Happy New Year!
As 2023 officially comes to an end, the Elimisha Kakuma team is grateful for all the support we have received from all of you. Our achievements through our journey together have been vast, and it is with the greatest gratitude that we have made it this far.
Check out some of our incredible accomplishments from 2023 below! Give yourself a pat on the back for the great work this year, and we look forward to continuing this journey with you into 2024 and beyond.
2023, The Year of Creating Access
March 2023
In March we recruited our 3rd cohort. In-person interviews were led by our board member Dr. Brett Shadle at our center in Kakuma Refugee Camp. Out of 300 applicants, 13 students were selected.
In-person Teaching
From May-June 2023, one of our amazing teachers, Anika Brennan stayed and taught Cohort 3 students at our center in Kakuma. She taught creative writing and academic writing, and helped students brainstorm their personal statements.
Summer 2023
2nd Cohort Students arrive at University!
Macalester University - 1 Student
Elmhurst University -2 Students
Calvin University - 1 Student
Czech University of Life Sciences - 1 Student
UC Berkeley - 1 Student
United States International University - 1 Student
Dalhousie University - 1 Student
Host Family Program
We launched our host family program! We are heavily involved in ensuring each student has a family at their respective university. Led by host-mothers Kristin Evenson and Karen Brennan, generous families have been showing up to host our students and welcome them into their new homes and communities.
Fall 2023, Our First Friendraiser in Minnesota!
Hosted by board member Rachael Jarosh, this event was incredibly well attended and with your support, we were able to raise $14,000. This money satisfied our budget through the end of 2023!
Macalester student Makol Chol speaks to guests at the Minnesota Friendraiser
College Visit
Professors from Rutgers University visited Kakuma Camp, and taught a Digital Storytelling course to our 3rd cohort. Here is an amazing article from Talking Eyes media about this visit, written by Julie Winokur, the co-founder of New Americans.
Rebuilding our Center
After a strong storm that destroyed part of our center, our security guard and jack of all trades, Nyok, helped rebuild the center, and it is better than ever. We are lucky to have Nyok as part of our team!
HALI Conference in Zambia
Elimisha Kakuma has officially become a member of the HALI Access Network! The HALI Access Network is composed of other university-access programs on the continent and “friends of HALI” who are university admissions representatives. This network supports programs like ours to connect, learn, and grow. In September, co-founder Deirdre Hand traveled to Zambia for the annual HALI Indaba. Read our introductory blog on their website here.
#GivingTuesday
With our community’s incredible generosity, we were able to raise $4,000 and put this money towards next year's budget! For the first time, we will be able to provide breakfast for our students for the entire year. The remainder of these donations are being allocated to one year’s pay for our facilitator Kiza who is on the ground, and stipends for one month for 14 students in our brand new 4th Cohort! #GivingTuesday
2023 Partnerships
Virginia Tech’s Center for Refugee, Migrant and Displacement Studies
Through this ongoing partnership, we were were able to onboard and work with 12 interns, many of whom worked one-on-one with our students
VT professors volunteered their time to teach classes such as Public Speaking, History of Mau Mau, Arts, Communication Skills, and more
Choose Love
Choose Love supported Elimisha Kakuma with a $10K investment for 2024. This will cover 8 months' worth of stipends for our 4th Cohort.
Global Mentorship Initiative
Elimisha Kakuma is now partnering with Global Mentorship Initiative, who finds mentors for juniors and seniors in university as they begin thinking towards life after university. As our first cohort is in its sophomore year, this new partnership will be instrumental in the next step for our students–finding jobs.
Rotary International
Elimisha Kakuma received a $24K Grant, funded by the Minnesota Rotary and led by Joshua Lee, President of Lakeville Rotary club. We are extremely excited for the building of a new tech hub that will begin in January. This new space is not only for our students, but will also be open to the Kakuma Community and will be a space where our students can continue to provide community service.
The PIE
Elimisha Kakuma was selected to be the Official Charity Partner for The PIE’s 2024 conference series! The PIE will be promoting Elimisha Kakuma to their attendees during four events in Australia, Boston, and London. Our co-founder Mary Maker was a keynote speaker at The PIE’s event in Boston this year, and we look forward to continuing the partnership into 2024!
Monday.com
Monday.com is supporting Elimisha Kakuma with a full product license of their project management software for the team to use. Further, they will be headed to Kenya early next year to train students using Monday.com products.
Could You
The president and CEO of Could You, Christine Garde, will be partnering with the Kakuma Empowerment Program led by our student Akon, a current sophomore at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Together, with 3rd Cohort student Nyandeng, they will be leading the initiative to bring menstrual cups to Kakuma Camp!
Hubbub labs
This marketing firm based in Barcelona will work with our marketing team to highlight Elimisha Kakuma’s story and create content with our students, helping bring awareness to our program.
Rise
Elimisha Kakuma students are working with The Rise Foundation to help recruit 15-17 year old Kakuma residents with community enhancement projects. These young people can apply to be selected as one of the 100 Rise Global Winners, a program offering need-based scholarships, mentorship, networking, access to career development opportunities, and the potential for additional funding.
