Meet Mama Michelle!

​Thank you to everyone who supported us in our Mother's Day matching campaign! By contributing to this campaign you were able to show not only how important your​ mother is, but also how important all​ mothers are, whether they're from New York City or Kibera. We hope that you and your family -- and especially all of the moms out there! -- had an incredible day.

Below, meet one of the many mothers who make a difference at SHOFCO every single day.

Interview with Mama Michelle – Jackline Achieng Owiti – Parent and Employee

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How long have you been involved with SHOFCO?

Michelle started coming to school three years ago. Then Ken’s mother called me to prepare food for the clinic. I started working in 2011. Before, I was selling tomatoes, onions, and cabbage in my mother’s store.

How do you enjoy working at SHOFCO?

With my salary, I buy things that I don’t have in the house. The money has helped me very much. I help my mother upcountry, I help my son to go to school. Now, Baba Michelle [my husband] doesn’t have a good job, so when I get money it helps us in the house because he does casual labor. Sometimes he goes out, sometimes he comes back without anything. I am happy with SHOFCO. My mother is suffering in the village, but when I get money, I can send it for her to help her with another sister who is at home. She is in primary school. I don’t have my father, I have only my mother. My mother is also is a business owner, but she doesn’t get enough money so I help her with my salary. She’s happy when I send money to her.

I am very happy. I like SHOFCO very much. SHOFCO helps me very much. By now I have everything that I got because of money I got from serving SHOFCO. Of course, SHOFCO has changed my life. And changed the life of Michelle. From now, I’m feeling very well. Many people want to come to this school. They ask me, Mama Michelle, how can I bring my baby there? I tell them to bring their baby to interview.

How do you think Michelle has changed since she’s joined KSG?

She has changed. She knows how to read and write, speak fluent English. She teaches me. When she is grown up, she can help me. I know I will eat very well because Michelle has a lot of knowledge. She wants to be a doctor, and I am very much happy.

What have you learned since you started working here?

I have learned how to speak with people. You can tell somebody something and the way you handle it is not good. I know how to be with many people, how you can talk with them.

How is Michelle’s education different than your son’s?

Michelle knows how to speak. The boy can write but speaking is very difficult for him. The boy is bigger than Michelle but she is doing very well.

What do you think is the most important program that SHOFCO has?

The school is the most important because the students know how to learn. The teachers know how to teach the children very well. 

​Mama Michelle and Michelle on our rooftop playground!

Gardens for Growth

At KSG, students don't just learn the parts of the plant -- they learn about plants by watching them grow from seeds. This hands-on approach starts as early as pre-Kindergarten, and this month our students planted corn, beans, and lentil seeds in the school garden after sprouting them in plastic bags.

From the Classroom: My Dreams

In our after school program, the fourth grade girls are learning about what it means to dream. We asked the girls to describe their dreams – for tomorrow, for the year, and for their life. Enjoy their responses, below.

Lorna, Grade 4

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I would like to have a goal which is I want to work hard in class and I also want to dream about good things that I am the best and I hope my dream will come true.

Year

My goal for the year is to be number one in class and also my goal is to be the brightest girl and learn more things.

Life

In my life I would like to be a doctor in the future. In my life I would like to be the best doctor in the world. In life I would like to pass my exams and go to the national school. When I grow up I want to be a doctor to help other people from different diseases.

Herenia, Grade 4

Tomorrow

To be the cleanest

To understand everything

To come and become the best

Year

To enjoy Christmas

To graduate to the next class

To be the head girl

Life

To be the best woman

To have a master’s degree

To pass all examinations

I’m dreaming to be a chef and a nun because I want to cook for the President. I also want to teach people about God the father.

Eunice, Grade 4

Tomorrow

I will be a good girl.

I will be a nice and perfect girl.

I will treat people all over the world.

Year

I will obey.

I will respect.

I will be obedient.

I will be hardworking.

I will be careful with my study.

Life

I will be a doctor.

I will help children.

I will help the needy go to my hospital.

I will have my own property.

Selma, Grade 4

Tomorrow

To come to school when I am blessed and early and also not to become sick

Year

To work hard and go to the next class then go on to university

Life

To have a big house and have a nice life and drive my own car with my children

I will become a lawyer to defend everyone.

Group Savings & Loans Program Aiming Big in 2013

“Economic empowerment is the key to all the social issues that we have in the human life.” James Bundi, our Community Programs Manager, believes that by linking the social services that Shining Hope provides with a program that trains and supports community members to succeed economically, the Kibera community can bring positive change from within. James, who is from Kibera, is currently developing one of our largest and most impactful programs: our Group Savings and Loans (GS&L) program.

GS&L is a service where groups of 10-15 community members come together twice a month to support each other in their economic pursuits. Each member contributes a small amount of money, on average about 50 shillings (~60 cents) each meeting, to the group. This group saves collectively, distributing loans to individual members as needed. Borrowing members then slowly repay the loan with a small amount of interest, which goes to the group’s collective savings. As more money is saved the group can distribute larger loans to their members, harnessing the power of group saving.

The Group Savings and Loans team

In addition to providing a structure for members to save their money and to receive loans, the GS&L program supports members in two essential ways. First, GS&L members receive business training, with a special focus on how to keep proper accounts and plan for sustainable business growth. These skills are often neglected by individuals with their own small businesses, and our GS&L team has noticed a considerable improvement in business performance after trainings.

Perhaps most importantly, however, members of GS&L join a dedicated support network where they can discuss all the challenges they are facing in life, not just the struggles they are facing in their businesses. For example, women in the Johanna Justin-Jinich Clinic’s malnourished children feeding program are often placed in the same GS&L group. Because all groups members know what challenges the others are going through, they can help to support one another emotionally as well as financially.

Additionally our various departments -- our clinic programs, our clean water tower, our youth programs, and our community programs  -- focus on linking together, so that a woman who enrolls in a pre-natal care program at our clinic can also access our economic empowerment programs, while also being introduced to our other beneficial services. By linking services often provided independently, we increase the impact that we have on individuals, families and the entire community.

2013 will be a big year for the GS&L program. While the program has already existed for over a year, this year we are looking to vastly expand. By the end of the year we will have over 2000 members, with groups in every single village of Kibera. 

In order to reach our goals, we have assembled a team of program coordinators and assistants who work with James to expand the program. There are six coordinators who are each assigned two villages in Kibera that they are responsible for. GS&L coordinators assist community members in creating groups, provide GS&L and business training, and monitor and assist as the group starts regular meetings.

The GS&L team uses what they've deemed the "Magic Wall" to track their progress in all of Kibera's villages

Currently the program has over 600 members, and is expanding into all of Kibera’s villages. While expansion of the program was slow at the start of the year due to uneasiness about the Kenyan election, James and the team think the program will rapidly grow now that the elections have concluded peacefully.

Overall, the GS&L program is an exciting example of what our Community Programs department is doing to create positive change in Kibera.  The program is empowering individuals so that they can grow their businesses. With the loans and business training provided, many members have seen rising profits. These profits are helping the families of these members by putting food on the table, meeting the costs of school fees, and by allowing for further business expansion.

Teacher Spotlight: Dorothy Okwang

Walking down the upper school corridor at the Kibera School for Girls (KSG), it’s hard to pass third grade teacher Dorothy Okwang without becoming invigorated. Her enthusiasm and warmth is exuded not only by her brightly colored clothes and jewelry—but also her smile and exuberance of spirit. Dorothy greets everyone with a high five and a huge smile, and it’s easy to see why her students are so enamored with her.

Dorothy joined the KSG staff in 2011, immediately after receiving her certificate in education from a local Nairobi college. She joined the third grade class as its Assistant Teacher, and after one year was promoted to Head Teacher. She loves our students, and especially enjoys teaching creative arts and math. “The girls have passion for learning and are very disciplined and active in all subjects,” explains Dorothy.

​Tr. Dorothy leads her class in an energy game!

The difficult home lives of our students bring many challenges to the classroom—challenges to which Dorothy brings her nurturing empathy and dynamic teaching style. “In the morning, sometimes students haven’t had breakfast before they arrive, so they are moody or maybe they were quarreled by their parents so they come into class and they’re upset. They want to be alone; they don’t want to talk to anyone. You have to come in the morning and try to psyche them up, through energizing movement and exciting lessons, so that they can catch up with the rest of the class and environment.”

Dorothy’s enthusiasm cannot be stopped, even by her long commute, which necessitates she leaves her house by 5:30 every morning. “The girls are the ones who give me the energy. I can’t imagine going to a school where the students aren’t captivated. It’s such a hard time. But here at the Kibera School for Girls, when you think about the girls, taking a day off is hard to enjoy.” Dorothy says that even on Saturdays she worries about the girls and anxiously waits for Monday’s school day to come when she can see them again.

The school’s curriculum and energy makes it so unique, Dorothy says. “Students are taught in diverse subjects, and we involve students so actively in the lessons so that the students are able to learn through their own exploration and excitement. It’s not for the teacher to make them learn but for them to learn themselves.”

Dorothy’s contagious smile lights up every room at KSG, and we are so thrilled to have her on staff!

Teacher Spotlight: Florence Odero

 Florence Akinyi Odero has been teaching at the Kibera School for Girls (KSG) for two years. Now the head Kindergarten teacher, Florence began teaching at KSG with her pre-Kindergarten class last year. She is excited to stay with her students for a second year, commenting that her students are, “lovely, and so enjoyable to teach. I am always impressed by the way they participate in class.”

Florence lives with her husband and children in Kibera. “Before I came here, I heard about Kibera as the biggest slum in Nairobi. I heard about there being no toilets, many people living in one room; no secrets or privacy. And it is true.  Many of our students need things like food, water, and shelter. At times, they come to school without taking breakfast. They’re very busy. They didn’t have enough sleep because of the rain or the cold. It affects their learning in class. When they come to school without food, it affects their learning.” At the Kibera School for Girls, we provide students with two nutritious meals everyday, as well as clean water, healthcare, and psycho-social services in order to support their success in the classroom.

Florence says that the girls are completely different from the students she taught previously. “The girls are very different. At this level, they can reason and tell you why it is yes and why it is no. At other schools, the students don’t know how to defend their position. These girls have a high reasoning capacity. This is because of the method of KSG’s curriculum. They are taught differently. They know how to analyze and discuss about a matter. At other schools, students just state but they don’t understand.”

Florence loves working at KSG because the girls are so receptive to new things, and because it’s a joy to teach with her coworkers who are a supportive and nurturing community.

Literacy Curriculum

Our teachers are at it again! This month, Veteran teachers Marty & Arna Caplan returned to Kibera to engage our students in a new literacy curriculum. Last January, the Caplans brought Math in Focus to the Kibera School for Girls. Math in Focus is a program that engages students through physical discovery, written comprehension – equations, picture drawing, etc.—and through abstract concepts. Our students have loved all of the manipulatives that Math in Focus provides for lessons, including measuring cups, counters, and scales. Math classes at the Kibera School for Girls are not only times for intensive academic instruction—they are times for exploration, discovery, and fun!

 This year, the Caplans are introducing Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt’s Journeys: A Path to Balanced Literacy program. This comprehensive program follows the same general practices as our math curriculum – the “I do, we do, you do” system. First, students watch the teacher engage with a certain type of problem – I do. Next, the class works on the problem together – we do. Finally, once the student is confident and capable, they are given the opportunity to solve problems on their own – you do.

This new literacy curriculum is a complete overhaul of the older program. Journeys is based on a Balanced Literacy approach, one that “allows all kinds of children to learn, leaves space for people with different learning styles, and doesn’t rely on one method,” explained Arna Caplan. Rather than taking a traditional literacy curriculum that focus on phonics, this program emphasizes a holistic approach. Journeys emphasizes every kind of communication: reading, writing, listening, speaking, and viewing. Our students will be given reading assignments that emphasize vocabulary, text complexity and comprehension, and grammar. The Balanced Literacy program is a student-centric program that helps students take ownership of their own literacy education through choosing books that are interesting and relevant to their interests and curiosities.

The Journeys program focuses on two levels of learning: the surface skills level, including letters, vocabulary, and grammar, & the deeper skills and strategy level, like comprehension and response. This program uses real literature – think lots of Clifford the Big Red Dog! – to engage students in core literacy skills, rather than creating new books around structured vocabulary and grammar lessons. 

This new program provides ample materials, lesson plans, and guiding instruction to assist our teachers in engaging students in critical thinking! We are thrilled to have the Caplans back with us again, and can’t wait to see what kind of exciting new materials they have in store for us next year!

From the Classroom: Education Poems

Tracy Knight presents a poem about Education

By Tracy Knight, 3rd Grade

Education, Education, every body needs Education.

I must get education.

To brighten my future,

Education is the key every body needs it.

Education, Education, every body needs Education.

Listening to my teachers,

And be what I want to be.

Education is the key every body needs it.

Education, Education, every body needs Education.

To pass my exams, I need education

To open my future.

Education is the key every body needs it. 

Education

By Martha Achieng, 3rd Grade

Education, Education, every body needs Education.

If you have education, you can have good career.

You can become a doctor, a pilot and a teacher.

Education is the key, every body needs it.

Education, Education, every body needs Education.

Education is life, life to success.

When you have education you can have a brighter life.

Education is the key, every body needs it.

Education, Education, every body needs Education.

There is a chance to try in education.

Take risk and pass it.

Education is the key, every body needs it.

Education

By Gloria Moraa, Grade 3

Education, Education, Everybody needs Education.

You need Education to succeed in life

You’ll pass exams and go to another class

Education is the key every body needs it

Education, Education, Everybody needs Education.

To have a wonderful future

You must get education

Education is the key every body needs it

Education, Education, Everybody needs Education.

Obey your teachers when they teach

To get a wonderful gain

Education is the key every body needs it.

From the Classroom: Children's Rights

ur Third graders spent some time writing their thoughts on why protecting the rights of children is so important. Read a few responses below:

ducation

By Beldin, Grade 3

Dear parents why do you deny children education? Give them education because is their right. Children want to be what they want to be in the future please give them their rights. Some children are really abused, please parents take care that you are the ones to be in charge. You should give children basic needs first. You should shelter them second you should give them food and you should cloth them so that they can’t shiver. You should keep your children away from bad people example: strangers and take care of them because when I hear parents deny children rights.

Children's Rights

By Joyce, Grade 3

We should not deny children their rights because without them, how can they survive? We should love, care and protect them from strangers. If you have a child, please don’t mistreat her because she is a gift from God. Children’s rights are important because how could they live without then. Example, right to eat. When the child could not be eating, how could they have been. My friends, don’t keep quiet if anyone is denying you your rights. I know some of you are being mistreated but don’t keep quiet, stand and fight for your rights. When you are stranded you can come to KSG and they can help you.

The Girl Child

By Jackline, Grade 3

The girl child here in Kibera is so miserable. The parents of the girls dislike the girls they give them a lot of work to do. Sometimes they don’t give them food they beat them without reason and they really really mistreat them. The parents of the girls some times don’t give them the basic needs but the boys they give them what they need. If I am speaking to any girl outside there please don’t sit and watch instead stand up and fight for your rights. Come to KSG and your dreams will come true.

School-to-School Partnerships

The students of the Kibera School for Girls recently had their first School-to-School skype call with 4th and 5th graders across the world--in New Hampshire! Students exchanged questions about their favorite foods, responsibilities at home, and even performed their national anthems. 

Our school-to-school program is an opportunity for students in the U.S. or abroad to: 

• Learn about East Africa
• Forge a meaningful connection with students at the Kibera School for Girls
• Educate peers about urban poverty, and the problems facing girls and their families in the Kibera slum
• Help create a better future for our students, their families, and for the world! 

School-to-School Partners want to learn more about the Kibera School for Girls, and the lives of our students. They plan programs to educate themselves and each other about life in Kenya, and in doing so, raise funds to help their friends in Kibera go to school. Partner schools raise $500-$1,000 for the Kibera School for Girls and once their projects are completed, School-to-School Partners are recognized on our website. The Kibera School for Girls is very grateful for Partner support, and students send Partners letters, photos, and home-videos to thank them for their efforts. And finally, Partners are invited to participate in an exchange with the Kibera School for Girls through letter-writing or videos.

Why KSG Loves Yoga

​We asked the girls, "Why do you love yoga?" Here's what they said: 

"I like yoga because we dance" Rhoda, Pre-K

"Yoga is very good because it makes you healthy. It makes you balance well and your bones become stronger and that is why I love yoga" Gloria, Class 2

"I love yoga because in yoga I learn a lot of things like tree pose, eagle pose and so on. Yoga makes me a strong woman" Lucy, Class 2

"Yoga gives me energy and the ability to concentrate in class" Exferance, Class 3

"Yoga is important because it cheers me up when I am sad. I love yoga because it makes me a stronger person" Natasha, Class 3

"Yoga helps me cooperate in class and I love yoga because it helps me be clever in class and reduces my stress" Angela, Class 3

"Yoga helps me cheer up when I am having a hard day. Yoga is important for relaxing the mind and body" Joyce, Class 3

"I love doing yoga because it makes me cheer up when I'm in blue moods" Herenia, Class 3

"Yoga makes me feel comfortable in my body. Yoga is important for women to become strong leaders" Emmaculate, Class 3

"I like yoga because it helps me to realize my dreams" Lorna, Class 3

"Yoga is important because it helps me to have a creative mind. I love yoga because it is interesting and makes my body feel relaxed" Jesinter, Class 3

"I love doing yoga because it brings back my attention and awareness" Beldin, Class 3

"I like yoga because it gives me different types of exercise that I can practice at home to survive" Margaret, Class 3

Teacher Spotlight: Pre-K Teacher Rita Malika Ayuma

When Rita Malika Ayuma first applied for a teaching position at the Kibera School for Girls, she was hesitant about teaching in the slum because of the Kibera’s notorious reputation. “When I first came, I was hiding my phone—but I’ve come to learn that’s not the way people think here,” she recounts. After two years as a Pre-Kindergarten teacher at KSG, Rita understands and feels connected to the vibrant community of Kibera: “It’s a nice community, where people love each other. People are friendly and running businesses—working hard for themselves and their families.”

Teacher Rita loves teaching the Pre-K class because they make such a drastic transformation over the course of the year. “They come knowing nothing. They come when they were shy; but now they have courage.” When her students entered the classroom in January, they could not speak a word of English. Over the past eight months Rita has engaged them through songs, games, and hands-on learning, guiding them “from scrambling to writing, from noon to noon. And we are proud.”

Rita grew up in her mother’s classroom at a private school in Nairobi. “My mother was the one who inspired me,” Rita explained. To this day, Rita still spends her weekends with her mother, preparing for the week ahead. Her experience at the private school gives her a unique perspective on KSG, which stands apart from the rest of Kenya’s primary schools. “Everything is better here. Here we give students the chance for hands-on work for critical thinking. We have many materials that even private schools around Nairobi can’t afford.”

“Self-responsibility is so important,” believes Rita, and she is committed to encouraging and cultivating the students’ responsibility towards themselves and others. Though the standard mode of discipline in Kenyan schools is suspension, expulsion, and occasionally corporal punishment, at KSG “we do time out and thinking cushions.” And even though parents volunteer at the school to clean, “the girls don’t want to wait for them to come because it’s distracting…[the students] split the responsibility of sweeping, washing, collecting supplies” for themselves.   

During her two years at KSG, the students’ talents have inspired Rita. At last month’s National Poetry Competition, “Everyone was wondering, ‘which school was this?’ The girls were so impressive and well-behaved. They knew they would win because they have a unique power inside them. They don’t let opportunity pass by. They grasp it!”

Rita’s favorite part about KSG? “I have so many!” she laughed. “It’s always amazing to host visitors, especially the sponsors of our students. We practice yoga with the girls, and I LOVE the Summer Institute [the three-week summer enrichment and volunteer program, which also involves intensive professional development for the teachers]. The girls learn more and I’m learning something too!” As the Pre-K head teacher, Rita is responsible for welcoming students to KSG. From the very beginning, our students are dedicated to and excited about their own education—thanks to our exemplary teachers like Rita!