Development Studies
| MAJI MAZURI CENTER INTERNATIONAL AND CHANGING LIVES. | The Development Project With A Small Start but Big Impact. | | | |
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Maji Mazuri is a social economic development program that was created in 1984 by Wanjiku Kironyo and based in Nairobi, Kenya. The program was initially developed in order to help women and children in Mathare Valley, the second largest slum in East Africa. Wanjiku Kironyo who was a family marital therapist set up office in the Mathare Valley and began counselling women. The women she reached out to suffered from severe depression and other psychological syndromes caused by single parenthood and the struggles in this impoverished setting. In addition to counselling, she realized the women needed economic empowerment and began to help them organize into small economic groups, i.e. cooperatives which were a prelude to the Micro Enterprise networks that was later established by Maji Mazuri. Thus women who had been through suffering including abusive relationships and imprisonment had social and economic support groups where they were able to not only survive but prosper by getting strength from each other. In 1985, a Canadian woman called Rosalind committed herself to starting a small agency known as the Awareness Program. The purpose of that program was to create a cooperative inter-country partnership with Wanjiku’s office. In 1986, the Awareness Program secured grants from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and provided the start-up funds for Maji Mazuri Center. From these humble beginnings, Maji Mazuri Center’s projects have grown significantly. Initial funding was mainly received from the Awareness Program, but funds from other sources, supporters and well-wishers have been received over the years. The program is currently composed of six interrelated projects. The projects range from treating and equipping handicapped, abandoned or orphaned children and providing training for
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Maji Mazuri is a social economic development program that was created in 1984 by Wanjiku Kironyo and based in Nairobi, Kenya. The program was initially developed in order to help women and children in Mathare Valley, the second largest slum in East Africa. Wanjiku Kironyo who was a family marital therapist set up office in the Mathare Valley and began counselling women. The women she reached out to suffered from severe depression and other psychological syndromes caused by single parenthood and the struggles in this impoverished setting. In addition to counselling, she realized the women needed economic empowerment and began to help them organize into small economic groups, i.e. cooperatives which were a prelude to the Micro Enterprise networks that was later established by Maji Mazuri. Thus women who had been through suffering including abusive relationships and imprisonment had social and economic support groups where they were able to not only survive but prosper by getting strength from each other. In 1985, a Canadian woman called Rosalind committed herself to starting a small agency known as the Awareness Program. The purpose of that program was to create a cooperative inter-country partnership with Wanjiku’s office. In 1986, the Awareness Program secured grants from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and provided the start-up funds for Maji Mazuri Center. From these humble beginnings, Maji Mazuri Center’s projects have grown significantly. Initial funding was mainly received from the Awareness Program, but funds from other sources, supporters and well-wishers have been received over the years. The program is currently composed of six interrelated projects. The projects range from treating and equipping handicapped, abandoned or orphaned children and providing training for
References: 1. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CE0QFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.africasangels.org%2FOrganizations%2FMajiMazuri.asp&ei=z6jLToacL6Pc4QSFvJhU&usg=AFQjCNGs3w8jw0hHmij4nkhVtDYu1Qvjcw&sig2=b0xZoYH56eOMPzUbFtTHqQ 2. http://www.africasangels.org/Organizations/MajiMazuri.asp 3. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CC0QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmajimazuri.org%2Fkiserian-community&ei=96jLTprOPPSQ4gTt_6E9&usg=AFQjCNH5hhfmsMCtDUPZILTGDfv4MNm3eA&sig2=C2kuWFU7VRzhmGyTdq-mlQ 4. http://majimazuri.org/kiserian-community 5. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CDsQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmajimazuri.org%2Fkiserian-primary-and-secondary-schools&ei=96jLTprOPPSQ4gTt_6E9&usg=AFQjCNFitZia6bc8mWqxHJq8-1cgrwIbJA&sig2=cPPT7p6ldnCybNf76kzS1A 6. http://majimazuri.org/kiserian-primary-and-secondary-schools 7. http://majimazuri.org/kiserian-primary-and-secondary-schools/item/232-kiserian-community-report-january-to-july-2011 8. http://majimazuri.org/the-kiserian-project/item/72-the-kiserian-farm 9. http://www.majimazuri.org/our-history 10. http://www.majimazuri.org/