Jipe Moyo Centre

The name Jipe Moyo is meant as an invitation, and also a call to people in Musoma diocese and generally in Mara region, to stand up for their rights, to rebuild their dignity and to fight against violence against children.
Jipe Moyo Centre is a devoted child rights protection organization that was established in 2001 and is currently under management of Immaculate Heart Sisters of Africa – IHSA. The center operates as a children's home, creating a central protection and retreat for vulnerable children withdrawn from FGM and other forms of vulnerability or violence such as child marriage, rape, torture, child-headed families and negligence.
We strongly insisting on positive behavioral change to children and community members by upholding child rights. For more than 20 years, we plan and implement our programs using a rights based approach.
Jipe Moyo Centre is known as an institution working to transform inequalities for children in Mara region, next to Lake Victoria.

The center is registered as follows: Women in capacity building organization, Act 2002 with registration N 10NGO/00007118 in Mara region. 

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Our Vision is to have a society that upholds child rights.
Our Mission is an organization established to promote child rights

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OUR CORE VALUES

Accountability: We take personal responsibility for using our resources efficiently, achieving measurable results, and being accountable to supporters, partners and clients

Ambition: We are demanding of ourselves and our colleagues, set high goals and are committed for improving the quality of everything we do for children and women.

Collaboration: We respect and value each other, thrive on our diversity, and work with partners to leverage our strength in making a difference for clients.

Creativity: We are open to new ideas, embrace change, and take disciplined risks to develop sustainable solutions for and with clients.

Integrity: We aspire to live to the highest standards of personal honesty and behavior; we never compromise our reputation and always act in the best interests of children and women.

Respect and Appreciation: We treat everyone with respect and appreciate individual differences.

OUR PURPOSE
We strive for a just community that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We engage people and partners to:
i) Empower children, young people and communities to make vital changes that tackle the root causes of all forms of child abuse, violence, exploitation, exclusion and vulnerability.
ii) Work with children and communities to prepare for and respond to violence against children and to overcome challenges associated with child protection
iii) Support the safe and successful progression of children from birth to adulthood.

Our overall aim is to protect children and to offer them safety and a sense of security. Many children in Mara region are at the mercy of harmful traditions and different forms of violence such as female genital mutilation, early marriage, domestic work, child labour and sexual commercial exploitation. Especially girls are defenceless against those injustices; from which they are suffering their entire life. Jipe Moyo Centre tries to assist in the process of rebuilding their dignity and their self-esteem. We put all our efforts on giving them new hope and a perspective for the future they deserve. Everything we do is always in the best interest of the child.

Children’s Home
The shelter is the largest and the most unique part of the Jipe Moyo children program. It forms a central refuge and retreat for most vulnerable children. Children are placed at Jipe Moyo Centre’s shelter by the request of the social welfare officers in order to be protected.
Recently, the shelter is accommodating 54 children (12 children being boys and 42 children being girls who are accommodated at available two hostels i.e boys and girls hostels respectively). Children at the shelter range in ages from 2 to 20 years.

Why children’s Home?
i) A safe place where children are protected against any form of violence. The children get regular meals including all needed nutrients for a proper growth and development.
Furthermore, they receive medical care such as regular check-ups and treatment.
ii) Jipe Moyo provides an environment where they have the freedom of being a child again. They play, laugh, sing, draw, do sports (visit the Climbing For A Reason  section on the website) and dance together, but also get the chance to rest and refresh their minds.
iii) By establishing clear rules, we teach the children a responsible way of living. They get
educated in their rights but also in their duty of contributing to the community.
iv) We focus on an access to education because we think gaining knowledge is the most important step towards a better future.
v) Through carrying out regular school visits, we ensure that each child is actively engaging in school and that they are receiving the assistance they need to succeed.
vi) While staying at the shelter all children receive individual as well as group counselling. They learn a respectful interaction and get empowered to solve problems in a peaceful way. The children are free to express themselves, their challenges and their needs at any time.
We assist them in recovering and rebuilding a sense for their dignity.

Vocational Training
Some of the girls who come to Jipe Moyo haven’t had the opportunity of attending school before. The result is, that they are too old for the expected educational level. Enrolling them into primary school would be ineffective. Because it is our core value not to give up anyone, we formed a personal adapted support.
Vocational training to girls is the door to independency and shows them that they can make a living on their own after they have been reintegrated into their households and community in general. In that way we prevent them from falling back into vulnerable situations that they were withdrawn from.
What we do cover with vocational training students at Jipe Moyo.
i) Teach tailoring (craft skills)
ii) Teaching entrepreneurship skills (Both in theory and practical form)
iii) Life skills
iv) Simple mathematics for managing their business in future

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PROGRAM APPROACH AND INTERVENTIONS

Child Centered Community Development: through working with children and community, we cooperate with government and non – government bodies to meet students in schools, parents and caregiver groups, teachers, school committees, local governments, and community based child protection networks with intention of protecting children from violence.
Working with partners: Jipe Moyo Centre maintains its good terms with the current exiting partners and keep struggling for adding more partners. Comprehensive capacity development plans will be developed with these strategic partners, in consultation with them. Capacity development will be focused on both technical program competencies and organizational capacity.
Influencing government: Jipe Moyo Centre maintains strong relationships with relevant government bodies from a village governments to ministries and their decentralized structures.
Strengthening organization’s accountability: Jipe Moyo Centre listens to the community and children regarding the efficacy of our work and take on board their feedback. We will also continue to implement partner’s participatory program reviews that aims at providing feedback to our innervations.

STRATEGIC METHODOLOGY

Strengthen networking
Organize regular meetings with different stakeholders to identify problems, constraints, solution, best practices, share knowledge and lesson learnt.

Recovery and Rehabilitation
Contact relevant stakeholders to identify and rescue children and women from abusive situations, and transfer to the shelter. For the shelter, Jipe Moyo accepts children only. Provide victims with basic needs, psychosocial counseling, formal and non-formal education, life skills training and vocational skills training. Conduct needs assessment and case plan for each of our beneficiary.

Reintegration and follow up
Conduct family assessment to identify and contact with beneficiaries’ families in order to discuss and assess the current situations in the household and community, e.g. what they could do after Jipe Moyo support. Conduct reconciliation between the children and their families, if they are found ok, Jipe Moyo recommends them to reintegrate to live with their family.

Operational and Management System
Preparation of an annual staff training plan that is tied to the expected outcomes including; ongoing review / audit to ensure policies, staff structure and appointments are providing the best standards of care and putting clear management and personal development programs.

INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES
Recently, Jipe Moyo Centre is running the following income generating activities:-
i. Poultry keeping (287 Chickens)
ii. Zero grazing project with two cows
iii. Two fish ponds with 1,500 fishes
iv. Green vegetable garden

You can choose to sponsor a child with a donation of $20 per month ($240 per year) [Click here to sponsor a child], or you can just donate the amount you prefer, to help the center on its projects.

HOW TO DONATE:
To make it easier and to have money all in one place, we are using a crowdfunding made by Lucho, founder of Climbing For A Reason,  that can collect donations in the safest way.

If you are willing to create your crowdfunding, please feel free to take the one already existing and put money on it: this is the best thing to do to avoid loosing money on taxes.

Please remember that 100% of the money collected will be transfer to the sisters running the center (except for currency exchange fees). In order to keep your trust, we will post updates on the projects funded.

Click here to donate

Do not hesitate to contact us if you would like more information.