Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, is home to Kibera, one of the world’s largest slums.
It houses between 170,000 and 1 million locals. Around half of Kenyans live below the poverty line with some 38.5 per cent of the adult population illiterate. The population is young, around 73% are 30 or under.
Education is one of the biggest steps toward conquering poverty – it offers chances, hope and possibilities. That’s why Esharelife has committed to support another of AVSI’s Kenyan projects, and support more than 100 students with scholarships at the St Kizito Vocational Training Institute.
The AVSI Foundation has supported the development of several schools in Kenya since the early 90s: kindergartens, elementary, middle, high school and VTIs.
Over time, these schools have shifted from receivers of support to fully-engaged partners in action with a mission to unlock children’s access to schooling.
St. Kizito Vocational Training Institute is one of the schools empowered by AVSI Foundation.
Certified by the Ministry of Education, it welcomes students from all backgrounds. Mostly they come from the slums of Nairobi, from orphanages and shelters for street children; others are refugees or former child soldiers.
Many of these children, despite having completed their primary education, find they cannot continue any further and end up with no qualifications at all. The school is an opportunity to receive a quality education, to find a job suitable for a modernising country and overcome poverty.
Established in 1994 in the heart of the Kibera slum in Nairobi, the school offers high-quality teaching – in fact, teaching and laboratory standards at the school are among the best in the country. The dropout rate is virtually non-existent compared with a country-average of 35%.
The school offers professional training courses with students going on to enjoy good job prospects and high employment rates. Last year (2017) the school’s management moved to open its doors to provide for the needs of young urban refugees to provide them with the skills needed to face everyday life with dignity.
Some 250 young people applied for training courses run by the school as a first step to a better life. The scholarships, supported by donors, deliver skills from carpentry, welding and IT, to qualified beauticians and other professionals.
The school works with partner institutions to teach all the other skills needed to find and maintain a job and work experience is an integral part of the courses.
St. Kizito Institute students become drivers of change in their community. Their impact is bigger than the economic contribution to their families. They become a source of inspiration and proof that individuals’ circumstances can be changed.
Esharelife is proud to pledge support for 116 young people with scholarships at St Kizito. These are scholarships that will offer the chance of the greatest and most lasting impact in their lives.