SENIORS IN ACTION

JUDY PITT

Definitely, a senior in action - using talents and resources to positively impact a village. With a passion for Africa and a desire to help, Judy Pitt, founded a non profit corporation, she calls Kazi Yake (Swahili for “His Works”) in order to help serve the people of Africa. Judy works in real estate in Colorado and would say that dealing with the unique issues surrounding seniors is her specialty. She has a sister in Southern California, and in the spring she will lead a men’s group from California into the Western Province of Kenya for a work project.

Pitt takes teams of about 20 people to Africa twice a year. Since 2003 she has made 8 trips to Africa and 7 of them specific to Kenya. “We have built churches and put roofs on buildings. We work primarily with widows and children”, says Pitt. “Due to the violence - these people have nothing, and we came to realize one of their biggest problems was finding clean water to drink.” As you might imagine...Pitt’s latest goal is to build two wells in the area. Each trip allows her to work with locals teaching good farming practices, how to protect the water supply and more importantly she trains midwives about neo-natal and postbirth care. She’s also raising money for a hospital.

“We brought them books about birth and childcare. Midwives from four generations have never seen a book. But, a baby was born recently and that baby was saved because of information in that book,” says Pitt, who also holds classes on pre- and post-natal care. Judy states, “My real estate career allows me to do the work in Kenya that I am passionate about. When I sell a home, I visualize how a need in Kenya can be met.”

After her first visit, she meet Shem Okella, a Kenya native. Pitt’s “Kenyan brother,” is convinced after the eight trips Judy Pitt has made that her work is destined to be bigger than the occasional trip. Judy plans to retire in Kenya. It is her motivation. “Every time I meet a person, I tell the story of children who die of hunger, malaria, typhoid, cholera.”

Additionally, Pitt plans to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro – she may very well turn this into a fundraiser and take pledges in favor of her efforts.

Judy Pitt is driven, focused and maintains that her life is simple. This is how I can concentrate on making life better for the people in Kenya.

“I want to bring water where there is none. I want to bring a clinic to a place where children die every day from diseases because they do not have clean water.” Her mind, heart and passion are in the east African nation of Kenya. We encourage you to keep track of her progress by checking out the website at www.kaziyake.org.

FREE CELL PHONE TRAINING

LEFT: OASIS member and Baldwin Hills resident Denise Robinson receives a free 20-minute, one-on-one cell phone training session from AT&T’s Joseph Price at the Baldwin Hills OASIS Center in Los Angeles during the OASIS Connections “Get Connected” Cell Phone Class. RIGHT: OASIS member and Baldwin Hills resident Ola Carpenter receives a free 20-minute, one-on-one cell phone training session from AT&T’s Ali Miller.