TUJILISHE EMERGENCY FUND

ABOUT US

Tujilishe is a Swahili word that literally means “let’s feed ourselves”. It is a short-term community-driven emergency feeding programme grown in response to the CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) pandemic. The programme will provide vital foods and non-food items to identified vulnerable families and individuals living on less than $1 a day in Gachororo village, Juja Constituency, Kiambu County, Kenya.

A former student at Mahindra United World College in India, Mario Konyen Joseph recently founded the TUJILISHE feeding programme to help feed most vulnerable as result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Gachororo village – a place where he spent 6 years of his life as a refugee after he fled the then war-torn Sudan (now Republic of South Sudan).

As an emergency feeding programme, the aim of TUJILISHE is to provide food and other essential items to support the most vulnerable. Your donation will provide:

FOOD: maize/corn flour, wheat flour, beans, sugar, high-energy biscuits, rice, vegetables, salt, cooking oil,
NON-FOOD: soap, masks, sanitizers, hand-wash stations, gloves
ADVICE: Education regarding social distance, reduced travel, personal hygiene and obeying curfew regulations  

Our project will benefit the most vulnerable within the community:

-Children from the poorest backgrounds
-Elderly and needy (those from over 65 yrs of age)
-Urban refugees from war-ravaged South Sudan and Somalia
-People living with disability 
-Unemployed youth 
-Needy students from disadvantaged backgrounds

Depending on what we raise, we hope to support 40 families and 500 individuals 2-3 times a week for 3 months. 
It will cost about £10 000.

OUR TEAM

Our team is made up of 35 dedicated volunteers. We will identify those needing help, inform the community of the recommended government advice regarding COVID-19 and deliver food and essential items to our community. To maintain social distancing, our food deliveries will be done either by foot or motorbike.

Our founder, Mario Joseph, holds an MA in Development Economics from the University of East Anglia (UK) and over 15 years of post-master’s experience in working for the advancement of refugees’ empowerment, programme management, and economic/development policy formulation.

In between 2017 and 2019, he worked with the South Sudanese Civil Society Forum (SSCSF), particularly on the IGAD-led High Level Revitalisation Forum (HLRF) to end the conflict in South Sudan as a Technical Advisor to the Delegates that represented the Forum in the peace process – a process which led to the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).

ABOUT GACHORORO 

Gachororo village is located in Juja Ward in Juja Constituency, with a population size of 34,000. It’s about 35 kilometres north of Nairobi. Many of Gachororo's residents are some of the neediest people in Kenya who depend on menial jobs on a day-to-day basis. There is a significant proportion of young unemployed people. There is also a small population of urban refugees from war-ravaged South Sudan and Somalia.

IMPACTS OF COVID-19

In Kenya, on the 16th of April 2020, COVID-19 virus had infected just over two hundred and twenty-five people and taken ten precious lives. The number of new cases of infection goes up on daily basis. 

The Government of Kenya has responded through various measures some of which include night curfews, lockdown in the Greater Nairobi area, social distancing, self-isolation and 14-day self-paid compulsory quarantine. 

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF LOCKDOWN 

While the government measures stated above are critically important to curb the spread and escalation of COVID-19, they have severe unintended social, economic & psychological consequences to our community. 

Amongst those worst-hit are the poorest of the poor (those surviving on less than $1 a day) like the urban refugees, street children, elderly, people living with disabilities, HIV/AIDS and students from poorer backgrounds. 

With severely curtailed hours of business operation, many people working in Gachororo such like the bodaboda riders, cyclists, mama wa mboga (women selling groceries at the roadside), bartenders and juakali sector workers (those in the informal building & construction sector) are struggling to make ends meet as their income has completely dried up.

SUPPORT FROM WELL-WISHERS

We’re in a desperate situation as more and more people in Gachororo face tougher economic circumstances as their meagre income dries up due to COVID-19. We would greatly appreciate any kind of donation to help us support those worst-affected.

HOW TO SUPPORT US

All donations through this page will be transferred to Mario Joseph, the Programme Coordinator in Kenya and used to purchase the food and non-food items for vulnerable families and individuals living on less than $1 a day in Gachororo village.  

HOW TO CONTACT US:

Email: [email redacted]

Thank you for making a difference in the lives of many less fortunate ones!