This past weekend, our SHOFCO Youths organized a wildly successful "Kibera Clean-Up" based at our new Shining Hope Community Center. Over 200 Kibera residents turned out for the event, and the mood was fun and upbeat. Everyone was excited to be cleaning up the neighborhood!
Participants received lunch in our Community Center as well as a bright blue Shining Hope for Communities t-shirt. The shirts have our new logo on the front and Kennedy's original SHOFCO logo (from 2005!) on the back. We plan to host Clean-Ups twice a month to encourage community involvement and unity.
The Johanna Justin-Jinich Community Clinic of Kibera needs your help! Do you work for or know someone who is connected to a hospital, a health facility, pharmaceutical company or a clinic? Do you have connections to a medical laboratory, or even a lab equipment provider? We are looking for in-kind laboratory equipment donations so that we can provide on-site diagnoses for our patients…but we can’t do it without you!Please, spread the word, and help us connect with a hospital or other facility that can provide the following equipment to help thousands of patients in Kibera.Consult our wish list below for guidance, and we thank you in advance for your support.
Wish List:
-Haematology analyzer: 18 parameter, specific feature, Neutrophils and Lymphocytes absolute and relative count
-Semi Automated Clinical Chemistry analyzer: Over 30 clinical chemistry analytes
-Bio-Ocular Microscope
-Autoclave
-Centrifuge, 4-6 tubes
-Incubator, 28 Litres
-Waterbath
-Hot air Oven
-Roller Mixture
-Serology Shaker
Please email Health Services Director, Ilana Nelson-Greenberg, ilana@hopetoshine.org, with any questions, or if you are able to help!
Groundbreaking study released today: for every year of primary education that women receive the under 5 mortality rate drops 10%!
Groundbreaking findings are released today in a study in The Lancet. Researchers found that:
For every year of education that women in developing countries get the under five mortality rate drops 10%!
The mother’s education has a greater impact on child survival than economic household characteristics or increasing income.
Mother’s education is a more decisive influence than the education of the father.
The impact goes beyond just the children of an educated woman: the study found that children of poorly educated mothers are also less likely to die in areas where overall female educational attainment is higher.
Have you been looking for a way to make a donation directly to our projects in Kibera?
We have a new Wish List through Amazon.com that allows you to do so from the comfort of your computer! To browse, simply click here.
Please consider donating today. But because shipping to Nairobi is tricky, so before you purchase, please let Development Director Leah Lucid (leah@hopetoshine.org) know about your order.
We had a special volunteer, Jessica Gordon, come visit us in Kibera yesterday! Jessica was a Community Health Worker (CHW) in the Peace Corps in Madagascar a few years ago, and joined us before going back to visit her friends there. She led a workshop with our CHWs about her time doing health work in the Peace Corps, and taught creative theater games to our 1st and 2nd graders at the Kibera School for Girls. It was a wonderful treat. Thank you, Jessica!
The Kibera School for Girls went on an amazing field trip Tuesday to see animals in four different locations! The trip was sponsored by the Giraffe Centre and our Programs Director Ari Tolman's family in honor of Ari's birthday (also Tuesday).
The trip started with the arrival of the huge Giraffe Centre bus to Kibera. With everyone watching, our adorable girls excitedly filed onto the bus in their beautiful uniforms. Many of them had never been on a bus before, and were more excited about the bus ride than the animals! So sweet. We did have several cases of carsickness, but that was to be expected...
Our first stop was the Giraffe Centre, where each girl got to feed the giraffes and even kiss them if they were brave enough! Then they attentively watched a video about wild animals in Africa.
Next we boarded the bus again to visit the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage, where the girls got to watch young elephants drinking milk from giant-sized baby bottles!
After that, we boarded the bus again to head over to Momba Village for a yummy lunch and to see crocodiles. One hilarious moment was when the tour guide jokingly pretended to throw a baby crocodile into the huddled group of girls. The girls quickly ran away in a panic with a chorus of high-pitched screams until they were convinced that he was only joking.
While there, our girls noticed their moon-bounce castle from far away and started jumping in place on the grass to show how much they wanted a turn in it. After seeing the crocodiles, we couldn't resist giving them a surprise treat of jumping in the moon-bounce castle -- they had a blast!
Our last stop was the animal orphanage within Nairobi National Park, where our students got to see lions, leopards, cheetahs, ostriches, baboons, and more! We then returned to Kibera feeling tired and happy. It was truly a special day.
Throughout the trip, we were proud of how well-behaved our girls were -- especially since the Giraffe Centre usually only allows students over the age of 10. And most importantly, the girls were incredibly happy!!
This past weekend, our SHOFCO Youths organized a wildly successful "Kibera Clean-Up" based at our new Shining Hope Community Center. Over 200 Kibera residents turned out for the event, and the mood was fun and upbeat. Everyone was excited to be cleaning up the neighborhood!
