Life is a journey and I have many milestones to celebrate at this time.

Kijana has now been a central element of my life for more than a third of it. Kenya has been a part of my life for 60% of it. On September 4, Kijana will turn 21. I will turn 60 on September 21, and this upcoming January, our Kijana Global Innovation School will turn 4. I entered the sacrament of marriage, with Ebby Shiroya a little over a year ago and was recently named a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS: www.iadas.net), "a network of over 2000 intellectually diverse members, helping to drive the creative, technical and professional progress of the internet." So, much to celebrate and be grateful for.

If you are receiving this, you have played a role in my journey, either as a mentor, family member, student, neighbor, colleague. friend, fellow traveller in the formative Kenya experience, partner in community efforts, or ally in some endeavor. Thank you for connecting.

Please join me in celebrating this landmark time period by contributing to Kijana. I am grateful for all of you who have challenged me, encouraged me, supported me or partnered with me through the peaks and valleys of life. Together, we have accomplished much. In high school, in Doc Mannebach's English class, I remember reading "No Man is an Island," by John Donne (which by the way we will celebrate the 400th year anniversary of next year) and that has stuck with me:

'No Man is an Island'

No man is an island entire of itself; every man 
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; 
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe 
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as 
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine 
own were; any man's death diminishes me, 
because I am involved in mankind. 
And therefore never send to know for whom 
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

-John Donne, 1624

You are all part of my story and thus part of the Kijana Global Innovation School, which now enrolls over 175 students who are exploring, discovering and innovating in a caring and sharing environment. Our students are learning music, the arts, exploring the outdoors, reflecting, learning karate, swimming, soccer and more. They are delving into academic subjects in a collaborative fashion and playing with their friends and partners to become life-long learners and actors and agents of a better world for humans and other animals and plants of our planet.

Help me use this marker as a spur to another impactful 21 years, so when the Kijana Global Innovation School turns 25, in 2045, we will have an institution whose story will be remembered as long as John Donne's poem (originally published in 1624) for it's powerful impact on thought and humanity.

The life voyage continues. Thanks for being on the boat with me.

Please contribute so that these young people can have as many opportunities to grow and explore and discover as we all have. Let's share our blessings.

With tremendous gratitude,

Jim Cummings

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Celebrating Life's Milestones as I turn 60!

By Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative

Celebrating Life's Milestones as I turn 60!

Help push Kijana forward as Kijana turns 21, I turn 60 on the 21st of September and recently celebrated a year of marriage. Additionally, I recently was named a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.