OUR STORY
Our Story
Roots institute Centre was started with an aim of helping the less fortunate kids in the slum. It started with Seven Kids and later grew to more than Three hundred plus kids. Due to the high rate of poverty, crime recruitment, Drug Trafficking and Prostitution, Madam Mary who is the current director saw there was an urge to create a condusive environment to help this kids achieve whatever they need in life by giving an opportunity to be educated.
Nai Nami which is a social enterprise that gives opportunity to street and former criminals to earn a decent income by sharing. came in to the rescue when Madam Mary wanted to quit due to the high number of kids showing up in the institution and there was no enough resources to run the institution. for more info click on the name above.
Future4Kids came in which is founded by Edwin Groeneveld after his visit in kenya in September 2019. The organisation is aim at helping us to raise funds to built a permanent school that will reduce the number of street kids and help them attain education and a place to keep them off the streets. For more info click on the name above.
Constance Fromont who is the Implementation Lead came in September 2020 after her visit in Kenya and meeting with Nai Nami. She is Passionate in developing sustainable solutions to improve livelihoods of underserved communities, she finally decided to support the team to deploy a new cost effective organisation for the school and define its long term of vision.
Meet Our Team
Nai Nami Team (Kissmart, Cheddaz & Mrembe)
Kissmart & Cheddaz Founders (Nai Nami)
Nai Nami is a social enterprise with the aim to give youth from slums a sustainable future by enabling them to make an honest living through telling their stories. They guide tourists through Nairobi Downtown, telling tales of how to survive on the streets and sharing their incredible stories. Mrembe, Kissmart and Cheddaz have grown up in the street and part of Mathare Kosovo Community. Before Covid Pandemic, Roots Institute Center was entirely financed by/through Nai Nami.Their ultimate goal is to build a permanent school.
Madam Mary Akisai
Director / Founder (Roots Institute Centre)
Madame Mary is a well-known and respected figure in Mathare Slum. She is the pilar of the school. Recognized by the local authorities, the ministry of Education and trusted by the community, she started teaching kids in the street of Mathare Kosovo a decade ago. She used to be a social worker in Children’s home in Mathare.This is how she met Mrembe, Kissmart and Cheddaz back in the days
Edwin Groeneveld
Founder - Future 4 Kids
Edwin completed an education as registered accountant. During and after his study he worked at PWC, Ordina (Director finance & control), Conclusion (CFO), Novisourse (commissary) and Verhoeve (director and co-owner). At this moment he is doing interim assignments in finances. Edwin lives in The Hague together with his girlfriend, and he has two children (Kirsten and Tom). In his spare time, he plays soccer and he likes to travel. Within Future4Kids Edwin is in charge of the commitments of the foundation and the finances. Next to that Edwin maintains contact with the contact person in Kenia. He also promotes to get as much people as possible enthusiastic about the initiative.
Constance Fromont
Implementation Lead
Constance graduated from AgroParisTech (Msc Engineering – Agricultural & Food Industries) and Wageningen University (MSc Food Technology) in 2010. She started her career as an engineer in Mars Inc. (Petcare, Confectionery, Food) in which she had the chance to gather a multidisciplinary and international experience in the food industry – From R&D (product and technology development) to End-to-End supply chain (Manufacturing – Project Management/ Industrial Engineer/ Logistics – Warehouses & Distribution /Quality), from local to global role, from individual contributor to line manager. Over the years, she build a strong successful track record managing teams, projects, budgets (Up to 60 M€) and relationships in diverse environments. After 10 years, she wanted to put her extensive experience, technical capabilities and interpersonal skills to use in a more social and impactful environment. She met Nai Nami Team and Madame Mary in September 2020 . Passionate in developing sustainable solutions to improve livelihoods of underserved communities, she finally decided to stay in Nairobi to support the team to deploy a new cost effective organisation for the school and define its long term of vision.