Jamila spreads Swahili culture in America through food, humour

A Kenyan woman living in the United States has built a brand selling Swahili cuisine.

Jamila Kizondo now boasts thousands of followers on social media - 50,000 on Tik Tok and another 25,000 on Instagram.

She is spreading the Swahili culture in the US where she has lived for four years.

The mother of two and a trained journalist briefly worked in Kenya before moving to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and then Japan. Jamila later moved to Atlanta, Georgia.

She told the Star she wishes to keep her Swahili culture alive wherever she goes.

She learnt to cook Swahili foods at the tender age of eight back at the Kenyan Coast where she was born and bred. 

Jamila said her journey began back at university in Uganda between 1999 and 2003, where she studied journalism. Her father would sometime delay sending her pocket money and her cooking skill came in handy to help her survive.

"Back in campus in Uganda, my dad would sometimes delay in sending me pocket money and my cooking talent would help me survive by catering for my college mates during parties and gatherings," she said.

After graduating in 2004, she came back to Kenya and practised journalism.

She left the country around 2010 for Dubai, where she met her husband Samir St Clair, an internationally certified professional basketball coach.

In 2016, now a mother of two, Jamila and Samir then moved to Japan.

“I was pretty bored in Japan. Out of boredom in a foreign country, I decided to start my business. I started selling Swahili food such as pilau, biryani, mahamri, sambusa, mbaazi and other coastal delicacies,” she said.

In 2018, the family moved to the United States.

“Because this was my first time in America, I started researching how I could start my business in a foreign country. I had to do more charity by donating food during gatherings and people started loving my food,” she said.

"In the year 2020, JKizondo Swahili Bites was born,’’ she said.

During her stay abroad, Jamila realised a gap in people relating to the Swahili culture, which is why she decided to become a Swahili ambassador.

"At times, I would talk to people about the Swahili culture and they would be surprised. I felt, as a Kenyan, I stood a chance to educate many people and promote the beautiful Swahili culture,’’ she explained.

Jamila uses comedy in her social media videos to market her business, a strategy that has helped her reach a wider audience.

"As a business person, I analysed my progress and realised at first that my videos were not doing well. That was when I started using humour in my videos as a marketing strategy and it worked," she said.

Her love for Swahili culture was passed to her by her late father, Hamisi Kizondo, who played an important role in her journey.

‘’My dad, who is Mijikenda, would always advise us on how we needed to raise our heads higher as Mjikenda and I felt as a Swahili lady I needed to stand out and be proud of where I come from,” she said.

“What I do in America right now is try to stick to the love that was passed on to me by my father. I have nothing to pay back than to raise my Kenya flag and Swahili flag higher and higher worldwide.”

She said it is saddening to see Africans who have a Swahili background in America trying to adopt the American culture and forgetting their own.

"Apart from teaching Swahili culture to foreigners, I also motivate Swahili people living in America to take pride in their culture because if an America can travel to Africa to learn the culture why would you abandon your own culture?’’ she said.

Jamila said she hoped to establish a Swahili community in America.

“From Swahili food and cooking, I also do henna tattoos, drums and sing Swahili taarab, plan and organize Swahili events especially weddings and parties abroad," she said.

However, her journey has not been easy considering she is living as a foreigner in America, a factor that limits her growth.

"I wish and intend to start my own restaurant and expand my business, but there are rules as a foreigner that I must abide by. This has been my biggest challenge but I believe with God’s help my objectives will succeed," she said.

Edited by Henry Makori