Kibera Vocational Training School

Kibera, one of the largest slums in Africa, is home to some 1.2 million people in a roughly one square mile area. The people of Kibera live on less than $1 per day. Most youth in Kibera are unemployed. Without education and without jobs, they are hopeless and easily manipulated by others. Learning a skill provides an opportunity for them to enter the workplace, get out of poverty, and reverse the downward spiral which has been in Kibera for generations.

Kibera has also been deeply affected by the horrific riots and violence following the January 2008 elections in Kenya. Tensions between two of the largest tribes in Kenya, the Luo and the Kikuyu, resulted in rioting, destruction of property, and death. This violence was prevalent in the largely Luo community of Kibera.

Proposal

In partnership with The Outreach Foundation and the P.C.E.A. Emmanuel church in Kibera, we are constructing a vocational/technical school in Kibera. This two-story building will house 8 classrooms and related offices. It is being built on the church compound adjacent to the church. We are also providing the required furniture, equipment, tools and teaching aids.

The school, scheduled to open in spring 2009, will prepare Kibera youth to enter the work force by training them in 8 different skill areas: electrical, computer, carpentry, catering/cooking, car mechanics, welding, tailoring, and accounting/bookkeeping.  In one year the school will have the capacity to train up to 180 Kibera youth. This will allow them to find jobs, support their families, and be productive members of society. The school will operate under the direction of the church through a school board. The school is intended to be self-sustaining.

This project will have a great impact on Kibera immediately and for generations to come. To change the environment, you need to change the individuals that live there one by one. You need to change them spiritually, and equip them with the tools to be able to find work and support themselves and their families. Education empowers the individual. Providing job skill training and a job changes the dynamics of the community.

Total Need

$230,000