Action Now Kenya will equip two community centers in Kibera and Kawangware informal settlement areas in Nairobi with 50 computers and Internet connectivity over one year. These will be used to help improve the educational performance of 15,000 vulnerable children living in slums through information communication technology, as well as inform them on critical health matters affecting their livelihoods. Such health matters will include HIV/Aids, Reproductive health, and dangers of drug use.
A study by Oxfam indicated that 37% of school going children in Kibera were not in the education system and 70% of those attending school attended informal schools. Kawangware has a child population of nearly 200,000. In both areas there are less than 10 public schools in each area leading to higher illiteracy levels. This in-turn predisposes children to vices that cause early pregnancies and HIV infections as well as drug abuse. This project will educate over 15,000 children using computers.
Through the project, Action Now Kenya will establish two community centers through which children will have access to computer training and usage. Using these, the children will be exposed to educational subjects learned in school in an innovative manner, thereby improving their educational performance. They will also be exposed to critical subjects on Hiv prevention, reproductive health and prevention from drug use. This will help to break the ongoing cycle of poverty caused by illiteracy.
The project will educate over 15,000 children thereby increasing the literacy levels of children living in Kibera and Kawangware informal settlements. These children once educated will have increased opportunities for employment and income generation thereby becoming independent. This will help to break the cycle of poverty where semi illiterate children continue to depend on their mothers long into their adulthood leading to generations of women serving as breadwinners for their grandchildren.
