Educate 900 Kenyan Children

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.