KSG Parent Meeting

The Kibera School for Girls held a meeting for all of its parents this past Friday. Baba Diana (Father of pre-kindergarten student Diana) is the Chair of the Parent Committee. He can be seen here preparing his notes at the KSG library, where the meeting was held. The Parent Committee consists of 6 highly dedicated parents who meet every week. They help plan meetings with all of the KSG parents to discuss important issues.

The most recent parent meeting discussed topics relevant to the start of the new school year, such as class reassignment. We held academic assessments at the end of 2010 and have moved some students around according to their skill levels. Our Administrator George and Baba Diana explained this carefully to the parents. We also gave away clothing donated by a Kenyan company, which the parents were extremely happy to receive.

It was a very successful meeting!

We Have Vaccines!

The Johanna Justin-Jinich Community Clinic officially received vaccines today in Kibera! We are all very excited about this new development for our child wellness program.

Pictured here is our nurse Katherine holding one of our new vaccines. Katherine sees all of our expectant mothers and young pediatric patients at the JJJ Clinic!

KSG Students Brushing Their Teeth!

The Kibera School for Girls has a new tradition -- brushing teeth together after lunch! Each of our students has a toothbrush with her name on it. They have learned how to properly brush their teeth (with toothpaste) and are so excited to own their own toothbrushes! The SHOFCO compound turns into a tooth-brushing-party around 1pm every day.

It is adorable to watch!

Sarah's Trip to the Eye Hospital!

Yesterday, we took our student Sarah to Lions Sight First Eye Hospital in Nairobi -- a wonderful facility specializing in all kinds of eye care!

Sarah has been suffering from chronic allergies that make her eyes inflamed and itchy, causing her to scratch them and impair her vision. They checked her symptoms and her vision yesterday at her appointment. We came in expecting Sarah to need a surgical procedure -- an injection of steroids directly in the eye -- but were relieved to learn that she no longer needed the procedure!

The doctor is optimistic that Sarah's allergies will decrease as she gets older, and was happy to tell us that the prescription eye drops have made huge improvements for the inflammation and itchiness of Sarah's eyes since her visit last month! Thanks to the generous help of her wonderful sponsor, we have been able to take Sarah for regular follow-ups at Lions Eye Hospital.

Interested in helping a KSG student like Sarah through sponsorship? To learn more, please click here.

SHOFCO's Research Project!

Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) recently completed its first research project in Kibera. We trained 20 community members from Kibera to conduct interviews and use GPS units to randomly locate the participants’ houses. Programs Director Ari Tolman led this training and helped create a comprehensive survey that covered all aspects of life in collaboration with our research team. The SHOFCO interviewers successfully completed interviews with over 1,200 households in Kibera.

We are so excited to enter the data and analyze the results! The goal of the survey is to assess people’s true needs in Kibera and SHOFCO’s impact over time. We will conduct the survey again one year from now, and every few years after that.

On December 18^th we held a huge community celebration at the SHOFCO Community Center to thank the community for participating in this important project. Over 1,500 people came to enjoy food, music, and a raffle drawing. We are thrilled with the success of this project!!

Many Ways to Make a Difference

There are times when I am so touched by how many people find a unique way to participate in our work. The matching challenge from Newman's Own Foundation is really an invitation to all of our supporters to get creative and help us maximize our impact.

I was really touched and inspired by this story from one of our amazing supporters (and a sponsor of a student at the Kibera School for Girls), Chad Smith. Read what Chad has to say, and perhaps get inspired with ideas of your own!

"Last year our neighborhood created a luminary walk at Christmas time. Candles are placedin little white lunch bags which line the sidewalks. As the sun sets, the candles are lit and the illumined bags trace the sidewalks with light. It is a beautiful sight. A dozen neighbors or so go around caroling and the evening concludes by gathering for wassail, hot cocoa and desserts. It all makes for a lovely evening.

This year instead of only taking in a beautiful experience, the neighborhood wanted to do something beautiful as well. Each house chipped in for the cost of the luminaries, but in addition, agreed to give to a community development project. One of the neighbors came across an article in a magazine this past summer about work being done in one of the largest slums in the world and submitted we give to the project. $500 dollars was raised for Shining Hope through the luminary walk.

Instead of only taking in a beautiful experience, a little neighborhood in the Chicago suburbs was able to reach out half way around the world and do something beautiful."

-Chad Smith

Thank you so much to you Chad, and to your community. Our work is really only as strong as the grassroots movement of support that we are building. $50,000 ---- here we come (but only with your help!!)

Newman's Own Foundation hosts a $50,000 matching campaign for us -- Now through the end of January!

Every day at our projects in Kibera is filled with significant victories—a clinic opening, a new boarding facility for students like five-year-old Sarah who was abandoned by her parents, a student reading for the first time. We want to express our gratitude to you for helping us to make these moments, and many others, possible. We asked a mother of a student at our school if she had a message that we could share and she said this: “Tell them that they have given me the best gift possible—just by caring about Shining Hope for Communities they have given me hope that tomorrow will be better than today, because today is already better than yesterday.”

We need your help to continue making a profound difference in the lives of our students, their families, and the residents of Kibera, Kenya—Africa’s largest slum. Our work is not possible without your support.

This holiday season Newman’s Own Foundation is hosting a $50,000 matching campaign! Help us make this match!

This means that every dollar you donate to Shining Hope for Communities this December and January will be doubled, allowing your gift to go twice as far. You can track our campaign's progress on the homepage of our website by clicking here!

Every dollar counts—$5 feeds an entire class of students for an entire day, $25 feeds an entire class for a week, $250 provides all of our students and staff with a daily meal for a month. Please give now to give the most. You can make a donation online by clicking here or by mail to Shining Hope for Communities, 14 Red Glen Road, Middletown, CT 06457.

Peace and best wishes for a happy holiday season,
Jessica Posner & Kennedy Odede & the whole SHC Team

P.S. Please consider helping our campaign by forwarding this information on to friends, family, and anyone else who might be interested. Thank you so much!