Growing Global Citizens

Last week on Tuesday the 18^th and Thursday the 20^th, the LitWorld Girls Club’s sorority were head over heels as they experienced what they had never done before- having a Skype session with their counterparts- Girls Prep in New York. This was made possible by The Red Rose Center, CoKF and LitWorld.

It might seem to be a simple exciting experience but it actually goes beyond that. This was a positive and affirmative step towards growing GLOBAL CITIZENS. The faster the art of information and communication changes the faster the world is becoming a global village.

In past correspondences, members of Girls Club Kibera could only communicate through emails, posted letters and scanned drawings, but this time round they were able to peg faces and personalities to the names, they were able to ‘see’ each other as they interacted, there was a special bond, a robust connection as the two groups worlds apart were visibly excited as they asked and answered the diverse questions they had prepared beforehand.

This kind of sessions fosters better understanding and expunges stereotypes, they encourage mutual respect, they add something extra to humanity, they GROW GLOBAL CITIZENS.

“LitWorld and CoKF together, we can make things happen
for these amazing kids on both sides of the Atlantic.
I wish I had such exposure way back then!!!”
Ken Okoth-Founder CoKF

'Welcome to the Skype session today'
'Our Girls' club is so vibrant'
'thats so funny about your Girls Club'
'Just listen to that!"
'Cant wait for the next Skype session'

Of Home visits, Performance and Futures.

Thursday 14th January marked our last day of visiting homes of the 19 shortlisted candidates for the 2011 High School scholarship lot. I must say that the team was quite humbled by the experiences out of the journeys crisscrossing the narrow corridors of the slum.

Each household had its unique story but they all can be summed up in three words: struggle,commitment and hope.

These sterling performers live in squalid conditions: single rooms shared with an average of ten family members, no guarantee of three meals day, single parents, absentee fathers, domestic violence is rife,drugs and peer pressure to mention but a few, despite all these, they produced the results.

To an outsider, the stunning results might mean just that, good results; to a person who has advanced from ‘peeping through the window’ and ‘entering the houses’, the good results mean something. It is their only hope for improving their lives and that of their family members in the long run. That informs you why they see the Children of Kibera Scholarship scheme as a chance of a lifetime, a matter of life and future.

Their impressive marks will definitely earn them places in prestigious high schools, but the big question still remains: will they be able to afford the average fees of Ksh 52,172 that most of these schools charge?

Children of Kibera Foundation’s logo is a hand. It will definitely touch the lives of the scholarship award winners.

Our first visit
Mohamed leaves with his grandmother who has seen him through primary school

Hello Mum! 'Children of Kibera' are here!

What if I don't get the scholarship?
Karibu!
Daniel,mum and their last born.
Over the hills and valleys