Ruben Centre's Impact in 2021

 

Established in 1986, Ruben Centre is a community organization that provides direct services and development programs to the residents of the Mukuru community in Nairobi, Kenya. The Brighton Jones Richer Life Foundation supports this work by inviting members of our community to join us in visiting and partnering with the Ruben Centre team.

RUBEN CENTRE’S YEAR IN A NUTSHELL

Health Care

The clinic has made a tremendous impact on the local community’s health and wellness. It was established as a COVID-19 vaccine center and has administered 4,275 vaccines. In response to both the nation and county’s historically low vaccine adoption rates, the Ruben Centre implemented a Rapid Response Initiative (RRI) to provide vaccine and nutrition education with an intentional emphasis on the benefits of vaccines for children under the age of five. Through these educational initiatives, the Ruben Centre was able to provide vaccines to 8,994 children with measles and 35,792 with polio.

Additionally, this past year, the clinic…

  • Treated 28,192 patients

  • Served 121,253 individuals in some form

  • Assisted 1,142 laboring mothers, bringing the maternity unit’s cumulative total to 3,665 since its inception

Schools

The primary school, which has supported 3,083 students to date, continues to struggle with its current teacher-student ratio as the students still largely outnumber their teachers. The school is seeing great success in several areas including their feeding program, which has provided improved nutrition to 159 children, and the physiotherapy and occupational therapy services provided to the children by Ruben Centre’s clinic.

The RISE Program

RISE is the educational enrichment program that Brighton Jones has partnered with Ruben Centre to fund and support since 2019. This past year, the program has been able to support child development and nurture their talents through several different initiatives:

  • The local orchestra worked with the Ruben Centre to organize a book drive to help stock the school’s library

  • Morning aerobics dance sessions are conducted in the center hall ensuring each student has an opportunity to participate in the physically and mentally engaging activities.

  • The school has a team of 40 students enrolled in gymnastics which trains twice per week with instructors.

  • 50 students regularly participate in the Young Farmers Club, carrying out different activities such as planting trees and gardening

  • In response to some private schools closing due to inefficient management, leaving registered candidates without a place to take their national exam, the Ruben Centre provided a space for those candidates to sit for their final exams

  • The art room continues to be a popular location with Teacher Chris leading workshops in modeling, printmaking, sculpting, and more

Advocacy

The Ruben Centre partnered with like-minded organizations to commemorate holidays promoting positive health, such as International Mental Health Day, and host activities around suicide awareness and prevention. Through their Ruben 99.9 FM radio show, which celebrated its five-year anniversary on December 3rd, the Ruben Centre was able to spread positive messaging and organize events such as the annual football tournament whose theme this year was Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) awareness. The radio station continues to be a relevant source of information in the Mukuru community and is currently the most trusted resource regarding COVID-19.

Social Economic Empowerment through Education (SEETE)

Economic empowerment is as important to the Ruben Centre as promoting positive health and wellness. In 2021, the SEETE program helped women develop skills in the following areas:

  • Baking (44 women)

  • Catering (33 women)

  • Beauty Therapy (11 women)

  • Microfinancing for business owners (45 women)

Human Development and Skills Training Program (HDSTP)

The core pillar of the Ruben Centre’s philosophy is empowering the Mukuru people. Historically, this initiative has included training locals in the production of highly marketable artifacts - such as shawls, vikoi’s, African shirts, and table mats – and encouraging them to participate in the Nairobi Trade Fair. The Fair was closed in 2020, but it reopened this past year and actually expanded its range to include the East African Confederation of Micro and Small Enterprises Organizations (CMSEO). The Ruben Centre sent two representatives to Mwanza, Tanzania to participate in this new rendition of the trade exhibition. 

Urban Farming

A 2020 Lemayian Trip member was able to help secure grant funding from a local community organization with a focus on eliminating hunger. With the aid of these additional services, the Ruben Centre now has more than 300 birds and fish in their expanded program, which they’re generating income from. Their vegetable gardens have also seen some expansion, but the main benefit they’re providing is farming education for various community members, but mostly for the 4K Club at the primary school.

Staffing

The Ruben Centre is proud to announce they’re currently 107 team members strong.

Endless Gratitude

Ruben Centre sends their sincere thanks to the community of support that has blossomed at Brighton Jones. We look forward to continuing this work together in 2022 and beyond.

Do you have questions for Ruben Centre or the Brighton Jones Richer Life Foundation? Would you like to get involved or learn more about becoming part of our community of support? We’d love to hear from you at philanthropy@brightonjones.com.  

By Chris Moreton, an advisor in Brighton Jones’ Seattle office

 
 
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