The Karibu Sana project has recently published its 2023 annual report, in which it shares very encouraging stories and data about how it is facilitating access to education for more and more boys and girls living at risk of vulnerability in Kenya.
From the Social Promotion Foundation we collaborate with this initiative that, since 2016, has financially supported children without resources who live in the shanty towns (or ‘slums’) of Nairobi, so that they can go to school and receive a quality education. that allows them to build their own future and improve the living conditions of their families and communities.
In this 2023 annual report, it is highlighted that the boys and girls with whom Karibu Sana started in January 2016 have begun to finish their school years. It is encouraging to have been able to accompany and support them throughout this personal and educational evolution and to see that they end up being able to carve out their own future thanks to the opportunity received.
The same is expected for the total of 451 students who are currently receiving support within the framework of this initiative. Of them, 351 receive help directly from Karibu Sana, while the remaining 100 receive it thanks to collaboration agreements established with two local schools: Desert Streams and Transform School.
The report also highlights an important milestone with respect to these two schools in 2023, since 30 students from the first year and 8 from the second managed to pass the cut-off mark necessary to begin secondary school studies, that is, almost all of those who They took the mandatory national exam. In 2016, neither of these two schools managed to keep their students studying, since they abandoned education at the age of 14.
To achieve these results, Karibu Sana works with a key criterion: the children’s families have to provide uniforms and books, as well as take charge of the third quarter of the year (the shortest and cheapest). Thus, the project can cover more students and, in addition, fosters the sense of responsibility of parents with their own children, avoiding situations of dependency on external help. However, the project does fully cover the needs of a total of 12 boys and girls who are in a situation of helplessness due to illness, widowhood or orphanhood.
When boys and girls reach the age of majority and opt for university or vocational training to continue their studies, they themselves collaborate with their own education (opting for scholarships, compatible jobs, help from family or their community…). To help them as much as possible while working on their autonomy, Karibu Sana carries out a personalized study for each student, to see how much they can contribute.