Kenya native works to bring technology to homeland
“It takes a village to raise a child.”
Perhaps no one is more familiar with just how important that phrase is than James Mureithi. Mureithi is a native of a small village in Kenya that he left behind to travel to the U.S. and start a mission that will bring technology centers to Kenya.
With help from a Gilbertsville resident, Mureithi is on his way to making that dream a reality.
“I grew up in an extended, polygamous family with two stepmothers. My mom was the third wife. There were nine of us and nobody could go to school because of the high cost of education. It’s only me who went through high school and that did not come easy. I had to walk 3.5 miles every morning and come in the evening ... And that led me to think, ‘How can I be of importance in my fam-
ily? How can I transform my community?’ Along the way I managed to get good grades in high school, which provided me an opportunity to be sponsored by the government and I joined the university for four years,” he explained.
Mureithi credited one high school experience with his interest in helping his community. He explained that during his time in school, he had the opportunity to work with missionaries who came to Kenya to provide medical assistance. Mureithi missed school to be a translator for them and had the chance to improve his skills in English. When they left, they left him an email address to keep in contact with them, but Mureithi did not know where to begin.
“In high school I had not used a computer. I didn’t know how to email. So we had to go 45 minutes away from home and find out how to open an email. I entered a cyber cafe and there was a young lady there who was helping me to do everything . ... So that was what prompted me to say, ‘I really need to do this thing. How do I do it?’”
He then decided that his mission would be to assist others struggling to get an education, specifically in technology. Then he found Urban Promise.
“Urban Promise is an organization that looks at young leaders from Africa to create opportunities for them to come over into the U.S. and plan how they do their ministry. Then the leaders go through a masters program through Eastern University in kind of a partnership. Through that they are able to build up these resources to go back to Africa and start a new ministry or go back to existing ministries,” explained Mureithi.
Mureithi had applied to be in the program about seven years ago. After he applied, the organization took a hiatus because of government restrictions on travel and he was contacted about his interest in the program two years ago.
“I had always longed to be outside my country to get something more resourceful, like a fellowship. That’s why I kept on coming to Urban Promise International,” he said.
Through the program, Mureithi met Gilbertsville resident Darrin Wallace, who learned about the program through New Hanover Methodist Church, 221 Swamp Pike, Gilbertsville.
“When Urban Promise came there were maybe 20 people in the group,” explained Wallace. “They needed a place to stay overnight so one of our friends double-booked because they had some other plans and asked us if we would mind. We agreed to take Jim in and we just got to know each other in October. So it’s been so nice talking, learning about Kenya and the different experiences he had in Camden.”
As part of the program, Mureithi helped tutor children in Camden, N.J., while he developed his mission to bring technology centers back to Kenya. During that time, Mureithi was also able to meet with organizations and churches to share what he is looking to bring back home. During the first year, Mureithi prepared and brought awareness to the area about his desire to bring educational centers to Kenya. His mission was then approved and the fundraising was set to begin.
“In late January I get an email from Jim at like 10 o’clock at night and he says, ‘It’s happening, Urban Promise Kenya is born.’ I thought it was great, here’s this guy who comes all the way from Kenya to achieve his dream and he’s done it. Then he tells me they have to fund-raise. Now he has to go out and get that $60,000 he needs to get started,” said Wallace. “I decided I wanted to do a little more than contribute.”
Wallace worked to help Mureithi get the money through every channel he could think of. By April, in just over two months, the pair had raised the $60,000.
“Jim had to come up with $16,000 by the time he left in June just to get off the ground,” said Wallace. “And $60,000 was the amount he had to hit in his first initial year. We’re already at $60,000.”
Mureithi heads back to Kenya on June 1 where his wife and three-year-old daughter are waiting for him.
“I’m excited to see this program happen in Kenya and, if possible, it can be implemented in other places,” said Mureithi.
Those interested in donating can visit https://donatenow.networkforgood. org/upifellows and select James Mureithi in the designation option.