Cathrine Joins State House Girls School.

Proud to be a student at State House Girls' High School

Without dreams, there would be no ambition to chase, there would be no goals to reach. Most children in Kibera have a dream to be successful in life. To achieve this cherished dream, a good education is their only ladder. 

On the 10^th of February 2013, Cokf staff came up with the final list of students to receive full high school scholarships. Catherine  was overjoyed on hearing the news that she was one of the selected candidates set to benefit from the CoKF high school scholarship scheme. 
Cathrine lives in Soweto village in Kibera and is the fourth born among five siblings. She loves  traveling and reading novels. Her dream is to be a surgeon because she believes that there are not enough surgeons in Kenya. Getting the CoKF Scholarship and joining form 1 at State House Girls High School this year has been a huge break for her and her family. 

We wish her all the best as she embarks on her high school journey, successful completion of high school education and subsequent joining of university will surely make Cathrine's  dream of a good life come true.

Catherine and her mother -Joyce after she fully registered

Cathrine, mum, dad and Prisca (CoKF staff-second left) upon admission

We at the CoKF are proud of Catherine and all the other students who got the scholarship. We wish them a successful stay in the next four years.

Scholarship Awarding Process 2013- Part 2

The 'train' in Gatwekera Village

Out of the 51 shortlisted candidates, 44 showed up for meetings at our office and participated in our home visits. The preliminary meeting entailed taking the hopeful scholars through our selection process and assuring them that our process was free, fair and everyone had an equal chance of getting the scholarship.

After two consecutive meetings, it was now time to traverse the terrain of Kibera slums. CoKF staff visited the homes of each of the 44 shortlisted scholars over a period of three days. These visits saw the staff visit all the 12 villages making up the Kibera slum. It is interesting to also note that during the home visits, hopeful scholars assigned for that day accompanied us.

The exercise ended successfully on the 14^th of February and a final list of 10 selected scholars prepared on the 15^th day of February.

CoKF staff takes this opportunity to sincerely thank all those who enabled this exercise be a success; from that parent who took time off their daily routine to host us to that teacher who helped us trace a student.

To the selected scholars, this is just a bridge; you have the potential to make it big. Use this chance to scale even greater heights on the upward social mobility ladder.

A detailed blog on the 10 selected scholars will come in the last part of this trilogy blog.

 

 

Every single detail noted

CoKF is here!

A hopeful scholar with his parents after the home visit

Mwaniki stays with his grandmother

Evans has lived with his elder brother since he was 4 years old

Scholarship Awarding Process 2013 - Part 1

Hopeful beneficiary going through
the list of scholarship applicants

To a child born and brought up in Kibera, education is the greatest equalizer. Attaining quality education to the highest levels possible triggers upward social mobility. In making the dreams of such children come true, Children of Kibera Foundation (CoKF) aids in the access of quality high school education by offering 10 full scholarships annually.
A top national or provincial high school (sort of Ivy League) in Kenya costs averagely USD 900 a year. This makes them out of reach to top performing students from Kibera despite securing admission, for the average income per month in most Kibera households is USD 60.
In 2012 we received 487 scholarship applications. Out of this pool, 40 students attained our scholarship qualification mark of 370 points (B+) out of the possible 500 points in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (K.C.P.E) . We have already shortlisted the 40 candidates and mapped them on the basis of location, covering all the 12 villages making up Kibera slums. The next step will involve actual home visits as the scholarships are awarded on a merit and need consideration. CoKF  has only 10 full scholarships to award each year.

A blog detailing our home visits and selection of the 10 scholars class of 2013 will be coming soon.

Stream of parents submitting their children's
marks at the Children of Kibera office.

CoKF staff during a home visits exercise in 2012