> Background
> Vision
> Mission
> Objectives
> Achievements
> Feasability Study
> Sustainability

Background

Kibera has a population of nearly one million people housed on a 600 acres piece of land. Though the living standard is very poor, most residents are full of smiles, love and are very social. The lack of proper education development and community training is now breeding a generation of children who have been left vulnerable to such threats like, lack of knowledge, exposure to diseases and violence committed against them. Even with the present free education in Kenya, religious organizations, community based organizations and some non-governmental organizations are the main education providers and social workers. The informal schools in Kibera have 15,000 students because of high poverty levels. Many parents including those with children attending schools cannot afford to educate their other children.

Vision

To improve the lives of orphans, vulnerable and disadvantaged children to make them productive members of the society, through a gradual transformation process that includes education, spiritual nourishment and skill development.

Mission

St. Christine Community Centre/School will harness support and entrench in its core values, efforts to improve the living standards in Kibera slums, with the view to building a society which is supportive and friendly to the most needy children and their families.

Objectives

1. To rehabilitate and nurture orphans and vulnerable children by educating them and providing them with job market and relevant vocational skills.

2. Spearhead physical and spiritual transformation by implanting biblical principles in the children’s ministries.

3. To enhance community participation in the design and prioritizing of the development needs, through collaborative networks with donor and development agencies.

4. To act as a resource mobilizing centre that will consolidate local skills to boost human resource potential and provide training opportunities that is relevant to the community needs.

Current Activities

1. Feeding programme
   St Christine’s has been running a feeding program on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. It provides porridge in the morning and a hot lunch to all students and teachers and costs approx Ksh 1500 daily. St Christine’s has been working in partnership with a local non-governmental organisation and the Nairobi Believer’s Mission church to provide this feeding programme.
   

2. Student Counseling
   St Christine’s teaches and counsels students to help them make well informed life-choices and decisions. The counseling focuses on pre-teen and teen issues facing the students.
   

3. Parent Involvement
   Involving the parents and guardians of the schools on issues that affect the students. This can range from homework to moral issues.
   

4. Income-generating activities
   The director of St Christine’s is operating a small shop which sells grains to raise money to help provide an allowance for teachers. The initiative is new and is not currently operating at a level to fully meet the needs of contributions to the teachers.
   

Achievements

1. We constructed a kitchen, five classroom, bought a water tank, a few desks and a few textbooks.

2. We had a partial feeding programme that operated Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays each week.

3. We ran teaching and counseling programmes.

4. The director of St Christine’s created a network incorporating most of the informal schools operating in Kibera slums. This network acts as a support group that discusses issues facing the schools and ideas for solutions.

Feasability Study

It was through a feasibility study that St. Christine’s Community Center has doubled its effort to address the problems in Kibera. Some households cannot afford a meal in a day, or none at all as basic requirements. This in essence means that dependants in the family are left to survive on their own. This translates to children moving out of their shanties into the streets in search for a living or survival. It is clear that our society attitudes towards the slum dwellers are negative and greater awareness campaign is needed to enlighten the people as the problem facing the slum dwellers.

There is a need to emphasize on self-care and advocate self-reliance by helping tap natural skills in handicrafts and marketing the products to help the Kiberians living and ensure their children attain the required education. In the process of feasibility study a team of volunteers came across some impressive handicrafts with good value if appropriately marketed, will help change the way of living in Kibera.

St. Christine Community Center/School is in the process of integrating various programmes within the center to ensure that the people of Kibera fully benefit from the facility through this institution fully supports the community members, and brings hope and dream become true.

Sustainability

St. Christine Community Center/School intends to fulfill its mission effectively and consistently over time without excessive dependence on any single funding source. Indeed we will be looking at number income generating ventures that will actively benefit the community. Among the long term planned projects and short term, St. Christine’s need to effectively manage these resources to benefit the Kibera community. Community sustainability is the end target that St. Christine seeks in the long term in all initiatives.

The organization wishes to see a Kibera Community that will be empowered to:

• Create other community based programmes to provide services
• Effectively lobby the government to provide services
• Create services within private sector.