What is the Imani Project ?
The Imani Project has transitioned from an organization focused on HIV/AIDS education to one with a greater focus on the education and nutrition of our sponsored children and those attending the Mama Marlene Learning Center. Our mission is to empower all our children to become self-sufficient adults who become leaders in their communities.
Imani Project Board of Directors
Our All Volunteer Board
The Imani Project is a non-profit 501 (c)3. Our Board of Directors includes both Americans and Kenyans united in the desire to fulfill the mission of the Imani Project, maintain legal and ethical standards, and manage resources responsibly.
Kenyan Imani Project Local Support
The Imani Project is recognized in Kenya as a community-based nonprofit organization. The area it serves is in a rural region of Eastern Kenya, near the confluence of the Sabaki River and the Indian Ocean. The Kenya onsite directors are Thomas Rimba and Jessica Voti. The Imani Project office and the Mama Marlene Learning Center are located in the village of Misufini, Kalifi County, Kenya.
In addition to our onsite directors, the Malindi Rotary Club has assigned four members who are collaborating with us as volunteers. They help with the bi-monthly distribution by assisting in the selection and purchasing of food items and the actual distribution of items to the families.
The start of the Imani Project
The Imani Project began in 2004 when Marlene Anderson, a social worker from Portland, Oregon, first visited the Sabaki River delta on a birding expedition and met a young boy on the beach who introduced her to his village. Marlene saw the crisis wrought by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in rural Kenya: illness, death, poverty, and children without families to care for them. Determined to help, she returned, first alone, then over the years with volunteers. Today the Imani Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in Oregon.
Past Accomplishments
HIV prevention education in schools and villages (in English and Kiswahili)
HIV+ support groups
Wheelchair project for disabled children.
Birthing kits provided to lay midwives
Education about diarrheal disease, and its prevention and treatment
Medical supplies for local Community Health Workers
A composting toilet for two villages
Field plowing for HIV+ people unable to care for their own farms
Online program to provide goats, ducks and chickens to families in need
Sanitation resources during the COVID 19 pandemic.
Non-Profit Information
The American Imani Project was formed in January 2005 and incorporated as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in January 2008. It received the 501(c)3 U.S. nonprofit status in March 2007. Our federal ID number is 26-1682325.
P.O. BOX 82360, ZIP Code 97208-3437, Portland, Oregon, United States.