Kibera School for Girls

Nairobi has had multiple blackouts over the past few days, so I’ve had a dead computer and no internet! I had a really full week/weekend even before Sunday’s shenanigans. Hopefully I can remember everything and fill you in!

On Saturday afternoon we got out of the office and went on an exciting visit. We bused to Kibera, Nairobi’s largest slum. An estimated 1-2 million people live here, but it is impossible to know the true number because the residents are techinically squatters on government land. The population density is suggested to be around 750,000 people per square mile. You can imagine from how close these rooftops are that Kibera is a hotbed for contagious disease and poor sanitation.

Houses like these stretch on forever.

A space even this big seemed very rare. 

We walked on the narrow “roads” to the Kibera School for Girls. The school is tuition-free and incredible. A parent or sibling must work in the school for 5 weeks to earn the entire year of education for each girl. It seems like a great model.The facilities are bright and colorful, and the school is also affiliated with a number of initiatives that have begun to make a positive impact in the lives of families in Kibera. SHOFCO, the organization that oversees the school, provides health, water, and sanitation services to areas of Kibera.

The school was co-founded by an SIT alum, Jessica Posner. We toured the school and ended up in the library, where we were humbled by a performance by the girls of the school.  

A few of the girls after they sang their school song

Without this school, most of these girls would completely miss out on education and all that it can bring. The average life expectancy in the Kibera slums is 30 years old. These girls might have strengthened that average without the amenities this facility delivers to them: breakfast and lunch, health services, opportunities.