EMPOWERING YOUTH AT PENDO AMANI

Pendo Amani Youth Organization (“love peace” in Swahili) is a youth development center located in Juja, about nineteen miles north of Nairobi, Kenya. The director, Mike Wachira, is a long-time friend of the Komolion Fund founders and a talented artist.

View Pendo Amani’s 2025 annual report

Here is Mike’s description of Pendo Amani:

Goal

Our programs provide a platform to develop leadership skills and experiences for young people and enhance their civic role.

Approach

The leadership building program consists of different topics that enhance leadership skills and personal growth to support youth in their growth and continued development. Topics are delivered through seminars, trainings and events. We organize a year-round youth football league, music and dance sessions, and training in computer and media skills. We operate a learning center to help youth improve their academic performance. There is a Saturday book club in which students ages 11-14 read stories to each other. All the activities are conducted in a gender sensitive way in a volunteer-based setting and they combine both informal education and value based learning.

Impact

Pendo Amani programs have almost 1,000 annual participants. The Komolion fund and its mission teams have donated instruments and taught music lessonss to the children at Pendo Amani. The music and dance programs have been going very well. We host an annual soccer league championship each December, with more than 50 teams of both boys and girls each year. A new handball league for young girls in local schools has also been started.

The PAYO library, supported by the Komolion Fund with textbooks, supplies, and other learning materials, provided resources and study space for 554 students in 2025. Thanks in part to all the support PAYO provides, nearly all PAYO particpants who take the exams at the end of primary school achieve scores high enough to allow them to go to secondary schools.

For more information on Pendo Amani Youth Organizations programs and impact, check out their 2025 annual report.