Our History
We founded Jiamini after realizing the profound affect a small amount of money and support can have on a vulnerable student’s life. Our story begins when Jen moved to Newala, Tanzania to join the Peace Corps in 2005. In the spring of 2007 Brad and Katie made the multi-day trek to visit Jen. While learning about life in Newala Jen introduced them to several orphaned students struggling to stay in school due to a lack of financial resources. After briefly discussing the problem, Jen, Katie and Brad committed themselves to finding Western sponsors and started the Jiamini Scholarship Fund. We began our work by incorporating a local teacher, Bakari Mnali as our Educational Coordinator.
Through overwhelming support of our friends and colleagues we quickly found Sponsors and donors to support our first “class” of 12 students. In 2008 another 12 students entered the program. And in 2009 our ranks of Scholars increased yet again to 36 total.
In 2008 we expanded our operations and began fundraising for our School Improvement Projects (SIPs) and added a new member to our team. Elizabeth had been working with at a center for street children in northern Tanzania and agreed to become Jiamini’s International Coordinator. Elizabeth headed up the first round of SIP implementations in the summer of 2009, buying 1,000 textbooks, installing water pumps and setting up a solar panel at various schools.
2009 also saw the expansion of our ground operations to include JOYS (Jiamini Outreach to Youth on the Streets).
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide orphaned and vulnerable children in southern Tanzania with a quality local education and a safe living environment, empowering them to become self-reliant members of their communities.
"Jiamini"?
"Jiamini" is a Swahili word that translates to “trust yourself” or “believe in yourself”. We hope to instill this virtue to all of our students.
Our Tax Exempt Status & Usage of Funds
Jiamini, Inc., is a New York based non-profit corporation exempt from federal income taxation under section 501(c)(3). We are a volunteer-run organization so 100% of personal donations go directly to our students and schools. All Jiamini Team travel and overhead are privately funded because we are committed to ensuring your donation goes entirely to our scholarships and programs.
