FOUNDER’S JOURNEY AND BIOGRAPHY:

Jacci Kameri is a person with lived experience of Mental illness, an avid Philosopher and Philanthropist. She founded Baraka Village International to encompass all her work and life experiences, the vision of which was conceived during the toughest storm of her life at the Psychiatric Mental Hospitals in May 2012. She continues to live, struggle and fight her battles and share her experiences while helping others along the way. By doing so, she has curved a niche vocation.

After an out-of body and severe psychiatric episode that lasted several days and left her mute, unable to eat, sleep or function in May 2012, she was found by a good samaritan, rescued, rushed in an ambulance as her body had decayed due to lack of oxygen and lost consciousness. She was hospitalized in the Regional and State Mental Hospitals for several weeks. Her whole world changed abruptly. She had severe symptoms that mirrored Schizophrenia Disorder as she was “seeing, hearing and interacting within multiple realms of reality” and her mind was totally frayed. The team of doctors were sure she would never be the same again. Miraculously and to everyone’s amazement, she pulled through and regained consciousness and was soon on her way to recovery utilizing various methodologies and was placed under the care of the County Mental Centre. She had been awakened and enlightened by the experience and a true warrior was born. She even resumed her regular duties at work and even finished a dual Master’s Certificate program. She had started to do her own research on social media mainly through Facebook, as she didn’t know anyone else who had been through what she had been through and was open to talk about it. She joined several online support groups to research and gather information on Mental illness and even dug into her own heritage, cultures and traditions. She was amazed at what she discovered. She had started to piece the broken pieces in her life and build one brick at a time. Slowly, she grew from just sharing with her friends on Facebook to being a “Keyboard Activist”, helping others who were shunned down for various societal reasons. She loved the free therapy she was getting, every time she exhaled and released something into the universe, it came back with solutions. She was applying the “Laws of Attraction” in everything she did.

However, in June 2013, she had yet another out-of body and severe Psychiatric episode at work, was very incoherent and was taken back to the Psychiatric Regional Hospital and then re-admitted to the same State Mental Hospital for several weeks. She almost lost her eyesight due to partial blindness and was unable to see clearly for several months resulting in her not being able to return to work. She took time off to heal, reconnect with family and friends and resumed work almost a year later. She continued to push through life struggles as well as dealing with her internal trauma due to the extremities of what she had endured. In 2014, after changing doctors and getting thorough organic testing done to check her electrolytes, organs, hormones and glands, she got a final diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder with Psychosis.

She is actively involved in the Community to create awareness of Mental illness and end the stigma. She was featured as an Ambassador in an anti-stigma collaborated by The Greater Kansas City Mental Health Coalition that will be featured on several multi-media channels. She has been recognized for her leadership and outreach efforts to the African Community, where she has been a Guest Speaker and featured in publication at various events.

She was elected and serves as a Board Member to Pathway to Hope Organization, a faith based and recovery oriented organization. Through her membership with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental illness),the U.S. largest grassroots Mental Health organization dedicated to advocate for rights and provide support to individuals and families, She was elected and serves as a Board Member To both NAMI Johnson County and NAMI Kansas State. She also serves as a NAMI Kansas Consumer Council Representative to advocate for rights of individuals and families of persons with Mental illness. She is also a NAMI In Our Own Voice Presenter and has done several presentations in the community.

She has built a professional background in Advocacy, Project Management, Business Analysis, Marketing, and Information Technology within the Healthcare, Legal, eDiscovery, eLearning, Real Estate, Engineering and Telecommunications Industries. Her academic accomplishments include a Bachelor of Science in International Business Administration from The United States International University, Masters of Science in Information Technology from DeVry Institute of Technology and Master's Certificates in Business Analysis and Project Management from Villanova University. She also holds an Entrepreneurial Certificate from the Mid American Nazarene University through the Kauffman Foundation Fasttrac Program

TRIBUTES:
My immediate family has been through the most difficult and trying times with me. I started to share my story with others so it would be okay for anyone to talk about their Mental illness with their family and others so they can all receive the support they all need. Being thousands of miles apart from them caused us all to endure so much more than anyone. So I had to be strong for them and by doing so I became also strong for my extended family and friends and eventually my Community.

Dad:
For all the sacrifices, ensuring we never lacked anything, always leading by example with humility, excellence and diplomacy. Being a former Harvard and Oxford University graduate, the day I broke the news of my own Harvard Medical School nomination through the Global Health Catalyst as top 100 African Diaspora Leaders was the day I realized the full impact of his life teachings, academic achievements and career path in Consulting and how I had tried to emulate his footsteps in my own life. The fatherly advise he gave me mirrored exactly what I was doing and in line with my life vision.

Mom:
For all the sacrifices, faith, prayers and fasting with our family and even your women’s groups at church, taking that extremely long and difficult trip to come visit me after hospitalization, no parent should ever have to endure what you did. But because of it, I became even stronger and more grateful and humble. And we bonded and grew stronger as a family.

Carole:
For teaching me how to be a survivor and trendy from an early age as a big sister because you noticed I lacked social skills and was very shy and quiet. I grew up imitating you and how cool and cute and smart you are and always wanted to be comparable to you. It’s no wonder I exceeded that because I applied your survivor skills into my own life and now actually do look like your twin sister.

Kevin:
For teaching me about the mind-sets of logical thinkers and how it affected my own life. Being the most brilliant child and first male child, I enjoy picking your brain to see just how brilliant you are. The dimensions you bring into our family are also an extension into your own family. You resemble dad in every aspect and is a great role model for all of us.

Ian:
For teaching me about left-brained people and the long term effects it has in their lives. Even though my parents don’t recollect much being I was born at a time when they had a lot of responsibilities, I recall struggling to use the “correct hand and foot” with everything and I still do. As a result, there are several things am still unable to do, I have had to devise my own way of doing them. You’re such a smart sweetheart and we cherish your own sacrifices to take care of mom and dad on a daily basis. Nigel and Baby LeBron: For both my loving nephews who bring so much joy into our lives. Am reminded of the work we need to do for the sake of our children through their lives.

The Late “Cucu Wanjiku” and “Cucu Wang’are”:
For instilling faith, hard-work and deep rooted virtues and traditions in us from an early age. They both noticed I had some learning challenges and speech s a baby and helped me create coping skills that I still use today. The Late Cucu Wanjku for teaching me how to become a business baby from an early age and fostering my creativity and productivity. Your spirit guides me everyday and resides in me and I see you in my visions and during my Psychosis. Cucu Wang’are for being the matriarch and patron of our family and clan as one of the last remaining children from the patriarch and founding father of our clan . At 97 years, she still has a solid brain with classic and timeless memory and the agility to even play with young kids and teach them values. To all my family, thank you for keeping our traditions very much alive and ingrained in us wherever we may be.

Osawatomie State Mental Hospital, Rainbow Regional Mental Health Hospital, Shawnee Mission, Johnson County Mental Health Centre, University of Kansas Medical Psychiatric Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, Johnson County Police Department,
All the doctors, medical teams, care-givers and good Samaritans that have catered to me especially in time of severe crisis.

Caregivers:
Diana Ndunda and Jayne Njuguna for taking charge of a vey difficult situation from day one by visiting me at the various hospitals, updating my entire family on my situation and my progress and assisting me in every way possible as I was rehabilitated back into the community. As a result, our friendship turned into sisterhood and our families got even more integrated.

Facebook:
Facebook has been my most powerful eLearning portal especially when my mind is frayed and scattered, am able to recognizing familiar faces, juggle my memory through memes, articles, art, poems and articles to help me piece events, people and places. I was able to utilize it as a two-way interface and do all my research and find information to help me understand what I was dealing with, what I was going through and what it meant to me. To all the numerous support groups that continue to inspire me, to all my Facebook friends who encourage me and support me every day and keep me thoroughly entertained even when am undergoing depression during my mental cycles, without whom I would never have dared to share my journey online. (Thank You). To all the medical writers who break complex issues down into simple layman’s language, so that people like me can understand complex and confusing medical terminology as well as incorporate that into my own heritage, culture and traditions. (Thank You!)

Advocates and Support Organizations:
Rick Cagan NAMI Kansas Executive Director and my mentor and the entire Boards of Directors; Rik Cook and the entire Johnson County NAMI; Hakeem Rahim, NAMI National Board Member and Depression and Bipolar Support (DBSA) National Board Member and my Role Model whose footsteps I try to emulate. The Jewish Family Services and Greater Kansas City Mental Health Coalition, Johnson County Mental Health Centre for their endless care and never-ending support, Catholic Charities, Multi-Services, Antioch Church for helping me when times got really hard. Quintiles Medical Research
that gave me an opportunity to participate in various medical research studies that completely opened my mind to medical research. Gospel Outreach Church, Queen’s Night Ministry and We Thrive Magazine, Pastors Ben and Monica Kang’ethe: Thank you for all the spiritual guidance, prayers, free counseling and providing platforms where I could showcase and integrate my advocacy work to the African community.

Mid-America Nazarene University:
For giving us the chance to learn, collaborate and work together as a team with Dr. Acha Goris for compassionately helping me orchestra and trail blaze my first public speech during Minority Mental Health Month for all Africans in the Diaspora, spread my wings and fly high in the sky.

Taste of Africa Organizers and the entire Kansas City Africans:
For launching a great flagship event and providing us with a platform to reach the African Community.
Global Health Catalyst Summit at Harvard Medical School:
My first nomination for an International Award panel that will open doors beyond my wildest dreams. Thank you for the inclusion to your team of medical professionals due to my Advocacy work in the community. Together, we will break barriers and end stigmas and help those less fortunate in the Diaspora and in the motherland as well as within our own communities.

To all my extended family, friends and mentors, and to you especially our very special and wonderful audience. It takes a village to endure Mental illness! Disabilities come in many forms, embrace them, with the right attitude, passion, faith, hope & prayer, anything can be overcome. LOVE conquers all, Be very blessed!