Children of Kibera Foundation: Breaking The Generational Cycle of Poverty Through Education.

“It was such a humbling moment walking into the university, I could not believe it! All my hard work had finally paid off, I am so happy and grateful to the Children of Kibera Foundation (CoKF). Thanks to them, my dreams have come true.” Remarked Toma-one of our pioneer high school scholars.

It has been a time of deep reflections and looking back from where we started, so much has been accomplished. Our pioneer high school scholars, who had their scholarship awarded in 2008; Zainab, Toma and Lowry were all called to top Kenyan and International Universities. Zainab got admission to the Moi University, Lowry to Kenyatta University and Toma to the United States International University (USIU). When they received the news that they shall be joining these hallowed institutions of higher learning, they all couldn’t help but beam with pride, joy and satisfaction. Through the High School Scholarship Program, CoKF is now breaking the generational cycle of poverty in Kibera through providing access to higher education which is an extraordinary achievement.

The high school scholarship program was launched in 2008 and started off with only three students. The scholarship covers tuition, books, uniforms and stipends for the students enabling them to complete their secondary education. The selection process includes home visits which help in giving us a proper social background of the applicants. We therefore select candidates who are holistically endowed, not just with the academic achievements, but also in other sectors such as the co-curricular activities.

From the initial three students, with the help of one of our core partners The School Fund, the program now has 64 students – three (2008), 12 (2009), six (2010) and 30 (2012). This number is anticipated to continue increasing over the coming years. Out of the 64 students, 12 are set to graduate at the end of the year and have hopes and dreams of joining university.

The launch of the bursary program at the beginning of 2012 is also a grand achievement in our advancement of secondary education in Kibera. This program has a total of 96 high school students from Kibera. It was initiated to ease the school fees burden from the parents’ shoulders.