A Kenyan teacher is making a mark in the United States of America by running a centre that is inspiring the black community.
Julie Weche is the founder and owner of Elimu Tutoring Centre in Baltimore, one of the most populous cities in the US state of Maryland.
Weche teaches Swahili to the black community with over 15,000 Kenyans living in the city benefitting from her lessons.
The teacher of Swahili went to Kenyatta University in Nairobi prior to advancing her studies at the University of Maryland and Alberto University in Canada.
She then started her career as a high school teacher in Kenya before relocating to Botswana where she worked as the director at the University of Botswana Early Childhood Learning Center.
With her deep passion for working with children and a wealth of experience, Weche settled for Baltimore as her next course of life.
She incorporated a driving school dubbed Elimu Driving School under her Elimu Tutoring and Training Center in June 2016 in an expansion plan.
However, in 2020, her Elimu Tutoring Center was shut down by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan after the pandemic broke out.
Hogan ordered all nonessential companies to close to save on revenue. He built makeshift hospitals in Baltimore and channelled millions of dollars to cushion small businesses.
The closure took a toll on Weche's centre forcing her to produce masks to remain afloat.
"The pandemic affected us so badly. We went on a complete shutdown. We had an empty building and we did not know what to do."
"On March 15, 2020, the government shut down all nonessential business and we were one of them. They considered us as nonessential because our services came after school tutoring. We used to pick children and tutor them and our services were hampered by the closure," Weche stated.
At that time, her centre had also stated a community initiative that was also adversely affected by the effects of the pandemic. Weche with the support of her husband, Tom Mwaura, reached out to the Kenyan community living in Baltimore.
The community launched a fundraising drive dubbed Okoa Elimu Programme. In two weeks' time, the community raised and surpassed the target of Ksh3.5 million ($32,000) helping the centre get back to its feet.
"I actually started selling masks but that could not sustain the centre because the lease was ending and the landlord was on the verge of kicking us out. So we reached out to members of our Kenyan community and decided to start OKOA Elimu Programme which raised $32,000 in two weeks," she noted.
Due to restrictions and containment measures enforced by US President Joe Biden's administration, Elimu Tutoring Center redefined its operation model and adopted online classes.
"In September 2021, when virtual learning began, one parent reached out to me and asked how can we help. She pressured me that she had to go to work and her children have to go to school. I researched online learning and embraced it," Weche noted.
After the government allowed it to resume full operation in June 2021, the centre embarked on hosting low budget events such as weddings and fundraising for the Kenyan community-based in Baltimore.
According to Weche's husband, Mwaura, plans are underway on registering the centre as a fully registered non profit organisation.
