Ukumbi is partnering with Tuitunze Jamii (TJ), a community-based, non-profit, non-partisan NGO committed to protecting the dignity, rights, and well-being of vulnerable populations in Kenya. TJ works to prevent gender-based violence, empower survivors, and foster socio-economic independence through integrated support services and community advocacy.

Together, Ukumbi and TJ are designing and building a Community Centre in Esonorua, a rural Maasai village in Kajiado County, Kenya. The local Chief and municipal authorities have allocated community land for the project, enabling us to move forward with the design. The centre will provide essential primary health care and vocational training facilities, including small-scale cultivation for domestic use. Access to clean drinking water being a pressing need in the village, a borehole will also be incorporated into the design.

In March 2026, Ukumbi's team, Saija Hollmén, Tuuli Kassi, and Jukka-Pekka Lehtinen, visited Esonorua to listen and learn. The joint team of TJ and Ukumbi held structured discussions with elders, women, youth, and people with disabilities, exploring their priorities and concerns for community development.

Across all groups, the most urgent needs identified were access to maternity health care and livelihood and vocational opportunities for young people. These priorities will shape both the programming and the physical design of the Centre.

In Maasai tradition, women are the builders of the home and the heart of domestic life, while men have historically focused on herding cattle as the family's primary livelihood. The new Community Centre will honour these indigenous construction skills, celebrating a living, sustainable building tradition and, in doing so, support Maasai women in taking ownership of the project and strengthening their agency within their community.

Ukumbi