CoKF Football League Suits Up!

Children of Kibera Foundation is proud to introduce its new football (soccer) league! A few months ago, CoKF supporter from Washington D.C., Cindy Truitt, collected a team's worth of soccer clothes and gear, generously donated from parents of her son's Maryland travel team. Just recently, CoKF came across Mr. Aswani, local athlete, who volunteered to coach the kids every Friday during lunch. As of now, CoKF's soon-to-be-named team is merely practicing and scrimmaging, but once they have a bit more time to coagulate, we look forward to watching them win matches against other schools. The kids are thrilled to be able to participate in the world's most popular sport once a week- especially in their shiny uniforms and shoes. A huge thanks to the Washington D.C. families who kindly donated their things-- we're sure we have future Manchester United the making!

CoKF student takes a shot at goal

Our new team, posing proudly with Coach Aswani

CoKF Intern Sends Love Through Quilt

In June and July, Children of Kibera Foundation and LitWorld's Girls' Club learned how to knit. After starting with basic stitching techniques, the girls graduated to knitting multiple colors together and creating their own shapes. This series of lessons, introduced by CoKF intern Jackie Espana, affected the girls so much that they are now ready to begin making clothes with their new skills. After their initial efforts, the girls received a remarkable gift last month- a handmade quilt compilation of all of their first pieces, made my Jackie. Although Jackie had to return to the US, she worked tirelessly to put together a quilt for the girls- a reminder of the wonderful Sundays spent together in Girls' Club. The girls were ecstatic! They asked that their new quilt be hung in the CoKF office, for all visitors to see. It now hangs in the main office, a beautiful reminder of Girls' Club and the importance of spending time together. So, from all of us: Thank you Jackie!

New Uniforms, Opening Ceremony & Radio Show

Last week was extremely productive, starting with the handing out of new uniforms to our 50 sponsored Red Rose students, thanks to a generous donation.


The children were ecstatic to be given the clothes. Many were previously donning well worn out sweaters with holes in the elbows. But with the donations, everyone was looking ‘smart’- a British-adopted slang word meaning looking well put together.

The students say “Thank you!”

The week continued with opening ceremonies of the new classrooms on Thursday. Parents, teachers, friends, and staff enjoyed performances by every class- a wonderful collection of songs that were obviously well rehearsed. The show ended with a traditional dance done by classes four, five, and six. Speeches were also given by the headmaster on behalf of the school, by Ken and Drew on behalf of CoKF, and by the guest of honor, George Letene, the Municipal Minister of Education.

Parents and other guests were given a tour of the new classrooms provided and built by the Potomac School this past July. Students were eager to show off their new rooms. They were also shown the new library/computer room, where shelves are already filling quickly with books.

We finished the week with a special appearance on Pamoja FM’s radio show, hosted by Ali, a good friend of CoKF. Ken, Jeff, Drew and Brendan were given the opportunity to talk up our upcoming music festival, as well as other CoKF projects. Ali graciously agreed to cover the entirety of the music festival live from the event on October 1st and 2nd.

Red Rose opens for Term III 2010

Last Monday marked the beginning of the final term of the school year for Red Rose. Classes four, five, and six enjoyed moving into their new classrooms, and everyone was excited to go back to the books.

Desks were repainted over the weekend, finally completing the remodeling project.

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The visit to the museum

Saturday 21st August was a memorable day for most of us because we, the Children of Kibera Foundation girl beneficiaries, met our mentors at the Nairobi Museum. We were accompanied by the coordinator of the foundation, Japheth Ochieng.

We commenced by doing our stomachs some justice since it was about the lunch period. It was refreshing since we ate while being entertained by the acrobats. We had quite a short chat about how the term in school was in general. After a while, the drizzling of the rain threatened to wet us lest we found another place to chill out. Fortunately, we were done with lunch so we obediently adhered to the rain's warning and headed for the gallery. No sooner had we entered than the Almighty let it rain. We then got ourselves lost in the beautiful scenery and explored the magnificent artwork.

Firstly, we explored the fats on the lives of the petrified animals. The gigantic elephant and giraffe in comparison to us were like Goliath to a little dwarf. We then had to put our brains to work on the 'which is the mammal?' quiz. We had to brainstorm.

Secondly, we ventured a controversial topic for most of us. Did you evolve from an ape? If you agree with the latter then this is the place to be. The facts on evolution from Australopithecus through Homo erectus to Homo sapiens sapiens are dearly stipulated. The molds and writings were on display and to add a finishing touch to convince us, the fossil remains were also shown.

The numerous species of birds that were on display left most of us wide agape. Ranging from an ear-sized bird to an infant-sized one like the vulture was amazing. Did you know that there are different varieties of the same bird e.g the owl? There is an owl with very small eyes which I nicknamed Chinese-owl. It was quite fascinating.

Finally, my most favorite part of the day was when we went to the snake park. Never before had I seen a real snake, a live one to be exact. We saw from the harmless green tree snakes to the dangerous python and black mamba. We were fortunate to watch some slither and stare back at us while the others were coiled and didn't bother to notice us there because of the cold weather at the time. Despite seeing the snakes, we also saw numerous types of fish and crocodiles and we were also informed on what they eat.

We finalized our tour by taking photos in front of the museum and reflecting on the day's activities. I feel really fortunate to have had an opportunity to tour the museum and discover the serene beauty that Kenya has to offer to the world.

Zainab Abdallah

Chairlady

Students’ board of Children of Kibera Foundation

The Merrell Cherouny Award

During their final meeting before returning to courses, three high school scholars received the Merrell Cherouny Certificate of Academic Excellence. John Attelah, Mohammed Musyimi, and Philitricia Were all maintained 'A' averages last term while continuing to be active in their school communities. Congratulations to all three!

Merrell Cherouny is the founding Executive Director of the Children of Kibera Foundation.

Who Am I As A Girl?

Mercy, Red Rose student and Girls' Club member, wanted to share her latest poem. Here, she sharply reflects on the challenges that many girls in Kibera confront, but also the positive life she aspires to achieve. We strongly encourage her expressions of self and reflections on life... so enjoy!

Who Am I As A Girl?
A poem by Mercy A.

As a little girl being employed,
others go to school as I am at home.
Working past hours, never given time to rest.
Being weak, no growing, no feeding, or being abused.
As little girls, we should fight for our rights.

Finding a young girl learning and enjoying
life in school, but after a few weeks,
Boys' sweet talks mislead the girls.
After a few months, falling in love, a girl drops out of school.
Why? Every girl has a right to school.
As little girls, we should fight for our rights.

All my parents are gone, I'm remaining an orphan.
People insulting and laughing at me,
others even encourage me to leave school. Why?
I should learn to become a good person in the future,
help my family to leave poorness behind and cheer for a new life.
As little girls, we should fight for our rights.