Education Kenya Project #20521

Educate 900 Kenyan Children

by Raising Futures Kenya

Project Report | Jun 12, 2017
Sonia Got the Opportunity to Join High School.

By Sherry Waweru | Impact Assesment Officer

Kibera ecd girls can pose for the camera

The second term of the school calendar began May. The term is seen as the longest yet has numerous extra-curricular activities like music festivals, ball games & Athletics competitions and educational trips. For many of the children sponsored through Vision Africa education programme, this term is very significant as we encourage them to participate in school activities so that they nurture their talents, get opportunity to travel out of their comfort zone and get exposure to a different world. Students’ participation in the school activities has had positive impact in their lives as it has enable them to build confidence, socialize, learn and appreciate different ethnic communities, culture and traditions. The educational trips also give pupils the opportunity to see the beauty of our country; the wild animals found in our National Parks and learn about the pre-historic sites which more often find its way as questions being asked during exams. We also encourage teachers in the early childhood education centres that we support to take the learning out of class and allow the little children to interact, compete in games, to explore and learn new things in a different environment. This was realized by two ecd centres in the western part of the country as they organized football competition between the two schools Nyamwanga ecd and Busire ecd. The pupils were so excited to have met and compete with each other in their favourite game hence they are now nagging their teachers to organize more of such outings. Unlike the other 3 ecd centres under Vision Africa, the Kibera Mpira Mtaani ecd pupils always get the opportunity to go out of their learning environment and interact with pupils from prestigious schools within the city as they compete in balls games and learn different art work. Although our pupils come from the Kibera slums, they are not intimidated by the fact that people see them as children from poor families but instead they have been trained to put their best foot forward with confidence and play to win in all games. Teacher Irene from Kibera ecd once said, “Our ecd centre is envied by so many schools and parents within the Kibera slums because our pupils are not only clean, neat and well fed but we also take them out for school trips and games. It is unfortunate that we are not able to enrol or accommodate a huge number of children each year who wish to join us due to scarcity of space to put up a bigger ecd centre.” The same ecd centre is also used by the after school programme as pupils from within the slums come to study, finish their homework and tuition.

Kibera Mpira Mtaani and Village of Hope after school programme has a total of 475 pupils who attend the evening classes each day. The programme continues to impact the lives of many students both in Kibera and Village of Hope as there is significant improvement in their school performance which has led to increase number of pupils who have joined the evening classes. One such student who has benefited from the afterschool programme is Sonia. Sonia is the lastborn in a family of 3 siblings who are all in high school. They live in the slums of Ngando with their mother who is the soul breadwinner in the family. The mother works as a cleaner in a nearby clinic to fend for her children and with the little income she has managed to put her two children in high school. However when Sonia completed her primary education, her mother was worried for her daughter as she did not have money to enable her join in high school like her brothers. After the Kenya certificate of primary education was released, Sonia had emerged the top in her class of 148 students with a mean grade of A-. She attributed the good results to afterschool programme and the help of volunteer teachers who coached her well before she sat for her K.C.P.E. Everyone including her teachers were overjoyed by her exemplary performance and it was a matter of time before she got a letter to join one of the best National schools in Kenya. Unfortunately, her dreams were shattered as her mother could not raise enough money to see her join the school thus missed the golden opportunity. Sonia was devastated by the fact that her mother tried to reach out to relatives and well-wishers in support of her daughter’s fees to high school but all in vain. The girl did not give up easily on her quest to advance her studies although she lost the opportunity to join National school, she went back to Elvis the project leader of the afterschool programme and explained her situation. The project leader took to social media and shared Sonia’s story and made an appeal to the public to support her in getting admission to join a local secondary school. People came out to give the little they had and within no time, Sonia was able to join a boarding school although it took a month after the initial high school admission. The money raised through Village of Hope has seen her go back to school this second term but the project needs to raise more funds to ensure that Sonia does not drop out school due to lack of fees thus secure her future. Sonia’s mother is grateful for the support that our partner project gave to her daughter although they still have few challenges, her mother had this to say “I had lost hope in seeing my girl admitted to high school but through Elvis and other well-wishers, my Sonia is now in school. I would like to thank Village of Hope family for all their support in giving my daughter an opportunity to continue with her studies so she can have a better future.” During the April holiday, Sonia who is an active member of the girls’ empowerment club was chosen to be the Village of Hope Children’s Ambassador. She will represent the children within the project in all matters pertaining to children’s rights. I believe that Sonia has a brighter future ahead as she promised to work hard in her secondary education and become the voice of the children in her community.

Other news is that the Kibera Afterschool programme held another football tournament during the April holiday so as to keep the children/youth actively engaged through sports and community services. The children and young people who participated were also mentored on how to navigate their way through adolescence and beyond which is seen as a major challenge to many young people growing up in informal settlement. The parents are happy to release their children to attend such activities during the holiday because it has improved their children’s behaviour and attitudes which in turn have enable them to improve in school grades, family relationships and bring positive energy among peers. The youth were also challenged to become peace ambassadors within the community during these as the country is headed for general elections in August.

I would like to sincerely thank you for your continued support for our education program since through your giving, many of our children in informal settlement are able to access reading and writing materials as well as get remedial classes in the evening which has enabled them perform well in school hence advance in their studies. We believe that through quality education, children and young people will have the opportunity to succeed and have better life in future!

Reading time at Village of Hope

The Kibera Team

Sonia

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Mar 7, 2017
Light at the End of the Tunnel For Josephine

By Sherry Waweru | Impact Assesment Officer

Josephine first day in School

The last two months have been busy as the schools reopened for first term in January which came earlier than the norm and parents had no choice but to follow the new school calendar. The ministry of education believed that parents were given ample time during the long holiday to save their children’s fees and other requirements so that the children could report back to school without failure. But that category for the children who come from the middle class and wealthy families . As many families living in the slums and rural area with less that $2 per day, their story is diferent since most parents struggle to put food on the table hence become impossible to save for their children school fees most specially those who completed public primary school which offer free education and are hoping to join high school. Vision Africa has been supporting pupils in all our project areas to see them complete primary education but unfortunately lack of enough funds does not permit the organozation to continue supporting pupils to highschool just like in the case of Josephine.

Josephine and her two brothers have been beneficiaries of Vision Africa sponsorship program since 2008. This is after their family was displaced at the time the country was unstable due to the post election violence that led to death and displacement of families. Josephine and her family were also affected and they had to run for their live from a small town called Limuru which is 35km away from Nairobi. Their house was touched by angry youth and they had to find refuge in the area police station before being moved to safer place in Nairobi. While in Nairobi, they were taken to a church in Kibera where other families who were also homeless were being hosted.

After living as internally displaced people in the church, Josephine’s mother and her 5 children were hosted by one of the church members within Kibera so that she could go out look for casual work and start life again away from the camp. She was determined to look for odd jobs and earn a living for the sake of her children since she is the sole bread winner after separating from the husband. Luckily the church that accommodated them had a school where the children were admitted to continue with school while she worked as a casual worker to pay off part of the fee and also be able fend for her children. It was at this time that the mother met one of Vision Africa former staff who was working with other families in that school and she poured her heart out since her biggest concern was a place to live and the children’s education. Upon hearing her story, Vision Africa’s founders decided to pay for her rent for two months so that she could move out with her family as life had become unbearable with the host family . They also gave her some seed capital to her to start a small business so as to complement her monthly wage which was too little to meet her needs. The children were added in to Vision Africa sponsorship program so that their education needs could be met for a certain period of time.

The organization has been paying school fees for Josephine and her two siblings for the last 9 years until she sat for her Kenya Certificate of Primary education. Despite the challenges that the family have been facing while in Kibera, Josephine performed well in her final exams and although sand got several letters to join girls high school. Unfortunately, her mother could not afford to raise enough money for her daughter to join high school. She came back to Vision Africa pleading with us to support her as she strive to put her daughter to school although she was aware that her sponsorship had ended after completing primary school. Having walked the journey with the family as they resettled in Kibera, its was heartbreaking for us to let Josephine’s dream of becoming a journalist being shuttered. Our director was able raise enough money for her to get admission to a public secondary school within Kibera as the private boarding schools she was called were too expensive. I joined Josephine and her mother as she reported for the first time in high school and this is what she said “Today is the happiest day of my life because I had lost hope of joining secondary school so as to fulfil my dreams. I cant thank Vision Africa enough for this opportunity as I start new chapter of my life in high sschool.” Although we hope to continue looking for funds in support of Josephine high school education, she promised us to work hard so that she can be the one in her family who will get her mother and siblings out of these cycle of poverty. Her mother also expressed her joy and said “ I feel like the burden I had carried for the last three months have been lifted. I thank Vision Africa for the support they have given my family more so now that I was desperate to take my daughter to high school.” Josephine and her siblings are also attending the after school programme and she also joined the girls empowerment club that is run by the Kibera Mpira Mtaani.

Other news is that the Early Childhood Development programme enrolment increased in all the four centres as new parents rushed to get slots for their children after getting positive reports from parents whose children had already graduated from the ECD. The total number of pupils in all the 4 ECD centre amounts to 368 while the number of pupils who are also benefiting from the after school program is 573. I would like to thank you for supporting our education program since through your giving of our little children are able to enjoy the feeding programme, reading and writing materials and quality learning while the pupils who attend the after school have a safe and friendly environment to complete their homework, access textbooks and get support from volunteer teachers who provide tuition for them so as to improve their school grades.

ECD pupils showing off reading books

After school pupils received text books

Future Footballers

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Dec 7, 2016
Keeping Children Busy Over the Long Holiday

By Sherry Waweru | Impact Assesment Officer

KiMMTa Children enjoying a meal

End of term three came too early for pupils in both public and private schools despite the fact that children sits for end of year exams that determine if they are moving to the next class. It is also believed that the ministry of education changed schools calendar to enable all students sitting for the end of primary and secondary examinations have peace and quietness and desist from exam malpractices. The major concern for parents and other stakeholders was the length of the holiday period and what would happe

Vision Africa shared the same concern as parents since it was bound to affect pupils in the early years of learning especially children living in informal settlement like Kibera. According to the recent survey carried out to early childhood education centres supported by Vision Africa, the teachers were asked to explain the significant benefits of the feeding program to pupils. The results indicated that the health of the children have improved by 76% hence enable the children to concentrate in class that boosted their class performance. The teachers also affirmed that 75% of the children attend the early childhood education because of feeding programme since their parents can only afford one meal per day. With this in mind, the management of Kibera Mpira Mtaani (KiMMTa) decided to extend the learning for two more weeks so that the children could continue to enjoy their meals while in school as they prepare for graduation of the pre-unit class.The graduation day at KiMMTa was filled with excitements as graduates entertained their parents and guests who came to witness their transition from pre-school to primary school. This year, 25 children graduated from KiMMTa ecd and are expected to join standard one in the coming year. According to the head teacher, all the pupils performed well in their end term exams as well as the standard one interviews. She informed us that16 of the pupils will be joining public primary schools while 9 will join private schools within the Kibera slums.

In addition, KiMMTa after school program came up with holiday activities for all pupils in their programme who were at home. With support from Vision Africa and other stake holders, the after school management team prepared a two week programme that will bring positive change in the lives of the children and young people who are at greater risk of engaging in vices due to idleness this long holiday period. These activities included mentorship workshops, community services and football tournaments.The KiMMTa management also partnered with other community based organizations within the slums who are engaged in educational program by involving their members in all these activities. Vincent the KiMMTa chairman said that the holiday programme was a success as 240 children and young people participated directly in the tournaments while approximately 750 children and young people who attended were involved in community work like cleaning the market, dispensaries and the collecting garbage. They also got the opportunity to be mentored each day during mentorship sessions. I hope that there will be more of such programmes in the coming year so that many more children and young people can be empowered to make right decisions about their lives during school recess.

Thank you for supporting the education of children in Kenya by contributing to this project. As it has been quoted severally, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which we can use to change the world’. I believe these children from Kibera slums and other informal settlements will not only change the world but also their lives and living standards of their families.

Please consider telling your friends and family about our project - share the link on your blogs or social networks, or just bring us up in conversation. You know your friends and family best so use your own words - tell them why you chose our project and what it means to you.

Pre-unit class graduation

Youngstars before the tournament

Mentorship Session

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