant attached to a gold chain. For more information on the piece or to purchase this piece, see http://jimanicollections.com/products/the-nikki-necklace or email me at nikki@jimanicollections.com

In addition, I am in desperate need of more funding. If you would like to donate to my missionary work in Kenya with Jimani Collections, please click here.

Thank you and God bless!

Jimani Collections

I am happy to say that I have been given new opportunities of work here in Nairobi with Jimani. I am no longer with Judith&James or James127Foundation but am working alongside Jimani Collections, a jewelry business in Nairobi, Kenya. I am excited to officially announce that I am now working fully for Jimani Collections as the operations manager. This means running the operations side of Jimani in Kenya, including management of production, supplies, sales, and employees. I am most excited about developing deeper relationships with the local women who work as employees of Jimani; going beyond just work and becoming a ministry. It is wonderful to see the impact Jimani can make on their lives. What a joy and pleasure to see these smiles!

Patricia, J127 graduate

In my latest post I wrote about our recent jewelry graduates (see previous posting). Last week I went to visit Patricia, another one of the former J127 jewelry graduates. Patricia was rescued from the streets in Nairobi and raised under the organization Made in the Streets (MITS). Later she trained in J127's jewelry program. Patricia was such a willing and able student. Pictured here is Patricia (left) and Beatrice (right).

Now, Patricia is training Beatrice, another girl rescued from the streets. They are both making jewelry for Made in the Streets. Patricia's role is also a mentor to other younger rescued street teenagers in the MITS program. It was such an encouragement to see Patricia making a difference to help other children rescued from the streets. It was neat to see her reaching a greater level of leadership and  responsibility.

Jewelry Graduates

Since the J127 jewelry graduation last month, all five graduates have received jobs. Two have been employed by Jimani Collections, a jewelry company here in Nairobi, Kenya that "aims to empower women through education, innovation, and design." The graduates have been working with Jimani for about a month now. It has been neat for me to see them learn and work with Jimani. Here I am pictured with three of the Jimani employees. Lydiah (on my left) and Ester (on the far right) are the two J127 graduates with Jimani Collections.

Three of the J127 graduates have started their own small co-op jewelry business in the backyard of Grace's house. Veronica, Penina, and Grace pictured on the left are sitting in front of their new business. This group has started working on their first large order of earrings that will be sold in the US.

I am proud of where each of these women are now and can't wait to see what else is in store. Love that they are all using the skills they learned in the training program. I look forward to continue following up with each of them in the near future. 

Jewelry Graduation

This month we at James 127 Foundation graduated our first jewelry training program! It was a wonderful time of celebrating all the graduates have accomplished and what they had learned in the past ten months of the class. As most Kenyan graduates go, it was a great time of celebration.

All of the J127, Jimani, and Judith&James women were there to be join the graduation. In addition the families of the graduates came. We had a few speakers including my dad and Anna Taylor, founder of James 127 Foundation. We also had a powerful time of prayer. The graduates danced so free, happier than I have ever seen them before. It gave me so much joy to see. Below is a video of the five graduates dancing. 

I am very excited to see what lies ahead of their futures. My hope is that each of the jewelry graduates can take what they learned in training and use it to make a difference in their lives, families, and communities. They will be missed but I look forward to visiting them after they go. Please pray for these five ladies as they make the transition out of the Kasarani house to find local jewelry work.

Mcedo school expansion

Every year Rosslyn Academy, my former school in Nairobi, does a Christmas Project to bless local ministries in Kenya. This school year, they chose Mcedo school as the main recipient. Mcedo is a school in the Mathare slum that my family and I have worked closely with for the past 8 years. We have seen God mightily bless and provide for this school. Mcedo has a heart for orphans and provides housing and schooling for children that attend the school. They also have very good sports teams, specifically girls soccer team. These athletic teams provide scholarships and education when they otherwise would not be in school.

Rosslyn raised over one million Kenya shillings (around $11,000USD) to go towards expansions in the school. These include building new tables and chairs for the preschool and kindergarten class, building more bathrooms and raising the water tank, repairing the kitchen, and providing water faucets inside the school grounds.

Here is a picture of the assembly when the money was presented to Mcedo as a large check. All the students at Rosslyn gathered together to present the Christmas Project donations. In the middle are Pastor Benedict, the school principal and a few of the Mcedo students who came to perform a dance as a thank you to Rosslyn. Pictured on the right is the Rosslyn Christmas project committee.

I have made several visits to the Mcedo school since they received their money for renovations. Mcedo is now finished with the additions to the school. It has been very neat to physically see where the money has gone and the difference it has made!

On the right are pictures of just a few of the changes. The first picture is a few of the young kids drinking the water out of the new water faucets located outside of the kitchen. Because of this new water installation, Mcedo is now able to have running water accessible inside the school grounds. Previously, students and teachers had to walk outside to retrieve water.

On the bottom right is a picture of the kindergarten classroom with brand new wooden desks and chairs. Those children are so eager to learn and the cutest little students.

A huge thank you to Rosslyn Academy for their large donation of money from their Christmas Project. You made a huge impact on the Mcedo school and in the community of the Mathare slum.

Benson speaking

Yesterday we had Rev. Benson come speak to us about business from a Christian perspective. All the James 127 foundation trainees and teachers, Jimani employees, and Judith & James employees came together to learn. We also invited our Kenya committee members to join us. In addition a few women from the Mathare slum came to join us also. A full house of more than 30 women! It was a great time learning about things like tithing, budgets, and borrowing money. Throughout the whole morning Benson incorporated Scripture into his teaching. He did a great job, speaking mostly in Kiswahili so the women could understand and interacting with them with plenty of discussion questions. At the end of his talk, he gave each of the ladies a Bible. 

I love that not only can we provide training or a job for them but also teach them practical skills they can use. It was especially geared towards the sewing and jewelry students. When they graduate from our training program, we hope they will either find jobs or start their own small businesses using the skills they have learned. I hope teachings such as this one will help them as they look to their future beyond graduation, planning about their future businesses.