This month, WF Kenya came another step closer towards establishing a school with 8 classrooms in the Kitui Ndogo Slum. The school, to be called Malezi, which means Care, or Nurturing, will accommodate many children who do not currently have access to affordable schools.
Kituii Ndogo is a harsh, neglected slum close to the city centre of Nairobi, Kenya that houses approximately 50,000 residents. Average daily income hovers around $1 USD, so most live in abject poverty, and the slum itself is beset by complex challenges, such as government demolitions, hazardous sanitation problems, and crime. It is estimated there are 2,000 children living in Kituii not attending school due to their poverty level. As such, kids sit around all day while their parents are out earning money–sometimes they are out earning money themselves (at ages as young as 10), leaving them vulnerable to negative influences from the environment.
The Malezi School will not just be a place where children learn how to read and write, it will also be a space for character transformation. In addition to the standard curriculum, our students will receive values-based life skills training to give them the moral sensibility to avoid lives of crime, and to inspire them to be responsible members of the community who work toward community solutions. The school will also be 100% sustainable- Malezi will be an owned property, so that they do not need to pay rent to a landlord, and parents will need to pay a token school fee, which will force the issue of parental involvement.
WF Kenya has currently worked to connect water pipes to the site, which, when connected to the planned 10,000 litre water tank, will enable the school to sell clean water to the surrounding residents.
Here are some photos of the water equipment’s construction:
