Harambee Youth Training Program

Harambee is a Swahili word which means “let’s pull together!” Harambee Youth Training has its roots in a small ministry of New City Fellowship Church, which began in 1996 to give job training and mentoring to a few young men. Today, Harambee has grown into a separate 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization which partners with many other local churches, businesses, and organizations. We use a combination of volunteer community service projects and classroom training to give at-risk urban youth an opportunity to learn a healthy work ethic, self-discipline, confidence, and team dynamics as well as profitable skills in the construction trades.

Training and Encouraging Youth with the Hope of the Gospel

The Harambee Youth Training Program seeks to see youth discipled in the Gospel of Christ become productive members of society who reflect God’s love as they work to build their community. There is an incredible need to put youth in the City of St. Louis to work so that they have job experience, mentorship and training. There is also an incredible need to rebuild brick homes in which the masonry has deteriorated. Harambee seeks to train teenagers to rebuild widows’ and seniors’ homes in their community so that both the trained youth and the community members are blessed.

Harambee is a part of our commitment to the West End and Hamilton Heights neighborhoods of Saint Louis city. Since 1996, teens from these neighborhoods have worked in connection with NCF in landscaping, general property maintenance, roofing and light construction (painting, tuckpointing & framing). Today our sole concentration is in tuckpointing. Many of the young people who participate with Harambee are also connected to Restore St. Louis through other ministries like Firm Foundation Tutoring.

Vision Statement

Harambee Youth Training Corporation targets at-risk youth to transform and encourage them with the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to equip and empower them to know and experience the value and dignity of work by training and mentoring in a biblically-based, work-ethic environment.

Mission Statement

Harambee Youth Training Corporation is committed to training youth in the St. Louis area by providing an opportunity for them to gain both personal character development and the necessary work experience to succeed in a work environment. In order to accomplish this, Harambee seeks to build partnerships that connect resources and create relationships with individuals, communities, businesses, churches and government agencies. All of this is to be done in the context of serving the elderly, widows, immigrants, single-parent households and the poor.