Board Chairman Rob Norton, Family, and Friends Pay a Visit to Children of Kibera Foundation

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.