Professor McAlear Visits the Kibera School for Girls

The Kibera School for Girls had a very special visit this month from Wesleyan University’s Professor Mike McAlear and two of his sons, Matthew and Thomas! Professor McAlear gave a wonderful, interactive lecture to our girls about the water cycle in Africa. His lecture included an experiment with test tubes he brought for the school (along with a whole suitcase of donated goods). Matthew and Thomas were also put to work in our school library. We cannot thank Professor McAlear and his sons enough for their generous donation of supplies, time, and energy!

Opening Ceremony of our Shining Hope Community Center and Bio-Latrine Center!

We officially opened both our new Shining Hope Community Center and our Bio-Latrine Center this week! The opening ceremony included songs from the students at the Kibera School for Girls, speeches from Kennedy and Jessica, and speeches of gratitude from community members. A Senior Representative from Umande Trust - the organization who built the technology for the Bio-Latrine Center - also spoke. We provided food and drinks, as well as balloons for kids in the neighborhood! It was a truly happy occasion.

The Community Center will house a public library and computer center, is currently where our Community Health Workers are being trained until the JJJ Clinic opens, and has a large multi-purpose room that is already being used for community meetings, celebrations, and the SHOFCO Women’s Empowerment Project (SWEP). We are so excited to see what other creative uses our Community Center will get!

The Bio-Latrine Center houses our beautiful new pit latrines and showers, located adjacent to the Kibera School for Girls. Its technology converts waste into methane gas, which can then be harvested for use. There is also a hand-washing station and a water tank attached to the Bio-Latrine Center. The Bio-Latrine would not exist without the generous support of the Platkin-Teutsch family. We would also like to thank the Newman's Own Foundation for supporting the expansion of this project.

We plan to have clean, filtered water technology as the next step to this project!

Video from Kibera World Cup

Check out our newly released video from Shining Hope's 1st Annual Kibera World Cup, held earlier this summer. To watch, click here.

Kennedy is in the New York Times today!

Kennedy Odede, our Co-founder and Executive Director, wrote an op-ed "Slumdog Tourism," which was published in the New York Times today (Tuesday, August 10th).

In his article, Kennedy brings to light many of the issues surrounding slum tourism from the residents' perspective -- based on his personal experience. His article provides a unique opportunity to share the largely unheard opinion of people from Kibera, Africa's largest slum, with one of the most widely read newspapers in the United States.

Please join us in celebrating Kennedy's accomplishment by reading his Op-Ed here.

Peaceful Voting for Kenya Referendum

We are all very happy to say that the voting this Wednesday was peaceful here in Kenya.

Thank you for your concern!

Referendum Vote Tomorrow, August 4

We are holding all of Kenya in our thoughts tomorrow during the vote for the constitution referendum. We have hope for peaceful, respectful voting nationwide.

For general information about the referendum, Click Here.

We sincerely do not anticipate any problems here in Nairobi or Kibera, and we will update you again after the voting results are released to let you know everything is alright.

Sending love and peace,
Shining Hope for Communities

Progress Report: the Johanna Justin-Jinich Clinic

We are incredibly excited about the progress of the Johanna Justin-Jinich clinic! The first floor of the two-story structure is complete, and workers (many of whom are school dads) will be starting on the second floor next week. The clinic will be outfitted with a friendly waiting room, examining rooms, maternal care, a laboratory and a pharmacy.

The community health worker trainings have been going fantastically. A woman from Kibera, who has been a community health worker in Kibera for over 10 years, leads the sessions, which have covered topics ranging from HIV/AIDS and TB care to the pathology of cancer to maternal and prenatal care of pregnant women. The community health workers will provide a link between the community and the clinic, providing educational outreach, referring people to the clinic, and providing follow-up care. There will also be a specific focus on prenatal health to ensure that women have a safe and reliable place to turn during pregnancy. To learn more about the state of maternal health in Kenya, please read a recent article in The Standard (one of Kenya's national newspapers).

We are also thrilled to announce that we have hired an amazing doctor from Nairobi Women’s Hospital, who specializes in women’s health. Not only has he been helping with the development of the clinic’s programs and services, but he has been leading a few of the community health worker training sessions. We are so excited to have such a committed doctor and his expertise on board!