The Lutheran school was started by church members who came together to give the big population of Kibera children a place they can call a school. Kibera being the largest slum in Sub-Saharan Africa has an estimated population of 1million people where 60% are young people and children. This population has overtaken the education facilities in the area forcing churches, organisations and donors to invest more in education by providing a place for children to learn. These schools are known as non-formal schools and Lutheran School falls under this category.
This year the school managed to register a total of 130 children from the age of 3-10 years from all over Kibera, both Muslim and Christian. The school serves from day care children through to standard three where in the Kenyan Education system children are mostly 9-10 years old.
Being a non-formal school, most of the teachers are volunteers but with good qualifications acquired from the Ministry of Education. The school depends 90% on donations from friends, donors and well wishers. A large percentage of the children are not in a position to pay school fees which makes it very hard to plan and effectively run an institution but thanks go to sponsors, friends and donors who have never let this wonderful institution down. From 2007 Vision Africa has been supporting two main areas in this school:
1. Feeding Program – Through Vision Africa’s funding, the school has managed to feed 130 children from Monday to Friday with lunch which makes a very big difference in the children’s lives. Food in the stomach helps a good learning atmosphere and improves concentration. Most of these children come from very poor families which cannot afford two meals a day so lunch in school might end up being supper for some children.
2. Sponsorship – To help with the budget of the school, Vision Africa provides sponsorship to assist in the payment of teachers and also to acquire some learning materials for the children. This has been very successful and we have managed to get 32 children sponsors who pay a small fee every month. Through the same system of sponsorship we have managed to get uniforms for all the sponsored children plus another 20 needy children this year. The uniform includes a dress and school bag for girls and a shirt, shorts and bag for boys.
As the end of term two approaches, we are looking forward to holding a Sports Day at the school sponsored by the Ainslie family who will be visiting from the UK. Check back later for a report on this event.
Thanks to Vision Africa and all the sponsors and friends for making a difference to our lovely children in Kibera Lutheran School.
You can sponsor a child at the Lutheran School for as little as £7 (800ksh) a month or if you live in the Nairobi area and would like to make a donation in kind such as food or stationery, please get in touch.
Update by Vincent Kegode.