Who We Are | Jamii Ajibika CBO

We work with young people, women, young mothers, caregivers and vulnerable households to address interconnected challenges affecting their ability to live healthy, dignified and resilient lives.

Our work brings together civic participation, youth leadership, nutrition, climate resilience, livelihoods, enterprise development, innovation and community advocacy.

We believe that communities should not only be recipients of development interventions. They should be the people identifying the problems, shaping the solutions, implementing them and holding institutions accountable for results.

Jamii Ajibika therefore works at the point where community needs meet practical solutions.

We listen to communities.

We build knowledge and skills. We create opportunities for participation. We demonstrate locally appropriate solutions. We support enterprise development. We connect communities with institutions and markets. And we document what works so that successful solutions can be strengthened and replicated.

Our current organizational model is intentionally youth-serving rather than membership-dependent. Young people engage through programs, enterprises, fellowships, mentorship, training and community initiatives.

OUR ORIGIN

From a Grassroots Concern to a Community Development Platform

Jamii Ajibika emerged from a simple but powerful grassroots realization:

Many communities do not lack ideas. They lack opportunities, resources, platforms and systems through which their ideas can become practical solutions.

Since its formation in 2017, Jamii Ajibika has grown from a grassroots youth initiative into a structured community-based organization working on practical community transformation.

The organization was formally registered as a Community-Based Organization in Nakuru County in 2021, strengthening its ability to organize, partner and deliver structured community interventions.

Our journey has been shaped by direct engagement with communities and by observing the realities facing young people and vulnerable households.

What we have seen

Young people with energy and ideas

Young people with energy and ideas but without adequate economic opportunities.

Young mothers

Young mothers struggling to rebuild their livelihoods while caring for children.

Nutrition challenges

Families receiving nutrition messages while still struggling to access affordable, diverse and nutritious foods.

Youth participation

Communities participating in public meetings but remaining insufficiently represented in decisions affecting their lives.

Agricultural constraints

Farmers and aspiring entrepreneurs interested in poultry and agriculture but constrained by knowledge, feed costs, capital, markets and practical technical support.

Do not stop at identifying the problem. Build a practical pathway towards a solution.

VISION

Empowered youth and communities shaping healthy, resilient, and accountable societies.

This vision is anchored in the organization's 2026 Constitution.

MISSION

To empower youth and marginalized communities through civic education, nutrition-smart enterprises, climate-resilient livelihoods, mentorship, and policy advocacy—enabling inclusive participation, economic dignity, and community well-being.

OUR OBJECTIVES

Jamii Ajibika works to:

Promote youth empowerment, leadership development and civic participation.
Advance nutrition security and sustainable livelihoods through community-based and climate-smart innovations.
Strengthen social accountability, public participation and policy advocacy at community and county levels.
Support vulnerable and marginalized populations to achieve dignity, resilience and well-being.
Build institutional capacity for effective service delivery, partnerships and sustainable impact.

These objectives are formally established in the organization's Constitution.

OUR CORE VALUES

Integrity & Accountability

We promote responsible use of resources, transparent decision-making and accountability to communities and partners.

Equity & Inclusion

We seek to ensure that vulnerable and marginalized people are not left behind.

Innovation & Resilience

We encourage communities to test, adapt and develop solutions suited to their realities.

Collaboration & Teamwork

We believe lasting community transformation requires partnerships.

Civic Responsibility & Service

We promote active citizenship and a culture of contributing to community well-being.

These values are reflected in the organization's constitutional framework.

OUR ORIGIN — WHY JAMII AJIBIKA EXISTS

From a Grassroots Concern to a Community Development Platform

Young people

We have seen young people with energy and ideas but without adequate economic opportunities.

Young mothers

We have seen young mothers struggling to rebuild their livelihoods while caring for children.

Nutrition

We have seen families receiving nutrition messages while still struggling to access affordable, diverse and nutritious foods.

Participation

We have seen communities participate in public meetings but remain insufficiently represented in decisions affecting their lives.

Agriculture

We have seen farmers and aspiring entrepreneurs interested in poultry and agriculture but constrained by knowledge, feed costs, capital, markets and practical technical support.

We have therefore chosen a different approach:

This philosophy has progressively shaped Jamii Ajibika's work in civic engagement, youth leadership, nutrition advocacy, climate action and livelihoods—and ultimately the development of the Diet Bora Program.

Communities are facing interconnected problems—not isolated problems.

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1. Youth economic exclusion

Many young people have skills, ambition and willingness to work, but face limited access to:

practical enterprise skills;
startup resources;
mentorship;
markets;
business networks;
financial literacy;
productive assets;
leadership opportunities; and
meaningful participation in decision-making.

For vulnerable young women and young mothers, these barriers can be even greater.

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2. Nutrition insecurity

Nutrition is not simply about knowing what constitutes a healthy diet.

A household may know that children need diverse foods and adequate protein but still lack:

purchasing power;
reliable food production;
nutrition-sensitive livelihoods;
access to affordable protein;
practical nutrition knowledge;
household decision-making power; or
reliable links to health and community support systems.

The challenge is therefore both knowledge and access.

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3. Expensive and vulnerable agricultural systems

Small-scale poultry and agricultural enterprises can provide food and income, but producers often face high production costs, particularly feed costs.

This reduces profitability and discourages young people from entering or expanding agricultural enterprises.

Jamii Ajibika therefore explores locally available and climate-smart alternatives—including cricket, azolla and locally formulated feed systems—to reduce dependency on expensive conventional inputs.

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4. Climate vulnerability

Communities increasingly need livelihood systems that use resources efficiently, reduce waste and remain viable under changing environmental conditions.

We believe climate action must be connected to people's everyday economic realities.

For us, climate resilience means helping communities develop livelihoods that can feed families, create income and withstand environmental pressures.

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5. Limited youth voice in governance

Young people are often the largest demographic in communities but may have limited influence over decisions concerning:

public resources;
county budgets;
development priorities;
food systems;
employment;
health;
agriculture; and
community services.

Jamii Ajibika works to move young people from being observers of development to active participants in shaping it.

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6. The gap between awareness and action

Communities are frequently trained, sensitized and mobilized—but training alone does not necessarily change livelihoods.

Our experience has taught us that:

Awareness must lead to skills.
Skills must lead to practice.
Practice must lead to enterprise.
Enterprise must lead to income and resilience.
And community voices must influence the systems around them.

This is the thinking behind our integrated approach.