​Who we are?

J​Jump Rope Association of Kenya (JRAK) is an inspiring nonprofit organization based in Nairobi, dedicated to empowering youth through the sport of rope skipping. Established in February 2010, JRAK started in the slums of Kibera and has since expanded, welcoming diverse young individuals, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or background. Their mission is to leverage professionalism, physical literacy, and rope-skipping skills to tap into the creative potential of young people, fostering both personal and social transformation.
JRAK is focused on character formation, leadership development, and building life skills among its participants. By using rope-skipping as a tool, they aim to cultivate physical, social, emotional, and spiritual intelligence, providing young people, particularly girls between 6-18 years old, with the necessary tools to navigate life’s challenges and develop self-sustaining economic skills.
The organization emphasizes growth through discipline, mentoring, and educational opportunities, and its impact extends beyond physical training. JRAK is committed to preparing its young members for a brighter, more self-sufficient future while engaging with the complex socio-economic realities of their communities.

​Vision

​We envision a community-based generation of youthful change-agents formed to develop and spread jump rope training skills to positively impact people’s lives.

​Mission

To use physical literacy and rope-skipping skills as leverages for mobilizing, harnessing and transforming our youths’ creative potential so as to inspire them to become better individuals through education, participation, creativity, and hard work.​

​Objectives

We aim to:

• Lead the sport with a focus on diversity, innovation, gender equality, promotion, and sustainability by providing the best trainers.
• Jump at – God-given opportunities to expand the sport nationwide.
• Jump in – to foster self-awareness and enhance skills in self-expression.
• Jump through – life's challenges by utilizing rope skipping techniques as tools for creative engagement and positive responses to adversity.
• Jump with – diversity by offering opportunities for bridging differences, transforming conflict, and embracing cultural exchange through international exposure.
• Jump over – life’s hurdles by instilling responsibility in children and youth, empowering them to take charge of their choices and avoid a victim mentality, ultimately benefiting society.
• Jump for – others by nurturing a spirit of other-centeredness, developing individual creativity within a team dynamic, and promoting the value of teamwork.

​Jump Rope Association of Kenya’s Values/Core Principles

• Diversity through acceptance of differences as a unifying element.
• Inclusion through participation without regard to nationality, ethnicity, or gender.
• Innovation through creativity, particularly by athletes, that enables the sport to evolve and grow.
• Promotion through elevation of the profile of the sport, particularly as a lifelong skill and activity.
• Sustainability through emphasis on provision of systems and programs that will continue to be in place for future participants in the sport.

​What we do

In order to achieve our objectives, we engage in the following activities

1. Jump Rope Sport Development
   • We train, develop and participate in the world jump rope championship organized by the county, national regional, continental and international jump rope organizing bodies.
2. Awareness Raising programme
   • We engage in social development campaigns such as support for children rights, eco-stewardship, healthy child eating habits, and obesity awareness, SDG’s and Elimu Endelevu educational accompaniment.
3. Jump Rope mentorship programme
   • We mentor young leaders through school-based mentoring programmes, dada for dada initiatives [sorority initiatives], Talitha kum initiatives [ men for girl’s initiates]and fraternity role models
4. Uwajibikaji Kwa Jamii Initiative [CRS]
   • We engage in corporate social responsivity [ uwajibikaji kwa jamii initiative] through visits to children homes, visit to children in adult prisons, youth participation in conflict transformation
5. Jump Rope Volunteer Programme
   • We Mobilize volunteers and support group to collaborate in local, national and international jump rope initiatives
6. Partnerships and Networking Programme
   • We form partnerships with, funding, media and learning institutions in the development, support and spread of the sports
7. Sportstainment Programme
   • We develop sports-based entertainment as a tool for fun, healthy living, family bonding and arts for justice initiatives
8. Jump into Leadership Programme
   • We liaise with leadership training organization to train our skippers in grassroots leadership skills

​Our Projects

1. Annual Jump Rope championships
   • County jump Rope championships [ Makini school Nairobi- April 2020]
   • Jump Rope training workshop [Makini August 2020]
   • National jump rope championship [Mombasa-January 2020
   • World Jump Rope championships [ Ontario Canada -May-June 2020]
2. Elimu – Educational Accompaniment Programme
   • School kids Academic progress monitoring and evaluation [ April, august. December 2020]
   • Parents-mentors sustained dialogue programme [ august 2020]
   • Academic subsidy initiatives [ April, august. December 2020]
3. Afya Imara Programme
   • Cancer awareness campaign [ Feb. 1-4 2020]
   • Schooled-based obesity campaign [October 11 2020]
4. Eco-stewardship Project
   • Anti-plastic straw campaign
   • Tree planting campaign
5. Elimu Endevelevu: Educational Accompaniment Programme
   • Academic progress monitoring and evaluation
   • Parents mentors dialogue
   • Academic subsidy initiatives

​Historical Background

​Jump Rope Association of Kenya (JRAK) is an offshoot of Carolina For Kibera Sprinters Jump Rope Program, an organization that sought to utilize sports to promote youth leadership, gender equality, community development, and ethnic cooperation.

In the year 2009/2010 in the month of February, the rope skipping program was introduced to East Africa by Michael Williams Fry who is the founder of an organization called “One World One Rope” (OWOR), together with a team of Jump Rope Volunteers from the USA.  He had been participating in this sport for the last 16 years. The sport was first introduced in the year 2009 in Tanzania before being introduced to Kenya in the year 2010.

Mr. Fry engaged a number of local volunteers from Kibera in a one-week TOT training. After the training, a recruitment drive was initiated with an aim of engaging interested participants within the same community. Given that rope skipping is not a new venture, the kids were excited and intrigued at the sight of Michael Williams Fry skills set in rope skipping as this sport was predominantly known to be for young girls. The combined team then moved from one village to another in an intensive recruitment drive and creating awareness about the sport.

After a month, a team of nine members had been recruited among whom was only one boy. The nine were trained for four months before they left for the Inaugural East Africa Jump Rope Competition and Camp held in Mombasa at Agha khan Academy. The Kenyan team faced hard but healthy competition from Tanzania jumpers. The team was accompanied by five volunteers as the instructors.

Under the leadership of the first Head coach and JRAK President Mr. Innocent Nyang’ori, the sport grew and expanded rapidly as the four trainers worked tirelessly to see the sport gain recognition as a national sport. This great work has found its continuation under the leadership of the current President and Head coach Mr. Omondi David Okoth who has found great support from team Manager Mr. Leonard Omollo who is also the Director of Makini school sports Academy. There are a number of schools that are now undertaking this sport, for example, Nairobi Waldorf, Passenga high school, St. Anthony claret Shanzu Mombasa and Makini school.

Achievements​

• ​Registered the sport as a national sport. Under the name, Kenya Jump Rope Federation which still headed by the JRAK Team
• Attended four East Africa Jump Rope Competition cum Camp. Three of them being held in Kenya and one in Tanzania. All these, our Kenyan team have been doing remarkably well.
• Attended three World Jump Rope Championship/Camp, held in Washington DC and Twice in Florida. The 2014 Jump Rope team had one of the best performances in all championship attended
• Sent representative for Jump rope workshops to both South Africa and Paris in France.
• Gained International status with the following bodies: world jump rope federation, FFDD, SAGF, JDDF and one world one rope.
• Participation in previous World Championships including attaining a bronze team medal (behind USA and France) in the most recent World Championships
• Two of our members have got an educational scholarship in Makini School thanks to Jump Rope skills
• We have organized several charity programmes with the Kenya women prisons and the Kajiado children’s home
• We have organized a family bonding session with Kenya Airways
  
  

How you can get involved and partner with us
Through our strategy of “support our community services initiatives to support our programmes”, we seek partners who can share their giftedness and resourcefulness to support our contribution and services to the community  from which then we  can sustain our programmes

You can get involved in:

• Elimu Endelevu/Educational Accompaniment Programme
  By contributing towards our social responsibility programmes like visits towards eco-consciousness and health awareness campaigns, the proceeds can be rechannelled to subsidize education support to some of our team members
• Annual Jump Rope championships
  In view of the Annual Jump Rope Championships, you can be part of the larger Jump Rope family that helps in fundraising towards meeting part of the traveling and accommodation costs for the international jump rope championships
• No-waste by Sharing: Re-use of Sports-kits and equipment
  The Jump Rope team also require team equipment like sports shoes, uniform, and ropes. You can join in the collection and shipping over of used sports materials which will go a long way to help the team
• Sharing the gift of self
  You can also volunteer your time and expertise during your holidays to visit and enrich the members of the team by sharing your skill sets. For example, we can organize medical camps from which Jump Rope team can use their skills to mobilize people for services
• Mentor a Skipper
  You can also support our mentor-ship programme by choosing to accompany a skipper in the process of jumping over the hurdles of daily lives through the sharing of experiences through the empathetic journey with
  • Dada for dada initiatives [girls uplifting girls initiatives],
  • Talitha kum initiatives [ men uplifting girl’s initiatives]and
  • fraternity role modelling [Men uplifting Boys]
• Adopt a Skipping Event
  We organize several Jump Rope Training workshops where several skills are taught- to support one of these initiatives, you can adopt one of the events by adopting and fundraising for the events
  • Roped into meal- sharing of meals with the less fortunate
  • Roping hope into prison- Sportstainment in correctional facilities
  • Roping dignity – campaign against early child marriages
  • Ecological jumping events.
• Letters of Inspiration
  In order to be a source of hope and inspiration to our team, we can facilitate the exchange of inspiring letters through which one can accompany a family or a member through trying moments