Salama: Keep Youth in Eldoret, Kenya off Drugs

Hi, I am organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Kiragu Benson and the Tumaini Innovation Center. We are currently fundraising for the first $4,000 of a $100,000 campaign.  

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SALAMA means “safe” in Swahili. The Salama Home Initiative (SHI) seeks to establish housing and programming to safely transition young people from rehabilitation and charitable centers to an independent, healthy, and successful life away from their former destructive behaviors.

Eldoret, Kenya with close to half a million residents, lacks established programs and resources to continue supporting individuals who have completed rehabilitation for drugs and substance abuse or youth exiting from children’s charitable institutions. 60% of youth rarely have employment and a supportive network to coach and nurture their personal, professional, and financial growth. Individuals find it challenging, if not impossible to remain sober and rebuild their new life. Consequently, due to the lack of support from their peers, ostracization by their family, lack of job opportunities, and financial pressures, they are persuaded back into the company of their former street life and drug abuse. Kiragu Benson knows this story well as it was also his story. Your funds today will help Kiragu share his life story with Eldoret youth to support their will to turn their life around and offer encouragement and resources to strengthen their capacity to lead stable and successful lives. 

Together, alongside Tumaini Innovation Center, Kiragu Benson and his staff will be launching weekly programming and mentorship initiatives in September 2022 in Eldoret, Kenya for a cohort of individuals graduating from Tumaini Innovation Center. Programming will focus on financial stability, conflict management, and mental wellness. In 2023, Kiragu seeks to secure multifamily property to support the development of transitional rental housing to complement SHI’s supportive programming. The United States Embassy publicly recognized the Salama Home Initiative in Nairobi, in March 2022.

 

Your generous donations today will incrementally support the first two years of operations of this pioneer program. 

At $4,000, we will have enough to establish Salama's legal status in Kenya, and secure core team members from July 2022 - Aug 2023. 

At $20,500 we can secure rental space, launch and staff wrap-around programming from Sept 2022 - Sept 2023. 

At $28,000, we will be able conduct more community and youth surveys and continue our outreach and advocacy work in Eldoret 

At $62,000, we will be able to start the residential portion of the halfway house and headquarter wrap-around services in our own facility from Sept 2023-Dec 2024

At $88,000, we will be able to renew wrap-around programming from Sept 2023- to Aug 2024

At $100,000 we will have a contingency fund and/or funds to usher us into a portion of 2025
 
We will be so grateful for any positive encouragement via email and/or your contributions of ANY amount. 
We thank you for your consideration and your support with our journey with Kenyan youth.
 
Context: 

The Salama Home Initiative was a project born out of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders (MWF), a flagship program of the U.S. Government’s Young African Leader’s Initiative (YALI). YALI supports thousands of young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa for academic and leadership training in the United States. The Fellows, between the ages of 25-35, are accomplished innovators and leaders in their communities and countries. Kiragu Benson was a 2021 MWF Fellow, hosted by Wayne State University and paired with Esther Yang, a former Design and Research Director inside the City of Detroit Planning and Development Department, as his MWF Fellow Coach.