Feed 200 Children Living in Kibera Slum

“Hello, where is Mama Mimo?” we asked a vendor next to Mama Mimo’s vegetable shop. The vendor directed us to where we would find her. It was a hot sunny day and Mama Mimo was seated under an umbrella behind her shop. The moment she saw us, her face lit up in a smile. We could tell she was happy to see us.

We took a short walk to her house, where she welcomed us warmly and set each one of us a glass of drinking water. The condition of her home had improved compared to the last visit we had in 2019. Mama Mimo couldn’t hold back her excitement and began telling us how well her daughters, Mimo and Njeri, are doing in school. She also went ahead to add that her business of selling vegetables is doing well. She could not stop mentioning how grateful she was.

In all homes, we sat and talked to the parents and guardians and listened to them as they shared about their victories and struggles. Not all homes had improved conditions. Some were stagnant, while others were struggling to get a meal in a day. As we ended our visit with Mama Mimo, she said, “We always live each day worrying about the next, but God is the one who provides. So why worry when He is our sole provider?”

Our staff team aim to meet with the parent's of the children in our school regularly to understand the challenges at home and to build a good relationship with the whole family as we work together to see each child achieve their full potential. For many parents, knowing that their children will receive two good meals at school each day is a weight off their minds as they struggle to make ends meet. 

Thank you for providing free school meals to children like Mimo and Njeri.

Last month we met a new family, three girls who were all out of school and a baby girl who was very undernourished. We were connected to the family by a local youth group whose members were deeply concerned about the family. The youth group helped the oldest girl go back to school while we welcomed the two younger siblings into our programmes. The girls were in such poor health we have been giving them extra porridge each day as well as the two meals each child receives in our programmes. The mother also brings the baby along to join in the porridge. Slowly, we are seeing improvements in the girls’ health and strength and slowly they are coming out of their shells as they play with the other kids in the programmes. The girls are now on a new path, back in school and getting stronger everyday. Thank you for helping to make this life-changing work possible.

10-year-old Taji loves singing and wants to be a teacher one day. Taji already carries a lot of responsibilities at home as her mum lives away from home for work and her father is often busy doing casual labour work. Taji does most of the household chores for the family, she is usually found singing while she works.

Taji had been out of school because her parents couldn’t afford the school fees but now Taji attends our School Transition Programme. Each day she is catching up on the education she missed and will soon join the Fountains of Hope School. Her dream of becoming a teacher spurs her on.

With your help, we make sure Taji gets a nutritious and filling breakfast and lunch every day she comes to school. Thank you for your support.

On the 4th January, we welcomed back children to our education programmes in Kibera after a 9-month break.

We are picking up where we left off with children in our School Transition Programme and free primary school, the Fountains Of Hope School.

The government opted for a phased reopening of schools. So 40 children returned to the Fountains of Hope School in October last year. Now all the children who had remained out of school have returned to school and our daily feeding programme is back in action. We're providing a nutritious breakfast and lunch every day to all the children in our education programmes. 

The children are excited to be back with their friends and to have lots of activities to do each day after a long time of being at home with little to do.

We're following the government's guidelines to keep children COVID-safe. All children and staff wear masks and sit 1m apart in class, we've also added more handwashing stations to ensure all kids keep washing hands regularly.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past year to provide food vouchers to families while the children were out of school. We provided a total of 4,173 vouchers between March and December 2020 and helped sustain families during the darkest moments of last year. We are so grateful for your partnership.