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Housing and homelessness

Community health

Mental health

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Legal help and rights

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The Collective Workshop

Royal Animal Refuge

Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta

Georgia Advancing Communities Together

Atlanta Writers Club

Cobb Collaborative

Bosleys Place

Jewish Fertility Foundation

Jeffrey Okoro

Beth-Ann Kutchma

Dr. Samson Radeny

Denis Kithinji

Mediatrix Tuju

Yunus Mohamed

Nathan Ruto Kipkoech

Lorraine Kaithia

Gerald Mongare

Lawrence Kipyegon

Robert Kiage

Rye Barcott

Salim Mohamed

Tabitha Festo

Calvince Oindi

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About

Informal settlements

#CFKAfrica friends in North Carolina, join us for a special 25th Anniversary Happy Hour at Steel String Taproom in Carrboro on Tuesday, October 6, from 5:30–7:30 PM! Meet three members of our Kenya team visiting Chapel Hill, hear more about CFK Africa’s 25-year journey and our work empowering young people in Kenya’s informal settlements, and connect with the community that continues to make this work possible. 10% of sales from the evening will support CFK Africa’s youth programs. Come raise a glass with us and celebrate 25 years of community-led impact. #CFKat25 #CommunityLed #UNC

Every organization has a founding story. Ours began with a nurse who refused to close her door. Tabitha Festo turned $26 (KES 2,000) into a small business, then used what she earned to open a clinic in her home in #Kibera. When people asked why she saw patients at night, her answer was simple: "People don’t stop getting sick at night." In 2001, Tabitha co-founded #CFK Africa, alongside Salim Mohamed and our Board Chair Rye Barcott. Twenty-five years later, that same conviction still shapes our work: healthcare in informal settlements must be close, affordable, and available when people need it. This week, we celebrate #TabithaFestoWeek. Each day leading up to her birthday on September 24, we’ll share how her legacy lives on at #TabithaMaternityHome, where care continues around the clock. #CommunityHealth

#CFKAfrica is hiring a Clinical Services Manager to strengthen the delivery, quality, and coordination of our clinical services for communities in informal settlements. We’re looking for an experienced health professional who can support strong teams and help ensure patients receive safe, responsive, and reliable care. Apply here: https://ow.ly/jcep50ZOyZH #Hiring #ClinicalServices #WorkWithUs

#CFKAfrica, in partnership with @bic.kenya, visited Genesis Joy Academy in Mathare for a pen distribution initiative supporting learners in informal settlements. The engagement brought together students, school leadership, local administration, and partners for an afternoon centered on education, opportunity, and the power of learning. This partnership has grown over five years, reaching 400+ schools and more than half a million learners, with an ambition to contribute one million pens to support learning across informal settlements. For us, this is what partnership looks like: practical, consistent support that helps learners stay equipped, encouraged, and ready to keep going. #EducationForAll #PowerfulPartnerships

Are you a strategic communicator who can turn impact into stories that move people? #CFKAfrica is #hiring a Communications Manager in our US Office to support storytelling, visibility, and engagement for community-led change in Kenya’s informal settlements. Apply: https://ow.ly/pKis50ZFCL6

Are you passionate about building strong youth programs and connecting young people to opportunities that help them thrive? #CFKAfrica is hiring a Youth Development Network Director to lead and strengthen our youth development work across informal settlements. We’re looking for someone who can support program growth, build meaningful partnerships, and help create pathways for young people to learn, lead, and build better futures. Apply here: https://ow.ly/sQHc50ZFCzy #Hiring #YouthDevelopment #YouthEmpowerment

#CFKAfrica is hiring a Communications & Media Manager to strengthen media engagement, storytelling, and visibility for community-led impact in informal settlements. Apply here: https://ow.ly/54tp50ZFBCF #Hiring #MediaJobs

Are you passionate about equipping young people with practical skills for work, business, and long-term economic independence? #CFKAfrica is hiring a TechCraft Manager to lead and strengthen our skills development work with youth in informal settlements. We’re looking for someone who believes in creating real pathways to employment, entrepreneurship, apprenticeships, and digital opportunities. Apply here: https://ow.ly/GJym50ZFAY1 #Hiring #YouthSkills #EconomicEmpowerment

Join us October 10 for CFK Africa’s inaugural benefit in Charlotte as we launch Still, I Rise: Stories of Resilience from Teenage Mothers in Kenya’s Slums, celebrate 25 years of shared impact, and help shape what comes next. Tickets available now: https://cfkbenefit.givesmart.com/ We proudly recognize @sefreightlines as a Changemaker Sponsor. Thank you for supporting our mission to empower youth across Africa's informal settlements. Limited sponsorship opportunities are still available! Please reach out to nelia.verano@cfkafrica.org. #WeAreTogether #CFKAfrica #CFKat25

Yesterday, #CFKAfrica staff met with Dr. Ross Boyce, Dr. Raquel Reyes, and Dr. Joy Noel Baumgartner from the @uncschoolofmedicine and @unc_ssw to explore potential research partnerships around malaria prevention, youth mental health and development, and how these areas connect with our five-year strategic direction.These discussions highlight our growing ties with UNC, which span from fellowships and student engagements to potential research collaborations that enhance our response to community priorities in Kenya. #UNC #PowerfulPartnerships

“When resources are limited, the passion doesn’t have to be.” ⚽ From balls once handmade with sisal and nylon to the footballs young players use today, the materials may have changed, but the meaning of the game has not. For generations, football has given young people a place to belong and grow through mentorship. The next generation is already on the pitch. Our goal is to make sure talent has the opportunity to go further. #SportForDevelopment #YouthEmpowerment

The energy for this year’s #InternationalDayoftheGirlChild was felt throughout the community. #CFKAfrica joined girls, families, and partners, including @superbcbo_official and @womens_link, for a full day of activities, movement, and conversations centered on girls’ rights, safety, and opportunity. We were also glad to welcome Tina Ogal from @radiocitizenfm, whose presence helped carry the conversation even further. Days like this matter because girls should be given the space to shape what comes next. #GirlsEmpowerment #EndChildMarriage #CommunityVoices

Thanks to @uncpublichealth, Patsy Polston, and Suzanne Maman for inviting #CFKAfrica’s Kenya team to join the HBEH 250 Public Health in Action class. Our CEO Jeffrey Okoro, accompanied by Joy Barnice and Siama Yusuf, shared lessons from our work in Kenya, including how we engage men in GBV prevention and why trusted community health advocates are critical to reaching families with health information. The discussion reinforced a lesson we see every day: community-led public health works best when it builds on existing trust, from community health advocates to landlords and local leaders who ensure that information, referrals, and support reach people faster. #UNC #PublicHealth #PowerfulPartnerships

#CFKAfrica's 25th Anniversary celebrated the achievements of young people from various programs, including #GirlsEmpowerment, #Sports, #BestSchoolsInitiative, #LuxSitJimRogers, and the broader communities we serve. In these photos are learners, athletes, young mothers, scholars, mentors, and community voices, offering a glimpse into the 200,000+ youth impacted by our work over the years. For 25 years, our story has been shaped by young individuals with dreams, courage, talent, and the determination to keep moving forward. Seeing them together reminded us of the importance of this work and how the future is already taking shape within our communities. #25YearsOfService #YouthEmpowerment

"We built it, with this community, not for it." 25 years of locally led youth development and public health services. Thank you to everyone who has helped us reach this milestone. Support CFK Africa in its next chapter connecting one million youth across East Africa to jobs, to mentors, and to each other: https://cfkafrica.org/donate/ Tuko Pamoja 👊🏾 #LocalLeadership #PublicHealth #YouthEmpowerment

A summer visit to Kibera came full circle in North Carolina! 💫 At our #CFKat25 Happy Hour, Kyle Winters (@an.unc.at.unc) and Josh Markotich from @unchussman, who visited #CFKAfrica during their July summer immersion, had a chance to reconnect with CEO Jeffrey Okoro and members of our Kenya team. Moments like these remind us how visits can grow into lasting connections across communities and continents. A big thank you to Steel String Taproom for hosting us, and to everyone who joined us to celebrate 25 years of CFK Africa. #UNC #PowerfulPartnerships

For Siama Yusuf, this work is personal. Her own experiences as a teenage girl shaped a career spent standing with young women, many of them survivors, and helping them see that what happened to them does not have to define what comes next. That is also what she hopes Still, I Rise leaves behind: “I want it to be remembered as a reminder that teenage mothers deserve dignity, not judgement.” Changing a girl’s future also means changing how families and communities see, support, and stand with her. #StillIRise #CFKAfrica #GirlsEmpowerment

During @epicfoundation’s visit to Kibera, one message came through clearly: supporting a young person well means looking beyond one need at a time. Our partners met the people behind #CFKAfrica’s work and saw how we connect health, education, and opportunity, using data to understand what young people need to thrive. That whole-child approach was one of the clearest takeaways from the visit, and we continue to strengthen it with communities at the center. Thank you, Epic Foundation, for walking alongside us on this journey. #PowerfulPartnerships #LocallyLed

What a night in Charlotte, North Carolina! 🌍 This past weekend, #CFKAfrica gathered friends, partners and supporters for Arms Around the World, marking 25 years of locally led impact and the US launch of Still, I Rise: Stories of Resilience from Teenage Mothers in Kenya’s Slums. Co-editors Siama Yusuf, who leads our #GirlsEmpowerment team, and Charlotte Barcott shared the story behind the book and why creating space for teenage mothers to tell their own stories matters. Congratulations to The Sall Family, recipients of CFK's 25th Anniversary Arms Around the World Award and Brett Bullington, recipient of a Lifetime Board Achievement Award. Over the next five years, we aim to grow our youth development network to reach one million youth across East Africa. To everyone who joined us, supported the celebration, and helped make this milestone possible: Asante! 📖 Get your copy of Still, I Rise: https://cfkafrica.org/still-i-rise/ Proceeds support CFK Africa’s Girls Empowerment Program. #CFKat25 #StillIRise

We were glad to welcome friends from Covenant Presbyterian Church to #CFKAfrica in Kibera. Their visit created space to spend time with our teams and communities and see how our work continues to grow across health, education, youth development, and girls’ empowerment. Longstanding relationships like these matter because they carry shared history, trust, and a continued commitment to walking alongside communities as priorities evolve. Thank you, Covenant Presbyterian Church, for visiting and for continuing to be part of CFK Africa’s journey. #PowerfulPartnerships

What happens when young boys are included in conversations about dignity? Through #CFKAfrica's Girls Empowerment Programme, we distributed dignity kits to boys during mentorship sessions at Shadrack Kimalel, Olympic Primary School, Stara Kids School, and Saviour Kings. Beyond the kits, these sessions create opportunities to engage young people, share knowledge, and support their well-being as they navigate adolescence. Empowering young people means ensuring they have the resources, knowledge, and support to grow with confidence!

For many young people, sport is where confidence, discipline, and leadership first begin. ⚽ #CFKAfrica is hiring a Sports Manager to lead and strengthen our sports programming with youth in informal settlements. We’re looking for someone who understands that more than play, sports is a pathway for mentorship, inclusion, opportunity, and community change. Apply here: https://ow.ly/j5Ut50ZFB4h #Hiring #SportsForDevelopment #YouthEmpowerment

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For many young people, sport is where confidence, discipline, and leadership first begin.