Ameena Project – Ameena Project is a unique opportunity to be intimately involved in something simple and unquestionably good.

We help provide equal access to education and nourishment.

Make a Difference

Ameena Project is a unique opportunity to be intimately involved in something simple and unquestionably good.

Make a Difference

The Ameena Project Difference: 100% of your contributions go directly to school operations in Kenya.

Make a Difference

We build lasting relationships.

Get to Know Us

Join us in NW Portland as we mark 10 wonderful years serving children and families in Kiang'ombe, Kenya

September 24, 2022 at 7 PM

10 Year
Anniversary Party

FOOD | WINE | BEER | CELEBRATION

Nourishment. Education. Hope.

2022

2020-2021

2019

2017

2016

2015

2014

2012

2011

2022

Marking a Decade of Nourishment, Education and Hope 2022 marks ten years since we welcomed the first students into Ameena Centre early education center. Today we are serving 133 students aged 2-8 years. This is our largest student body population and nearly 30% more than the average of our previous nine years. We are only able to feed and educate these children due to your faithful support throughout the past...

2020-2021

Pandemic response and community support During government-mandated school closures during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ameena Centre staff facilitated food supply distributions to student families and built a new structure to meet social distancing requirements. After a nine month closure, students and staff returned in January 2021. Donors’ generous support helped fund the extra food supplies, along with the personal protective equipment and campus expansion that guaranteed a safe...

2019

Campus Improvements Due to funds donated at our successful Portland fundraiser in fall of 2019, the Kenyan staff and Ameena Centre families were able to upgrade the playground equipment for our students to swing, slide, spin and enjoy. While less exciting for the kids, critical improvements were made to the campus, to include an upgraded fence, a new, permanent wall and a more secure and attractive restroom.

2017

Program Continues Fantastic Growth Grade 2 added to program. A total of 85 children enrolled at Ameena Centre led by 12 Kenyan staff.

2016

Building Expanded and Playground Added School buildings expanded to include Grade 1. Playground added to campus. Ameena Project board of directors visit school and holds community medical and dental clinic, staff development and training, and celebrates 5th anniversary with community. Two teaching interns transition to teaching staff.

2015

Piped Water Welcomed at Centre Piped water was added to the site. Teaching interns from local Kenyan colleges come to Ameena Centre.

2014

A Move for the Ameena Centre Kenyan government titled all land in the Kiang’ombe slum. Ameena Centre moved (literally, by hand) to the other edge of the community. Education Fund offered to core Ameena Centre staff. Community medical clinic conducted by Christian Isakson and Ian and Anne May.

2012

Over 50 Children Enroll Over 50 children are enrolled and received two meals per day in an engaging preschool education in a safe environment.

2011

Kiang’ombe Community Grants School Building to Ameena Project Village elders and local leaders, energized by the possibility for something positive in their community, offered Ameena Project the free use of their abandoned school. Located in heart of Kiang’ombe, the community-built schoolhouse had been vacant for years due to lack of financial resources.

The Ameena Project Origin Story

In 2009, Ian and Anne May uprooted their lives in Portland and moved to Kenya to manage a humanitarian project. In 2010, they welcomed their youngest daughter and named her Ameena, meaning “amen” or “let it be so” in Swahili. The dramatic disparity between the opportunities available to American children like Ameena, and so many impoverished Kenyan babies born at that same time, was something they could not ignore – they had to act. In partnership with passionate and gifted Kenyan early education professionals, they established Ameena Project to bring opportunity to Kenyan children. It starts with equal access to education and nourishment, and our commitment that each dollar donated goes directly to Kenya – for the teachers, staff, meals and educational supplies required to nourish, educate and offer hope for a better future.

Stories from Our Community

Kennedy

This young man is the perfect example of everything we hope to achieve at Ameena Project. Kennedy was one of our first students and finished the program successfully to enter the local school system healthy, eager, and ready to learn.

Isaac

Five-year-old Ameena Centre student Isaac had missed several days of class when the staff when to check on him one morning. When they arrived, they found Isaac near the body of his dead mother, who had suffered from an untreated abscessed tooth.

Gakuo

Gakuo is a village elder in Kiang’ombe. He’s lived there so long that he is a household name. Many years ago, Gakuo was severely injured in a vehicle accident and could not afford medical care, leaving him with disabling injuries.