You are Invited to Friends of JAMS’ 10th Anniversary Celebration!

Friends of the Jane Adeny Memorial School will gather at Faranda’s Banquets on Saturday, October 12th, 6-9 pm, to celebrate ten years of success. Plan to join us to enjoy Kenyan food, listen to music by Off the Vine, shop the Kenyan Fair Market, participate in a raffle for a beautiful quilt made of African Wax Fabrics, and bid on sponsors’ generous donations to our silent auction.

Celebrating Yesterday, Building for Tomorrow

When JAMS opened with just twelve students in 2011, the campus included eight buildings, no electricity, no computers, and limited classroom resources. Tanker trucks brought water from a nearby river. Today, JAMS serves 196 girls in fifteen buildings with campus-wide solar power, running water, computer labs, the Sparks Science Building, and a library with 10,000 books.  What a difference Friends of JAMS donors have made in the lives of these students!

The Resource Center not only houses the library with 10,000 books but also serves both school staff and students and the community. In addition to offices for teachers and administrators, the Resource Center’s community meeting spaces are popular with local residents and visitors. Over the past year, JAMS has begun hosting students from area elementary and middle schools, giving younger students access to the library and the science labs.

In addition to traditional studies, the girls’ education extends into the greenhouses, dairy, poultry building, piggery, and bakery, where they produce food for the school while learning sustainable agricultural practices and business skills.

Friends of JAMS donors also support extra-curricular activities in sports, arts, music, and debate. Below, the volleyball team practices for a regional tournament.

In 2024, Friends of JAMS launched a campaign to support sustainability initiatives that would improve JAMS’s ability to function efficiently and independently by providing its own electricity and biogas for cooking. Donors responded enthusiastically! By the end of July, solar panels, batteries, and controls had been installed across the campus and were providing electricity 24/7/365. Biogas is flowing to the bakery and kitchen, using plentiful livestock waste from the Tomkins Dairy at JAMS. Additional water conservation projects are being planned. From the cultivation of plants and animals and these environmental projects, students are learning sustainable agricultural practices which teach them skills and business practices which not only make their school operate, but can also be shared with their villages.

Friends of JAMS sent over $192,000 to the school in 2023 to fund scholarships, learning resources, buildings and facilities. The students continue to excel academically with 100% of them qualifying for higher education on the national exam over the past five years.

Now well-established and widely recognized for high quality education, JAMS plans to expand its enrollment over the next several years. A new dormitory is being constructed to accommodate the students. Friends of JAMS is raising funds for the dormitory, updated lab equipment and computers, and scholarships.

With your ongoing support, JAMS will continue to be “good enough for the richest and open to the poorest,” with at least 50% of students attending on full scholarships.

Come celebrate with us on October 12th to learn more about progress at JAMS and plans for the future. Your support will enable JAMS to build on its successes and grow to serve more students.

Buy your tickets today!

Faranda’s Banquets
302 Grove St, DeKalb, IL 60115

October 12, 2024
6:00-9:00pm

Tickets: $50 each or $60 at the door

Online: A Taste of Kenya

Checks: Send to P.O. Box 292, Sycamore IL 60178

Phone:  815-793-0950