Our History

Vito Moja (“one gem” in Swahili) was founded in 2015. Deborah formally registered Vito Moja, Inc. as a 501c3 non-profit for Kenya missions and volunteerism. Deborah, a native of Kenya, emigrated to the U.S. in the early 1990s, leaving behind her impoverished village of Embu where she grew up, but promised to return.

Throughout the years, she established a successful business in the United States and has since returned to Embu to serve as a role model and community organizer for her home village residents. She continued the mission, and in 2007 she began working alongside her children Jasmine and Eran Maina.

-In 2013, Deborah, Jasmine, and Eran began taking groups of friends. She led them to Kenya to participate in their mission projects, including providing food and supplies to orphanages, hospitals, and schools, hosting a youth basketball camp, building a community library, improving a dilapidated primary school, and many more.

-In 2015, with a growing community of support and interest, Vito Moja was governed by a Board of Directors and supported by an Advisory Board of community leaders, professionals, and business owners all dedicated to the common cause of Vito Moja – improving the lives of children and families in Kenya.

-In 2019, Vito Moja increased its reach to incorporate rural health and wellness by sponsoring the Vito Moja Health Scouts Program, started by Eran and medical student Scott Perkins.

Vito Moja and its volunteers offer hope in the disadvantaged villages of rural Kenya. Statistics reveal that children in these villages abandon school at concerningly high rates due to hunger and/or preventable illnesses. Many families have lost their loved ones from HIV/AIDS, mental health, cancer, and other unknown diseases. Vito Moja works with the youth to encourage them to take charge of their lives through education. We do this by addressing their situations and then improving their access to resources like libraries, school fees and uniforms, and learning materials. 

Vito Moja creates youth activities and brings community members together to help them take action, generate solutions to common problems, and eradicate poverty in the village. Lack of education and poverty go hand-in-hand. These affect every part of a person's life, including physical health, socialization, sanitation, finances, and lifespan. By working with children, schools, and communities, Vito Moja works hard to improve learning, lower poverty levels, and increase good health in villages. Also, Vito Moja provides vocational access to affordable free clothing, blood pressure measurements, temperature check, and health awareness brochures and materials through the Vito Moja Health Scouts program.