In the wake of COVID-19, Jonathan Jackson Foundation coined the Jenga Jirani Initiative (JJI) geared towards providing humanitarian assistance to households who are already living on the edge of hardship and acute hunger. Phase one of the JJI which ran from March to September 2020, supplied dry food, sanitary and hygiene products, and installed handwashing stations within Nairobi’s informal settlements. It successfully raised Kshs 25,500,000 that supported 9,613 households of vulnerable and underprivileged people, including critically ill persons and those with severe disabilities from Nairobi informal economies.
The JJI supplied approximately 2.1 Million meals translating to 230.82 tonnes of dry food within 6 0villages covering 7,480 kilometers. 74% of those households were female-headed, 20% were male-headed, while 6% were child-headed. On average, the JJI food package cost Kshs 1,800 and guarantees a family of five – three meals a day, for ten days. The success of the phase one of the JJI is vested on strong partnership it shared with the Kenyan Government, corporates, NGOs, and individuals including National Government, Kubamba Trust, Laja Trust, Light for the World, Team Pankaj, Spread Truth Africa, the Nairobi Business Compact on Coronavirus, Nairobi City Stars, and Lordship Africa.
Jonathan Jackson Foundation (JJF) is a Non-Profit Organization based in Nairobi and works as a Public Benefit Organization that serves Nairobi’s informal settlements in economic and social development. Jonathan Jackson Foundation has partnered with KUBAMBA Trust, an African Christian based youth organization, and has formed a subsidiary organization called Jenga Jirani Charity.
As of Wednesday 28th October we have distributed 2,011,950 meals of food, 230 tons of food, feeding 48,065 people and impacting 9,613 household and families.
Despite the successes achieved in the phase one of the JJI towards responding to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, many challenges remain. Addressing unemployment, food security, hygiene, and reproductive health and teenage pregnancies, is a core priority. Less privileged and needy families usually live hand-to-mouth and rely on informal day-to-day employment. They have no food reserves, so after months of containment measures, including partial lockdowns in some areas, their ability to cope has been stretched to the limit. The scare of contracting the virus is putting communities at a higher risk of hunger and preventing them from accessing protection services and social networks. Given the high rates of people forgoing food and experiencing a complete or partial loss of income, assistance must be prioritised to avoid a secondary humanitarian crisis.
Jenga Jirani Charity is working with Africa Centric Entertainment (ACE) and are planning to host one of Kenya’s most innovative virtual fundraising festivals dubbed “JENGA JIRANI CHARITY FESTIVAL” which will be held on November 7th and 8th 2020.
In the spirit of Jenga Jirani, we have had the pleasure of partnering with a range of international and local partners and sponsors to help curate and bring the Jenga Jirani Festival vision to life.
Lordship Africa is a leading international real estate development and investment company based in Nairobi, Kenya. Lordship Africa was founded by Jonathan Jackson. Having established itself as a leading emerging market expert, Lordship continues to deliver superbly designed award-winning real estate developments. Today, Lordship’s portfolio reflects the aspirations of a much broader range of investment opportunities, encompassing medium to large-scale mixed used schemes, of hotel & leisure, retail, residential and commercial developments, in Africa and Europe.
Jonathan Jackson Foundation is a non-governmental organization whose goal is to offer significant impact in disadvantaged communities by contributing to job creation and sustainable income generating initiatives. We initiate and scale up community projects and ensure tangible, positive impact and accountability on the ground for the community, our partners and stakeholders targeting specifically women and youth. We track, monitor, evaluate and ensure delivery of program success in all community projects we are involved in. This is because we are active on the ground and operate within the communities to ensure that the pledged and donated resources go towards project completion and that there is sustainability going forward.
Kubamba uses music as a tool to influence young people, to see the Kulture of the Unashamed rise up and get established. Everything that K-Krew does is laced with music. Music crosses cultures and borderlines. It brings people together regardless of their background or social status. It goes deep to connect with the spirit. We want to resonate with that part of our audience. Energetic, Hip, Creative and a Love for God and People is who we are.
AfricaCentricEntertainment (ACE) is a business consultancy, part creative, and part project management. A full spectrum brand experience agency helping to curate experiences from inception to finish. We conceptualize, manage and execute entertainment and experiential strategies for brands, connect brands with the right talent, and manage brand ambassador and influencer campaigns. We also organize some fun festivals!
Ogilvy Africa is the largest network agency on the continent, operating in 24 countries in sub-saharan Africa. Offering expertise in corporate branding, trade marketing, social media marketing, shopper marketing, crisis management, public relations, mobile marketing, creative strategy, digital marketing, brand management, integrated marketing, advertising and so much more.
Standard Media Group is a multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services, as well as outdoor advertising. Recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and international interest.
AMREF Health Africa is the largest Africa based international Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO) currently running programs in over 35 countries in Africa with lessons learnt over 60 years of engagement with governments, communities and partners to increase sustainable health access in Africa. Amref Health Africa also incorporates programme development, fundraising, partnership, advocacy, monitoring and evaluation, and has offices in Europe and North America as well as subsidiaries; AMREF Flying Doctors, Amref Enterprises and the Amref International University.
MediaCom is a successful media agency based in over 100 markets and believes that their success is underpinned by the belief of ‘People First, Better Results’ meaning that if we invest in our people, we’ll deliver better results not only for our teams but for our clients. As the trusted partner to more than 2000 brands globally, they are committed to keeping their clients at the forefront of a constantly evolving industry, whether that’s branding, performance or eCommerce.
Nairobi City Stars is an association football club based in Nairobi, Kenya. NCS is owned by Jonathan Jackson Foundation. They currently compete in the second tier Kenyan National Super League. The club was founded in 2001 as Kawangware United then renamed to World Hope Football Club in 2003 following the relegation of the original club.
Nusu Nusu is an audio-visual production company that is known for programmes like Mashariki Mix and East Africa Sportsline, run on M-Net and SuperSport, and corporate productions for clients like Safaricom and Coca-Cola. Bringing a wealth of experience and expertise, they take projects from conceptualisation to finished product, managing everything from script-writing, storyboarding and location scouting to filming, editing and sound finishing.