TeacherToTeacher
A collaboration-based program between educators in the UK, other countries and our teachers in Kibera with the aim to exchange knowledge, review, learn and apply best educational practices and enhance the in-class experience for teachers and students.
This knowledge exchange covers a wide range of topics: from literacy to sport education and from farming to sustainability. We held five sessions over a period of six months in 2020. The project continues in 2021 with a focus on implementing the knowledge acquired in the previous sessions and specifically aimed at enhancing the students’ academic performances.
The project is a great opportunity for all sides involved to gain new knowledge, understand different perspectives, build on different cultural backgrounds and enhance personal development and teaching skills.
ExpressYourself
Art, music, and dance workshops/clubs are offered by VFA as extracurricular activities to increase focus and allow students to develop and flourish in their creativity. The art club includes crafting, drawings and bricolage focused on different artistic styles inspired by both, African and Western cultures.
As for music, in 2019 we offered regular music tuition with the main objective to introduce music fundamentals and identify musical talent among the children.
YouWork
A work experience program for older children in the program. Offered for one or two weeks at various partnering local companies and institutions such as ECO Bank, Kensington Kindergarten, and others. We are currently looking for additional organizations which can offer work experiences/internships going forward.
These projects are in line with the following Sustainable Development Goals:
EDUCATION
EatingWell
Three meals (i.e., breakfast, morning snack and lunch) are provided by VF throughout every school day. With a balanced diet we aim to provide approx. 80% of the required daily intake.
About 26 percent of the children under age five in Kenya are cognitively and physically impaired due to chronic malnutrition. This causes many health challenges later in life. Malnutrition creates a vicious poverty cycle as it affects learning and labor productivity.
We provide regular information sessions about balanced nutrition to educate the children and tackle some bad eating habits (for example, excess of sugary food, etc). During the pandemic, despite the VF Academy being closed, we carried on providing food to the families of our children. A total of 70,000 meals have been provided to 172 families. By partnering with Farm-to-Feed, an organisation that supports rural communities by transporting their fresh vegetables to the city and urban informal settlements, we managed to purchase fresh supplies at reduced cost.
GrowYourself
Education around the importance of growing organic, sustainable vegetables. Vegetables are grown in VFA’s schoolyard in Kibera and used to prepare some of the daily school meals. Children are involved in the entire process from planting seeds to watering and harvesting. The vegetable patch is also used as a ‘science laboratory’ where the knowledge acquired in class can be applied.
These projects are in line with the following Sustainable Development Goals:
NUTRITION
WellnessYou
Regular health checks (three times per year) in cooperation with the St. Gertrude’s Children Hospital. The program focuses on assessing the health of each child, suppling vaccinations and individual treatments, introducing dental hygiene practices, and providing education on how to prevent diseases. Sports activities (i.e., PE, Football, etc) are also part of the program.
According to latest studies, being healthy and fit improves the cognitive ability and builds resilience in children allowing them to achieve more and better.
CleanWaterCleanHands
In Kibera, there is no drinkable tap water or public sewage system. Therefore, hygiene standards are very low allowing diseases to spread quickly.
At VFA, pure water facilities and drinkable bottled water are provided around the school. We make sure to regularly talk about the importance of drinking pure water and washing hands to prevent diseases.
TalkToMe
A series of six annual counselling session called “Talk for Youths”, is offered to all our students aged 11 to 18 years, some young mothers and parents. The sessions are provided by counsellors under the supervision of a pedagogist and a psychologist. They are extremely engaging for the children as they are held in a public park in central Nairobi with a mix of fun, sport and talking activities throughout the day. The informal setting allows children to enjoy the day in full and relax, away from their normal life in Kibera. Often this gives them the confidence to open up and discuss a number of personal topics with the counsellors.
In addition, every child from 14 to 18 years take part in the “VF Mentoring Program”, which aims at developing human potential, professional skills and facilitating students’ success in graduating school and beyond.
For the teachers, we implemented the “Enhance Emotional Resilience” program aiming at emotional support during the Covid lockdown period. In total, 800 collective hours were given by 16 members of different VF committees.
These projects are in line with the following Sustainable Development Goals
