A quality education for 150 kids in Kibera, Kenya

Last year was the first year of running our primary school, and through the year we were having to make small changes to our operations to try to ensure we were servig the neediest kids. Because of that, we weren't running at capacity.

However, we are very please to report that within the first couple of weeks of opening our doors in 2015, we are almost full having 68 kids attending every day at the time of writing. As well as receiving quality academic education from our fully qualified staff of teachers, they also benefit from the opportunity to get involved in music, art, drama & sports activities. This means that all kids, not just the academic ones, get the chance to shine.

And they shine brightly, with big smiles lighting up their faces as they pick up a recorder and play some notes, or a paintbrush and fill a sheet of paper with colour.

We are excited to have Derek and Joseph with us, seen in the picture studying hard. They are brothers and compete to outdo each other in class - both trying to end each term with the highest marks in their class. They have made the transition from the streets, where they used to go every day to scavenge for food and beg for money, through our transition class, and now into our school. They both love Maths, and hope to pursue careers in banking when they're older.

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Its the end of term and the Fountains of Hope School is finishing its first year as a school. What a wonderful achievement! Once the kids had finished their end-of-year exams, teachers, parents and pupils all gathered together to celebrate the successful first year. The event included a prize-giving for teachers and pupils for their hard work during the year.

One of the best-performing students in the school, Jane, had never attended school before she joined Turning Point. She lives with both her parents in Kibera but, being unemployed, they were unable to afford school fees for her to go to school. Jane joined Turning Point's children's centre in Kianda and started to catch up on their education she had missed. She is incredibly bright and has caught up very quickly. In fact, at the beginning of the year she joined Class 3 at the Fountains of Hope School but mid-way through the year she was bumped up to Class 4 because she was performing so well.

Jane is a great example of a young life full of potential that was going to waste, but today that potential is just starting to be unleashed as she learns and grows under the care and guidance of the Turning Point team. It is such a privilidge to work with kids like Jane and see the transformation taking place in her life.

At the end of this first year as a school, we are so grateful to all those who have partnered with us to get the school up and running. We still have a long way to go and we invite you to continue this journey with us and see just how far kids like Jane and her friends will go.