Welcome to our 2024 Rafiki Gala!

Menus

PASSED APPS

Kuku Braai
grilled chicken skewer 

Matoke
stewed and fried sweet plaintain topped with cilantro dipping sauce

Kenyan Bajias
root vegetable chips with seasoning and tomato dipping sauce

Nairobi Samosas
chopped smoked brisket, potato, savory seasoning, roasted corn dip

DINNER MENU

Irio
smashed peas and corn

Pilau
spiced kenyan rice

Sukuma
collards braised in Stock

Nyama Choma
smoked beef with chapati and kachumbari

Kale Salad
dates, dried cherries, toasted coconut, citrus vinaigrette, red peppers, & ugali croutons

Curried Chicken Stew

Masala Chips
fried potato with savory rich tomato gravy

DESSERT MENU

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Salted Caramel Brownies

Mini Pumpkin Spice with Caramel Buttercream Icing

Wedding Cookies

Chocolate Flourless Bites - GF

French Macarons - GF

Tea & Coffee

Thanks to Our Sponsors

Anne and Jonas Beiler

Anne Beiler began twisting pretzels in 1987 to support the vision of her husband Jonas to offer free counseling services in their community. It grew into Auntie Anne's®. She now speaks to audiences worldwide, inspiring people with her authentic stories and life experiences. Her mission is to help women overcome the pain, blame, and shame of their past.

Event Auction Items

Thanks to all who generously donated these auction items!

Wall Hanging Baskets

Amsha and Azizi partner with rural Rwandans to bring fair trade beauty to your life and theirs. Artisans across Rwanda are hand crafting beautiful goods with a vision to lift their families out of poverty. With their fair-trade income, parents are caring for the health, nutrition, and education of their children. We are honored to share in the artisans’ visions for a better future by auctioning off these gorgeous wall hangings this evening. These handwoven baskets are crafted from natural sisal fibers threaded over a core of locally-gathered forest grasses. In addition to making a beautiful table display, these baskets can also be hung as art. 

Original Artwork by Agathe Bouton

Agathe Bouton is a French artist living and working in the Philadelphia area whose boundary-pushing printmaking and paper works exhibit influence from living and working in international cities across the globe. Through a modern approach to printmaking, Agathe Bouton makes monotypes, prints, installations, artist books, paper clothing, and paintings that play with improvisiation and superimposition in their creation. Bouton's work draws on engraving and etching techniques, and uses color that appears in different halftones, shades, and densities. Colors and textiles have always had an important role in her work because they create impressions of light, people, and pigment.

Phillies Tickets

Four Hall of Fame Club Level tickets to a regular season game in Philadelphia next year. The Hall of Fame Club combines upscale amenities with fantastic sightlines to provide a unique viewing experience for all fans. You and your guests will have access to the private climate-controlled lounges, upscale concessions, full-service bars and Cooperstown Gallery filled with one of a kind baseball memorabilia.

A Week in Florida: Luxury Home on Siesta Key

This is a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom newly built home across 2,292 sq ft on Siesta Key with private heated pool and pond view in a gated community. It has an open floor plan and a direct view through the screened porch to the pool and an 80’ lake. The open kitchen has Viking appliances, solid wood cabinetry, and quartz countertops. There is a furnished screened patio beside the heated spillover pool and spa which overlooks the fresh water lake. The home is 3 minutes from Siesta Key and 7 minutes from Siesta Beach. With its white sand and crystal clear water, Siesta Beach was voted #1 in the USA. 

Professional Photoshoot Package from Tessa Marie Images

Tessa has been a photographer for over 15 years. She started her business as a sophomore in college while continuing her Bachelor’s of Photography studies at Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. There, she learned sound technical ability while being stretched conceptually in the fine arts. She began her career focusing on portraits and weddings. But her studio, located in Lancaster County, now includes not only a portrait division, but a commercial division as well. She was hired as the Staff Photographer for Main Line Today Magazine in 2015 and has worked with businesses on the Main Line, in the Philadelphia and Lancaster region, and in the surrounding states as well. Her work has been featured in numerous publications, and she specializes in headshots, corporate, and portrait photography. She is also a Neema Board member and has taken many of the pictures you see in Neema’s publications. This package includes a portrait or headshot session by Tessa. 

tessamarieimages.com
tessamariecommercial.com

Sisal Bags

These bags are handmade from sisal fiber in Kenya and finished with tough leather handles and carved wood for closure. The striped patterns are made by combining sisal with blended wool. Making sisal baskets is a slow process; after removing the bark from the spiky sisal leaves, the fibers are then twined, dyed twice, and dried. Each weave is made with great care. It takes between two and three weeks to complete a bag and is traditionally crafted by elderly women. Occasionally a little bump in the sisal or a knot can be seen. This will not affect the purse’s durability, and it only adds to the charm of the craft.

A Week in a Luxurious Condo in Sarasota, Florida

Welcome to the Strand, luxury waterfront living with an outdoor heated communal pool, spa, fitness center, and a short drive from downtown Sarasota! This condo has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, for a maximum capacity of four guests. Enjoy your Sarasota stay in this newly furnished waterfront corner unit on the 4th floor of The Strand, with a private boat slip and lift (additional cost), heated communal pool and gym, a kayak launch, a dog run, 2x barbeques, elevator access, and secure community entry. It offers 1359 sq. ft. + 149 sq. ft. of terrace, with a beautiful view of the Whitaker Bayou and the beautiful park of the Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy!

Local Farm to Table Dinner for 4 by Chef Alex

Chef Alex Shimpeno will create a menu and will come to your home and cook a 3 course meal for 4 guests. Each course will be paired with a tasting of local craft beer or wine. A Downingtown native and graduate of Philadelphia's Restaurant School at Walnut College, Chef Alex brings 24 years of experience to the table. Serving Chester County and beyond, Alex's focus is creating amazing food served by great people to provide an outstanding experience to clients. 

“Lake and Pine” - 4 nights at a House in Lake Harmony, PA

This sunny, lakefront cottage includes its own private boat dock with sunset views and a sandy shore. Build your own adventure with a weekend kayak ride to Nick's Lake House Restaurant or the Thirsty Moose Saloon for live music, or hike the waterfall trail and boulder field at Hickory Run State Park. This package includes 4 nights for up to 12 guests (except holidays). House includes 4 bedrooms (9 beds) and 2 baths.

Car Enthusiast Package

This ultimate driving experience with Xtreme Xperience is for two adults. It includes riding full throttle around a racetrack with a professional driver AND gives you the chance to get behind the wheel of a car of your choice. This package can be used in one of the 40 available locations in the U.S.

Handmade Quilt - “Mtindo”

Designed by Jackie Ingram and pieced and quilted by members of the Mon Valley Quilt Club in Monongahela, PA. This wall hanging quilt is 50”x 63". Mtindo has many meanings in Swahili. It can mean fashion, style, and movement. This quilt was inspired by the beautiful clothing created by the Neema students. The dresses on the quilt are made from scraps left over from clothing made by the Neema students.

Special Thanks

Lola and Sese Abhulimen

Michael Abhulimen 

Gerald and MaryAnn Acuff

Agathe Bouton

Ken Coyle

Jackie Ingram and the Mon Valley Quilt Club

Josh and Daisy Isler

Anthony Kalume

Pat and Chuck Neral 

Theresa Newman

Ajit and Rita Sancheti

Melinda Snow

Leah and Dante Tasca

Kesh Witmer

Rachel and Steve Woodruff

& The Neema Team 

Featured Graduate: Naomi

Because you took action and invested generously in the hopes and dreams of the students at Neema, young women like Naomi have opportunities they never could have imagined. In our testimonial video this evening, you'll see just how much Naomi's life has been transformed!

"While at Neema, I gained dressmaking and marketing skills which has helped me to earn a living. Neema changed my perspective of life. Having dropped out of school due to early pregnancy, I thought life had come to an end since I was struggling to raise my child. But through counseling at Neema I accepted myself and gained hope again. I learned how to read the Bible and pray. I can even teach my children the word of God. When I came to Neema, I used to do manual work for us to eat. But after gaining skills at Neema, I started my business which has helped me to provide for my family."

Capital Campaign

Your generosity can restore and educate twice as many vulnerable women and children!

Through its first-ever capital campaign, Neema successfully constructed a new permanent campus in 2023, enabling the organization to double its capacity for young women, provide more optimal facilities, and establish itself as a long-term partner within the local community. 

Thanks to a generous donor’s loan, construction began earlier than anticipated. However, Neema still needs to raise 22%—or $120,000—of the $550,000 goal to repay it.

Why are young women in rural Kenya at risk?

Extreme material poverty disproportionately affects women, leading to their victimization. 

Long-standing traditions and beliefs, along with high levels of poverty, can be huge hurdles to overcome. In Kenya, girls are more likely to drop out of school than boys because of poverty, the burden of household chores and responsibilities, and insecure learning environments. These factors aid in the risks of early pregnancies, sexual abuse, and violence against women.

How does Neema empower young women?

Neema embraces a development model of restoration, education, and transformation. We provide a safe and nurturing environment for vulnerable young women (and their children) where, through skills training, trauma-counseling, and discipleship, they learn a trade, heal from their past trauma, and realize that they are valuable members of the community.

Becoming a member of the Grace Collective is about believing change can happen. As a monthly donor, you’re joining with us in the long-term fight to see the systemic problems of gender inequality and extreme poverty overturned so that opportunity can be unleashed for young women in rural Kenya. This won’t only change her, but her family and her community as well.

This is your personal connection to restoring and empowering a Neema student. Your monthly investment provides things like food, safe-housing, child care, medical support, uniform and clothing, and hygiene items. Becoming a Grace Partner also involves regular letter writing as a means of building a relationship with the young woman you sponsor.

We love to partner with businesses, corporations, foundations, and individuals. If this sounds like you, we’d love to connect!