Rob
Norton, Chairman of the Board, joins in a dance with the Red Rose children
Board
Chairman Rob Norton, Family, and Friends Pay a Visit to Children of Kibera
Foundation
Yesterday we were lucky enough to have our Board Chairman,
Rob Norton, spend a morning with us at Children of Kibera. Rob plays an intricate role in managing the
Foundation from the U.S. and this marked his first visit as Board
Chairman. Along with Rob, were his wife
Liz, daughter Lucy, son Max, and family friends The Doddy’s. After spending a week in the Masaai Mara, The
Doddy’s and Norton’s were excited about their visit to Kibera, and we were
thrilled to have them.
First stop was Red Rose Children’s Center where
students from Pre-Unit (age 3) to Class 8 (Age 13) sang songs, performed
dances, and even performed the choral verse that won them first place in last
weekend’s Music Festival. The Red Rose
children welcomed their visitors and encouraged them to feel at home.
Red
Rose children performing for the visitors
Students
from Class 7 and 8 perform their award winning choral verse
Even
Executive Director, Ken Okoth, was in the dancing mood
Rob’s visit also marked the grand
opening of a new building on the Red Rose campus. This building was recently repainted and
stocked with shelves, benches, and lots of books. The space will be used as a community
resource for students, teachers, and individuals to have access to books and
other educational materials. There is
even a television with a DVD player where students can come and watch the
news. The hope for this space is to
broaden the already wide reach that Children of Kibera Foundation has in the
community. This new space helps
reiterate Children of Kibera Foundation’s mission to become a true partner
throughout the whole community. This space would not have been possible without
support from our partners and friend’s at LitWorld.
Cutting
the ribbon!
The
Norton Family sees our new space for the first time
As the Norton and Doddy family
children spent some time in the classroom with children their age, the adults
spent some time meeting with community members.
First, were representatives from local schools that received computers
for computer labs from Children of Kibera Foundation.
Rob
Norton and Ken Okoth with P.C.E.A Silanga Secondary Team
Rob
Norton and Ken Okoth with a team from Mashimoni Squatters Secondary
Two of our high school scholars as
well as parents and guardians also came to meet with the Nortons. Rob and Liz were excited to hear from these
bright and determined high school students.
Emily Bernstein, a current Summer Fellow, also joined in on the
discussion and was able to meet the parents of the student her family
sponsors. Having the opportunity to
discuss education and goals with these students and family members put
everything on a personal level.
Liz,
Rob, and Emily meet with high school scholars and family members
Lastly, everyone went down the road
to Olympic Primary and Olympic Secondary School. At Olympic Primary, everyone met with the
Principal of the school and discussed their feeding program, teacher
commitment, and high standards. Rob
presented the principal with a voucher for school supplies as well as trophies
to use on their upcoming prize giving day.
At Olympic Secondary schools, everyone heard from the computer teacher
about the students’ use of the computers and their curriculum. Access to computer education at school is
very important students who do not have the opportunity anywhere else. Computer literacy is a key skill for high
performance in school and beyond.
Rob
Norton and Ken Okoth present the voucher and trophies to Olympic Primary’s Principal
Olympic
Secondary’s Computer Teacher explains more about their computer lab donated by
Children of Kibera Foundation
The Children of Kibera Foundation was so happy that
the Norton Family was able to visit. We
hope they can come again soon, but in the meantime, continue their hard work
and dedication to the Children of Kibera Foundation back in the U.S.!
By Cate Rooney-Guest Blogger.
