Educating street children in the Mathare slums

One has to maneuver carefully in order to avoid the rusty, sharp edges of makeshift roofing. But this isn’t the only hazard in navigating through one of Africa’s largest slums. There seems to be a stream of foul-smelling sewage running right under the feet. One has to cautiously be on the lookout in all directions, just to make forward progress. One misstep and you could either end up in the waste that runs through this entire neighborhood, or worse, end up with a large gash across my forehead from the jagged scraps of old metal hanging from the shacks that the poor call home. Mist of alcohol hit your face if you downwind from moonshiners. This is the Mathare Slum, where the streets are made of garbage, 3 square miles of winding alleys is home to 800,000 people. It houses among others, drug addicts, prostitutes, thieves, and gangs.

The children in Mathare slums live under pathetic conditions and are routinely exposed to alcohol, drugs, pornography, rape, diseases, crime, violence, hate, anger, suicide among other potentially dangerous situations. These children have nothing except their life and age in common with the children in better placed city localities. Most of the children come from single parent homes, while others come from very poor families since their parents are sick, unemployed or underemployed. Orphans who are helpless after both or one of their parents die of HIV-Aids or other causes are forced to face the harsh reality of unbearable slum life.

But amidst the grim and gloomy situations is a bright shining hope… the children and staff of Mathare Children’s Fund Panairobi. These children are the hope of the Mathare Slums. They give credit to their donors and you can play or continue to play a part in their lives.

A gift of $30 monthly will provide a child with opportunities to get an education. More specifically;
• $30 per month - enough for food, clothes, books, medicine and transport for a child for a year
• $40 per month - enough to keep a child in primary school for a year
• $50 per month - enough to keep a kid in high school for a year
• $100 per month - keep a bunch of kids alive, well and learning!
Remember that every donation makes a difference, regardless of size.

Over 450 children have passed through the organization since its inception with success stories that continue to inspire.

Every contribution makes a difference…Unlike other large non-profit organizations which receive donations from major corporations. Mathare Children’s Fund Panairobi makes its way from you. In order to expand programs and help more kids, we need your support and for those who continue to support us, we say Asante sana!!!

We endeavor to keep costs to a minimum so that your money goes further. There are no landcruisers, no frills of any kind. 

Thanks again indeed for your support...

Regards

Titus

Greetings from Mathare...

It’s been 3 months since the New Year began! Quite a lot has been going on because of YOU!

All the 7 students who sat for their primary education exams passed and have all been admitted to secondary schools around the country, thanks to your support. We also had 7 students sitting for their final secondary education examinations and all have scored an average of C plain. 3 more students joined tertiary colleges at the beginning of the year to do the following professional courses; Diploma in Law, Medical laboratory and Hotel management. They are doing there courses in Mount Kenya University and Thika School of Medical and Health Sciences.

All the other children under the sponsorship programme are all in school while on the same note, social workers in the project have embarked on recruiting 30 more children below 12 years for the sponsorship programme. We kindly ask that you continue to support us in this endeavor of ensuring that those children who are underprivileged get an education that will definitely uplift their lives. Your generosity has changed the course of their lives, their possibilities are endless!

18 teenage mothers successfully finished their training last year and for the 8 who sat for the national trade exams, they all passed. 12 of the teenage mothers have a job or are operating a small business and can comfortably meet some of their pressing needs. We currently have 21 teenage mothers undergoing either tailoring or hairdressing courses. While this continues, they are also getting basic life skills training like reproductive health, entrepreneurship and saving skills. We have also been able to partner with a savings and credit company that is able to give them loans to start small businesses in groups.

Our community library was finally opened and we currently have 11 kids using the facility. We have been able to have interchange programmes with organizations that have the same facilities within different slums to learn good practices. We hope to have 50 or so students from within Mathare slums use the facility.

Each year my dear friend, we help a 100 or more children by giving them a sound and good education, take care of their medical needs, hot lunches among other needs. Without donations like yours, however the project will not be able to send these children to school and meet their other needs. We are hoping to raise another $30,000 to keep these children in school this year, 2015 especially due to the fact that we are taking in 30 more children this year. A financial gift from you will be a big help in meeting our goal.

Together we will be able to transform lives and build brighter futures – but without you, it would just be impossible. Thank you so much for your support.

Please like us on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MathareChildrenFund to get a real time update on what we are up to.

Asante sana.