Strength from within

We have spent the last month reviewing all we have done over the past 6 years. We look to the future with open minds, open hearts, and open arms, hoping to continue working on being "Little Hands Making Big Differences"

We have had many lessons over the past 6 years, have seen ups and downs, and through it all have grown so much - as an organization and as individuals through our work with the organization. Our strength to overcome obstacles comes from within, comes from support from all of you. 

Asante Sana for your continued support, we are so grateful for all of you! 

Why, Where, & How to Volunteer?

When you look at the multiple reasons why volunteerism is important, it is not only about the impacts we can make in the lives of others but also the role it can play in making us more tolerant, empathetic, and experienced individuals as well as giving towards the global community. We believe that we each have a civic duty to give back but the truth is that volunteering will bring a world of rewards you might never have expected.

First, volunteering is good for your health. Studies show that when you focus on an issue outside of yourself, your stress levels decrease and your immune system strengthens because you interrupt the tension-producing patterns and replace it with positive emotions which also, in turn, increases your confidence.

Second, volunteering is a huge career and academic booster. Recruiters for employment and universities rank volunteer participation higher than personal presentation, political affiliation, and even spelling and grammar. This is because when you volunteer you are forced to expand your soft-skills; reach outside of your comfort zone, experience other cultures and regions, and develop stronger problem-solving skills. You'll gain real-world, hands-on experience which is an invaluable asset.

Lastly, you realize that you can make a difference whether it's volunteering at home and/or abroad. Volunteering gives you the chance to form an idea of the kind of community and world you want to live in. It gives you the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than yourself and use your civic responsibility for the greater good. volunteering gives you an opportunity for an outlet to tackle the problems of the world with your own hands and play an active part in the solution.


Where and how you volunteer should begin where your passions lie. Allow your actions to be led from a place of passionate and healthy intention. Your actions, no matter the size, will have an impact on someone's life. You also don't have to pick just one way to give back and it doesn't have to be abroad. You can volunteer at your local animal shelter, youth group, or homeless shelter and travel abroad as well if that calls to you. As long as you follow your heart there are no limitations.

"The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet...unlike any other on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experiences. They can think themselves into other peoples places...We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already; we have the power to imagine better"
    -J.K. Rowling; author and founder of the Children's Charity, Lumos.

Clinics, Education, and Trainings: The multi-facets of Tabibu Africa's Medical branch

Tabibu Africa Inc is revamping their medical branch. We will continue to hold community clinics and provide wellness checks on the students enrolled in our partner schools, but we want to focus on ways to truly empower those we serve to manage their health and wellness. We strive to better the lives of those we serve by providing the knowledge and skills they may need to maintain a healthy lifestyle as access to health care is greatly limited to most of the population we meet.

Good health and good sense are great blessings and Tabibu Africa Inc is working towards an all inclusive training course on hygiene, germs, first aid, and general health and wellness for the mind, body, and spirit as a means of ensuring those we serve are able to have all these blessings in their lives and the lives of their families.

With your support we are able to continue striving to make a difference as "Little Hands Making Big Differences" Asante Sana Rafikis. 

Education IS Empowerment

Education in Kenya is much different than what we in America experience. The school day starts around 7:30 AM and last until around 4:30PM, and teaching more than writing, reading, and arithmetic. They teach respect, grow curiosity, and instill values. Education is a very sought after privilege that is cherished greatly by those who get to obtain it. 

A public school system is not in existence and therefore education is not available to everyone. Typically the oldest child will go to school and then it's their responsibility to come home and teach every one else the lessons from that day. Those who get the opportunity to go to primary school may not be able to move up to secondary unless they pass the grueling exams and funding is available. 

Tabibu Africa Inc's in country director Fred, and his wife Alice, are the brains behind multiple operations; which are designed and created to educate and empower budding hearts and minds in rural and urban Kenya alike. Making an education possible for those whom otherwise would not have been able to have the opportunity. 

Their schools are numerous and growing exponentially as need continues to arise. Their passion and drive only increase exponentially to mirror this need they see.  

Their schools  include the following:

Candlelight Primary School in Nairobi

Kitale Peak Community School

Peak Senior High School - Secondary school in Kitale Peak Technical Academy - Vocational training in Kitale Candlelight Bible and Leadership College - a pastoral training offered three times a year for a diploma program that takes two years for completion.

Tabibu Africa Inc. proudly supports their endeavors in anyway we are capable of and your support of Tabibu Africa Inc increases our impact in the lives of those we serve 100%. 

Tabibu Africa's Goals for creating an EMPOWERING future!

 

As stated in our newly revised Strategic Plan Tabibu Africa Inc is striving to empower people to believe in themselves and their abilities. We hope to achieve this by maintaining ethically responsible practices that help build and empower those we serve in order to leave a self-sufficient community behind.

As an organization one of our biggest passions is empowering the people we serve. To host an empowerment course or self-sufficiency training and see the lights shine from the people we serve is the greatest blessing. To be able to inspire greatness and that thirst for knowledge and empowerment is truly one of the most rewarding things about the work we do. It truly embodies our motto of 'little hands making big differences'. We may each have only two hands, but working together to lift each other up, we have many, and that makes all the difference in the world. 

Recently a very brave Maasai woman, Nice Nailantei Leng’ete, was named one of Time’s Most Influential People.   Nailantei has made it her life’s work to help girls escape female genital mutilation (FGM) or "the cut", escaping the practice herself at just eight years old.

https://youtu.be/oaIuLnqgs84

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO). FGM is a ritualistic practice done as a right of passage, often when the girls (as young as three) are betrothed.

“FGM, for Maasai, is a rite of passage from girlhood to womanhood. Women are not considered women unless they have gone through FGM,” Nailantei explains, “FGM in my community connects to girls ending their education, with child marriage, and with teenage pregnancies. A girl is 10 or 12 years old when she undergoes FGM. Then she’s told she’s a woman, and that means she’s ready for marriage, and that means she has children. They all go together. I saw pain. I saw death. Since I was 7 years old, I used to attend these ceremonies in my community with girls undergoing FGM. I saw my friends leave school and get married. And I wanted to continue my education.”

Nailatei escaped by running away with her sister and hiding in a tree until the ceremony was over. She then became the first girl in her village to go to secondary school (high school).  When the other girls in her village saw her in her school uniform it inspired them to run away, seek help, and avoid the ceremony as well.

Nailate has helped over 15,000 girls avoid FGM and doing so made her a wanted woman in the region of the Maasai Mara. She then decided to take a different approach and received permission to share information about sexual health and wellness within her village. After four years of educating her village and community, the elders were convinced that the Maasai would be more prosperous if women were indeed able to stay in school longer, marry later and forego "the cut".

Though the elders in Nailate's village renounced the practice of FGM in 2014 the prevalence still remains very high amongst some communities such as the Somali at 94%, Samburu 86%, Kisii 84%, and the Maasa at 78%, according to UNICEF 2017.

Because of brave girls and woman just like Nailatei, FGM is decreasing. The media also continues to play an important role in highlighting FGM as an abuse of human rights. Social media and radio stations around Kenya and other countries stream programs enabling platforms for community dialogue regarding FGM, human rights, and even avenues to report FGM practices to local and national authorities. Safe houses for those running away and escaping FGM and child marriages have also been placed throughout the region thanks to non-profit and humanitarian organizations as well as Kenya's government.

Today let's highlight and stand for Nice Nailate Leng’ete and all of the brave girls and women who stand up to human rights violations and brave the terrifying obstacles before them. Because of them, countless girls will have access to education, safety, and a healthy life.

Ashe Oleng
Asante sana

Jody Tabibu Naritisho Mattena
President/Founder Tabibu Africa, Inc

Peace and Friendship...

Thomas Jefferson died in 1826, yet still his words hold meaning in our ever changing world today... 

200 years have almost come and gone since Thomas Jefferson spoke these words. During this time the world has known wars, tragedy, fears, and sorrows. Yet humankind lives on and there have also been 200 years of banding together, supporting one another, helping however one can, and loving the world. These stories may not have been on the news...but they are all around. Let's focus on those as we travel this road together. 

Peace and Friendship can benefit every relationship we possess. Whether personal or business in nature, whether long-standing or transient; imagine if kindness and compassion ruled the playing floor in them all.

Tabibu Africa Inc strives to incorporate Friendship, Respect, Compassion, and a willingness to Understand in all of our actions. We may not always succeed, but that is the path we pursue. I'd like to think Mr. Jefferson would approve...