Educate, Feed & Protect Children in Kibera, Kenya

Alice  joined our nursery school as Head Teacher six years ago. Since then, she has worked day and night to create a safe and loving learning environment for the 80 children in our nursery school. Hailing from the Kibera community herself, she brings both a passion for education and an understanding of the needs of the most vulnerable children in the community.

When Alice started with us, she was pursuing a diploma in education, balancing work and school by taking courses during holiday breaks. In 2012, she completed the diploma, but wasn't ready to stop there. In 2015, she registered for the Sustainable Human Development (e.g., social work) program at Koya University in Nairobi and received a partial scholarship from the university to join the incoming class. 

Recognizing Alice's passion for professional development, we were able to offer her a loan to cover the remaining portion of tuition. Alice began taking evening classes while continuing as our Head Teacher. On November 17th, after three years of hard work, we are proud to announce that Alice graduated with flying colors from the program. Alice now holds her Bachelor's of Arts in Sustainable Development/Social Work.

As Head Teacher for our nursery school, education is only one piece of Alice's day to day role. On a daily basis, Alice's ability to work hollistically with the parents, caregivers and families, is an equally critical piece of her job to support the development of the orphaned and vulnerable children that we serve. Alice must constantly address situations arising around violence or neglect in the home, parents/caregivers who abuse drugs or alcohol, children in need of HIV testing, and children that are malnourished -- to name just a few. A natural at working hand in hand with the families, Alice's studies in social work have better equipped her to effectively manage the many arising issues that our children face that threaten their healthy development.  

Congratulations to Alice! We know she already has her eyes set on a Master's Degree...but we are happy to be able to celebrate this huge accomplishment and what it means for our school in Kibera. She continues to be an asset to our children, families and community.

Today is August 8^th: election day in Kenya. Over the past few months, the country has been abuzz as Kenyans prepare to go to the polls to elect the next President, as well as Members of Parliament. Despite a mostly peaceful 2012 election, the month-long post-election ethnic violence that erupted in 2007 across Kenya, and particularly in Kibera and other slums around Nairobi, is never a far off thought as 1,100 were killed and 650,000 displaced across the country.   

With our nursery school and rescue center both situated in Kibera and with indications of another potentially violent post-election period (like the killing of a high ranking election official in July), St. Vincent’s has been working over the last months to prepare for the election and ensure that all of our children and families are safe during this time. Our Nursery School closed operations at the end of July, giving time for families to leave Kibera (most returning “up country” to their family homes) in advance of the election. The school will re-open in September, according to the Ministry of Education calendar, and pending the security of Kibera following today’s election. Meanwhile, children from our Rescue Center have been temporarily placed with extended families or housed outside of Kibera by a church group that supports St. Vincent’s and will return once it is deemed safe for them to do so.

In addition to making preparations for our children, St. Vincent’s took the opportunity to discuss the elections during a school “open day” (or parent’s day) last week with our community. Here, our Director, Lucy Kayiwa, engaged parents/caregivers in a discussion about the election to give them the opportunity to share their feelings and fears, as well as to reiterate the importance of avoiding violence and keeping their children protected during this potentially insecure time. 

We are hopeful for a peaceful election process here in Kibera and across the country.