Kibera Slum - Kisumu Dogo and Soweto Academy
Kitale Rafiki met a truly humble and inspirational man in Kitale who invited them to visit his school in Kibera Slum. His story and the work he has achieved is one of the greatest Kenyan hope stories that most people will hear.
In brief:
Chris Okumu (left) visited Kibera after he became a Reverend, he saw an area of extreme poverty and the children seemed to be bearing the brunt of it. He witnessed a dumping ground where children played and ate where crime was frequent and where even worse things occurred. Most people would run away from such a view but Chris had a vision to turn this miserable place into a school.
After much negotiation he secured the waste covered ground and enlisted the help of the Kibera inhabitants to remove it and then quarry the stone underneath to build a school. This school, Soweto Academy now thrives. From this starting point Chris with help from a good team, including Victor (below) have opened a second school, a nursery, a medical centre, small farm, produce curios and the best story of all is Exquisite Mineral Water!!!
In brief:
Chris Okumu (left) visited Kibera after he became a Reverend, he saw an area of extreme poverty and the children seemed to be bearing the brunt of it. He witnessed a dumping ground where children played and ate where crime was frequent and where even worse things occurred. Most people would run away from such a view but Chris had a vision to turn this miserable place into a school.
After much negotiation he secured the waste covered ground and enlisted the help of the Kibera inhabitants to remove it and then quarry the stone underneath to build a school. This school, Soweto Academy now thrives. From this starting point Chris with help from a good team, including Victor (below) have opened a second school, a nursery, a medical centre, small farm, produce curios and the best story of all is Exquisite Mineral Water!!!
The water situation in Kibera is pretty poor. Access to fresh drinking water is expensive and in some places difficult to come by. Chris and his team had a vision, with help and sponsorship from America, to sink a bore hole within the school ground. The results were amazing and no one, not even the team expected to be, one year on, producing some of the purest naturally occurring water in all of Nairobi. They now bottle 10,000L per day and distribute it around Nairobi and also sell it at a reduced rate to the local population. You really have to visit this amazing project if you’re ever in Nairobi!! I cannot speak highly enough of Chris and Victor.
Kitale Rafiki has worked with the schools through giving donations and resources to both schools. We also use, whenever possible, the school van to travel around Nairobi so that we can be assisting the school even further. One of the original Kitale Rafiki volunteers continues to raise money for the school.
http://www.chrisokumu.com/ Link to Chris's Website
www.openstreetmap.org Link to an accurate map of Kibera
Kitale Rafiki has worked with the schools through giving donations and resources to both schools. We also use, whenever possible, the school van to travel around Nairobi so that we can be assisting the school even further. One of the original Kitale Rafiki volunteers continues to raise money for the school.
http://www.chrisokumu.com/ Link to Chris's Website
www.openstreetmap.org Link to an accurate map of Kibera
