Challenges
Facing economic obstacles, a lack of educational opportunities, and poor support systems, youth in Kibera struggle to break out of the cycle of poverty, pursue higher education, and find permanent employment.
CFK Solutions
CFK supports education both in and out of the classroom, providing young people with opportunities for academic and economic success and development. Through four projects, CFK provides scholarships to cover school fees, identifies cost-effective best practices to improve student attendance and progress, helps students develop work readiness and entrepreneurial skills, and promotes peace, unity, and equality through sports.
The Angaza Scholarship Project (Swahili for “Shed the Light”) provides students with scholarships to cover tuition, fees, books, and uniforms for all four years of high school.
Angaza recognizes that vulnerable students will not succeed with school fees alone, so the project creates a holistic support system, working with parents to create positive learning environments and schools to offer extra support for students. The project also connects students to activities beyond academics, providing a mix of leadership training and immersive field trips.
Leadership Training
Parent's Clinic
Angaza Alumni Cohort
Over the past 15 years, the number of children in Kibera who have ever attended school has risen from about 15% to 90%, but thousands of children still do not qualify to attend secondary school every year. The Best Schools Initiative (BSI) was established to put an end to this tragedy.
Between 2016 and 2018, the BSI conducted extensive research in Kibera to identify the factors impacting student attendance and success in the community’s informal schools.
After identifying the most significant issues, the BSI developed 12 best practices to address each barrier. BSI staff partnered with 24 schools to test each practice and used a mobile app for monitoring and evaluation.
Best practices include administrator training, affordable school fees, after-school classes, attendance rewards, between-term classes, decreased student-to-textbook ratio, feminine hygiene products, increased teacher pay, parenting workshops, reliable and nutritious school lunches, supplemental libraries, and teacher training.
Basic Level
Discovery Level
Scaling Level
Success looks different for everyone, so CFK developed entrepreneurship and economic development programming to support youth in Kibera with vocational training, financial literacy and work readiness skills, information and computer technology training, and connections to savings and loan associations.
ICT Centre
Financial Literacy Training
Work Readiness Initiatives
CFK’s flagship Sports for Development project engages youth in team-based sports to teach teamwork, leadership, and equality. Youth also participate in workshops on sexual and reproductive health, WASH, and gender parity. CFK’s sports programming acts as a gateway, inviting youth to participate in additional youth-friendly programs.
Ethnic Diversity
Gender Equality
Leadership Development
Related Resources
