Filamujuani

Filamujuani: Teaching vulnerable youth to tell their stories and earn income through film-making

Filamujuani is a combination of two Swahili words – Filamu, meaning films, and Juani, in the sun. Loosely translated, it means "Films in the Sun".   Filamujuani began in the year 2008. It came about from a passion to help eliminate poverty creatively- by teaching young people how to tell their stories using video and photography. We believe that telling your own story is not only cathartic, but also uplifting and a life skill worth having.

We have turned this passion into reality by having after school programs on weekdays and weekends to teach our students all aspects of film-making and photography- writing, directing, video production, editing, etc.  As they hone their skills, students get jobs working for T.V. shows, producing documentaries and commercials, and doing photo shoots.  The money they earn from this work allows them to pay their way through high school and college or other post-secondary training program of their choice. Students who have stayed with the program have received training in many different fields including accounting, public relations, and video production, to name a few.  More than 100 students have gone through the program; we would love to have the capacity to serve 100 more.

2015 has been an exciting year for Filamujuani students as we have expanded our capacity to work with students through a contract with MNET, a major cable network in Nairobi, to produce 4 seasons of a TV show called "One in a Million".  We are interested in further expanding our programming to include audio production.  Would you consider giving to our organization to make this a reality?  Thank you.

Teaser for "One in a Million"- TV show on Kenya's MNet cable network