Celebrating 15 Years of Amani ya Juu!

We are proud to announce that this summer marks Amani's 15th anniversary! It has been an amazing journey, and we are excited to continue growing and learning about creating peace through sustainable development, empowering women, and working together. To commemorate this momentous occasion, we will be highlighting various aspects of our work and history for the next few weeks. To kick it off, here a few photos from Amani's past. Enjoy a stroll down Amani's memory lane! KENYA The original center in Nairobi, Kenya... [caption id="attachment_593" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="The front side of Amani's original chapel in Kenya"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_594" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Inside the old chapel in Kenya"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_595" align="aligncenter" width="350" caption="Tie and dye back when it was a much simpler operation (Kenya)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_596" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="An early photo of the Amani ladies in Kenya"][/caption] Fast forward to the Pamoja House... [caption id="attachment_635" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Amani's Pamoja House, the lovely building where Kenya's different departments are housed. Pamoja means "together" in Swahili. "][/caption] [caption id="attachment_636" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Ladies working in the Pamoja House"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_637" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Scaled up tie and dye operations"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_638" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="More customers means dying more fabric!"][/caption] Just a few of the beautiful faces of Amani... [caption id="attachment_598" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Goreth, Burundi Country Director, trains in Kenya before returning to her homeland"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_599" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Maggie, one of our well loved shop keepers (Kenya)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_600" align="aligncenter" width="252" caption="Josephine, a long time member of Amani Kenya from Congo"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_601" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Fidelia training on the expresso machine at the Garden Cafe in Kenya"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_602" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Keleme, one of the many beautiful faces to have graced Amani over the years (Kenya)"][/caption] A look at a few "vintage" Amani products... [caption id="attachment_603" align="aligncenter" width="255" caption="The original Amani kikoy dolls"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_604" align="aligncenter" width="319" caption="The Nyama Choma (Roasted Meat) Apron (Kenya)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_606" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Classic Tote (Kenya)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_607" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Sunglasses Cases (Kenya)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_608" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="An earlier versions of Christmas stockings (Kenya)"][/caption] Amani Watoto Highlights [caption id="attachment_609" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Over the years we have hosted many Amani Watoto kids camps (Kenya)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_610" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Recording the Amani Watoto song (Kenya)"][/caption] RWANDA [caption id="attachment_612" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Becky Chinchen, Amani's founder and Executive Director, works with some of the founding members of Amahoro ava Hejuru, a sister center in Rwanda"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_613" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Sharing a meal at Amahoro ava Hejuru (Rwanda)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_614" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Dying fabric (Rwanda)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_615" align="aligncenter" width="350" caption="Jeanne and Beata (Rwanda)"][/caption] BURUNDI [caption id="attachment_616" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The women of Amahoro ava M'ijuru, the Amani center in Burundi"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_617" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Goreth, Burundi Country Director, is a mother to many!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_618" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Burundi's fun Market Totes with wooden handles"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_620" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Greeting visitors (Burundi)"][/caption] LIBERIA [caption id="attachment_639" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Our newest sisters in Liberia"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_621" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Some of the new ladies working together in Liberia"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_623" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Angelique finishing up a Betty apron "][/caption] [caption id="attachment_640" align="aligncenter" width="302" caption="Sporting a Betty apron and cooking lunch for the women at Amani Liberia"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_624" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="The future site of Amani Liberia"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_625" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Final walk of the models at the Sankofa fashion show (Liberia)"][/caption] WASHINGTON, DC [caption id="attachment_641" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The Amani DC staff in front of the shop in 2008"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_643" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Inside the Amani DC shop"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_644" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Julia shows off the DC warehouse"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_645" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Mary, a friend from Kenya, came to play in the DC shop"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_646" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="The DC staff enjoy a visit with Becky Chinchen, Amani's executive director and founder"][/caption] ... That's all, for now. Thanks to everyone who has given Amani their support through the years. It's been a blessing to reflect on the last 15 years and think about the people we have partnered with and the ways we have grown and changed.