Charity Partner

Our 2010-2011 Charity Partner
Shining Hope for Communities: The Kiberia School for Girls

In August 2009, Shining Hope for Communities founded The Kibera School for Girls, the first tuition-free school for girls in Kibera. By providing a superior education, daily nourishment, uniforms, and schools supplies all free of charge, they are able to give the brightest and most at-risk girls the power of hope and education. Instead of traditional curricula used across the developing world where students passively listen, demonstrate knowledge via exams, and suffer corporal punishment, education specialists helped to design an innovative curriculum to capitalize on how children best learn. Their hands-on curriculum fosters independence and creativity, instilling a love of learning that motivates students to surmount the many challenges that they face.

The school is housed in an eco-friendly building in the heart of Kibera. Community members helped build the school, which includes eight classrooms, a large library, and a multipurpose room. The school also provides students with after-school programs and psychosocial support to prevent further rape and abuse and address trauma. Run by a staff of expert female teachers, the school gives students and community-members positive female role models. Instead of paying fees, parents agree to work at the school and community center, which creates a community of caregivers invested in their daughters’ education. After graduating 8th grade, they plan to funnel students into area high schools. Aiducation International, a partner NGO, has committed to providing full scholarships for 15 of our students to attend boarding schools in Kenya each year. They also have pledged to provide college/career counseling and academic support to their graduates.

The Kibera School for Girls currently serves 100 students grades pre-K through 2nd grade. The school will follow students through 8th grade. Already 80% of students are performing at grade level or above. Some of their 1st and 2ndgrade students are even reading at 8th and 9th grade levels! With your support, they are building a global model of linking tuition free schools for girls to accessible social services for all.

The school has already saved the lives of many of their students, protecting them from rape and prostitution while providing the educational foundation for a path out of the slum. Students at The Kibera School for Girls are Kenya’s future leaders!

To learn more about our 2010-2011 charity partner, please visit http://shininghopeforcommunities.org/projects/ksg/.