Education Kenya Project #2513

Educating street children in the Mathare slums

by Mathari's Children Fund

Educating street children in the Mathare slums

Project Report | Nov 26, 2018
A Letter from Deutschland

By Maureen Bahati | Project Leader

Dear Friends,

It is not common that people like me get a chance to travel outside the country. All I know is the slum of Mathare, where I have lived for the past 15 years since birth, a little about the city of Nairobi and town of Ahero which are places I pass on my way to school. I was very nervous about traveling to a foreign place but was excited about flying. The entire learning visit to Germany was mind blowing for me, I hope that my letter to you will do justice in sharing my experience.

Getting to our local airport- JKIA marked the beginning of a thrilling journey. Our flight was without incidence and upon our arrival in Germany, I was hit by the cold weather. Clearly, I had not dressed as warmly as I should have. We were met with teachers from our partners’ school who escorted us to our host families, where my dressing situation was quickly remedied. Shortly after, we met students participating in the exchange program, we got to know one another and build rapport.

I learnt a lot about their education system which is very different from ours, and it made me appreciate how far we have to move as a nation to facilitate similar services. I loved their meals which incorporated foods from other countries such as China and Italy among others. I noticed from the students that their dressing code did not vary much from ours, but that they had to factor the low temperatures. The students and families hosting us were hospitable, making us enjoy our new home. I turned 16 while in Germany and my new family organized a beautiful ceremony to mark the occasion. I received many gifts, which was a first for me. While there, we visited Dresden, a tourist town and I enjoyed walking around and using their railway transport which was very fast. I must confess that I have not had a chance to use the Standard gauge Railway recently introduced in Kenya, so the train experience was simply lovely.

There were plenty of new experiences for me, but most of all the visit opened my mind to a new world. It reminded me that I can be anything and do anything I set my mind to; the world is full of opportunities and I look forward to experiencing the most out of it. I have shared my experience with my sibling and friends in school and home. One thing we all agree on is that, there is a world out there, beyond Mathare that we have to work hard to ensure we become a part of.

Yours sincerely,

Latiffah Atieno.

Permalink

Aug 17, 2018
Dreams Do Come True....

By Maureen Bahati | Team Leader

Looking at pictures following my graduation from college makes my heart flutter. For me, this is nothing short of a miracle. It has been a long journey, one I have been blessed to walk through the help of great team of partners and friends.

I’m Omondi, 23 years old and the fifth born in a family of eight who live in the slums of Mathare with my siblings and mother. I was a student at Kiboro Primary School, but I missed numerous classes for lack of school fees which at the time was only Kenyan Shillings 300 ($3) a term. My parents could not afford to raise this amount and meet all the family needs. I can remember my mother asking me to inform the teachers that I’m an orphan so that some fees could be waived. Well, that did not work for long and I was sent away from school soon as my lie was discovered.

My fortunes changed in the year 2003 when a Community Volunteer referred my parents to Mathare Children’s Fund (MCF). I remember my mum telling me that was going to be the first day of my new life. I did not understand what she meant, when I asked her all she said was that, it is going to be the day her prayers were answered. Exactly 4 weeks later, my mum came home singing with joy. I had been outside playing and she screamed my name telling me to come quickly. Her voice was different; it was not filled with anger so I knew she was not calling to ask why the house was not as clean as she left it. I walked towards her, unsure what this was about, she picked me up dancing saying I will be going back to school in the new term. Mathare Children’s Fund had selected me as one of the beneficiaries of their sponsorship program. I was happy, looking forward to going back to school. I had missed 2 school terms as priority was given to my elder siblings who were further in their schooling.

I was supported from primary school, secondary school all the way to University. Mathare Children’s Fund paid my tuition fees, at the same time they catered for all school materials needed and met all my medical needs. It was hard to believe that I would never be sent home for lack of fees; the generosity of MCF and its partners and my mum’s constant reminder of my good fortune pushed me to work hard in school. It was in high school that I was voted the most disciplined student by the teachers and made the school senior prefect and also school projects council member. My academic performance in high school was good as I never scored less than B-(Minus) in my overall grades. I finished my high school in the year 2013 and scored B- and by then that was not a government sponsor grade for the university, so I had to go for an alternative and I enrolled for a diploma in laboratory science at Thika School of Medical Health Sciences, a three year course that Mathare Children’s Fund paid for together with my accommodation fee. I completed my classes in December 2016. I’m a well experienced medical laboratory technologist having worked in Mama Lucy Hospital at Embakasi and Gertrude’s Children Hospital at Muthaiga as an intern in the year 2017.

Since then, I have been an intern at Marura Nursing Hospital but now having graduated on the 27^th July 2018, it’s my hope that I will be absorbed by the hospital as a permanent staff. I will always be a good ambassador of the Mathare Children’s Fund panairobi because their intervention made me realize my dreams.

Attachments:

Omondi.docx (DOCX)

1 Attachment

Permalink

May 18, 2018
Play and Learning over School Holiday

By Maureen Bahati | Project Leader

Schools are closed for the first holiday of the year, and am one happy parent. Many parents today dread the holidays, they have to work and cannot afford to have someone watch over their children while they’re away. Some do not know how best to engage their children over the holiday, children then become a burden to the parents, but not me. I am not worried about what my children will be engaged in for the next 4 weeks. Am not worried about losing my job or income because I have to stay home to care for my children for fear that something bad will happen to them. You may wonder why am so apprehensive, it is because my kijiji (village) has many gangs targeting school going children. Too many young boys and girls have lost their way; some their lives by engaging in gangs that sell drugs, and engage in other vices like alcohol and prostitution.

My child is one of the beneficiaries of Mathare Children’s Fund panairobi (MCFp) sponsorship program. For the last 5 years, all his school needs have been met including school uniform, school items and tuition fees. For my part, my household burden has been lessened. Beyond educational support during the school year, my son has an opportunity to participate in school holiday program at the MCFp Centre.

There is a library at the Centre and knowing this, I make sure that my son has completed his home work and school assignments in time. Additionally, while at the library he has access to a variety of books which are useful for increasing his knowledge. My son mentioned that they need new books at the library because of the curriculum change, I did not know this. Because of this information from him, I asked the team at MCFp during the parents meeting and they said that they are working to address this. The holiday program brings together many children, both from the sponsorship program and others from within Mathare. Besides using the library facility, they get to engage in sports and participate in various trainings to enhance their general wellbeing and capacity to address challenges they may face. As a result of these program, my son is no longer shy, he now speaks up on issues he likes, and questions when he does not understand anything.

The holiday program has been very beneficial to me, because my son get to have porridge and a hot meal at lunch. He also interacts with other children thereby they share experiences. So this is why am not afraid of the holidays, I know where my son is between 8am and 4 pm. I know it’s a good place, a place where he learns and plays.

Permalink

‹ 1 ... 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ... 23 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.