Provide Daycare, safety and education
Ensure the children of Kenya’s Mathare slum have a safe space to play, learn and grow
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Mathare slum in Nairobi is home to more than 100,000 families living in makeshift housing without toilets or running water. People work hard to make ends meet and childcare and education are luxuries that few parents can afford.
This early childhood development centre caters specifically to children coming from vulnerable single-mother households, who are often left at home without proper care while their mothers need to head off to work to support their kids.
The centre is free to attend and provides kids with a quality education, as well as a nutritious, filling lunch each day. The children learn vital STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) subjects that foster creativity, problem solving and innovation, so that even if the child doesn’t get the chance to complete a full formal education, they will have developed essential skills that will enable them to navigate and succeed in turbulent environments.
Kids enjoy their porridge in the shady outdoor play area.
Important parts of the curriculum are educational field trips and class celebrations. In 2022, teachers took the students on their first school trip to the zoo, which was the first time most of them had ever left the slum. These trips are valuable opportunities to expand the children’s worlds and gain perspective about what is possible for them as they grow.
While the kids learn and play, their mothers have access to learning and entrepreneurship programmes so they can build a more secure future at the same time. When parents can afford to, they contribute to school costs and uniforms to eventually make the centre financially sustainable.
Supporting this project will provide children from Mathare slum with the life-changing opportunity of gaining a quality, innovative education, in a safe environment, with daily lunches and field trips.
Art is an important part of the curriculum.
Students and their mothers love their colourful, vibrant school.
They left their neighbourhood for the first time and went to the zoo!
Meet Douglas
the local man dedicated to providing opportunities for the next generation.
Douglas grew up in Mathare and had to work extremely hard, hustle, and think outside the box just to get himself educated. He later learned that education is more readily available to kids living in better-off areas, so he made it his life mission to provide opportunities for quality education for kids in Mathare too. He has founded and now runs 3 schools and community learning centres in Mathare, and has educated more than 2,500 kids and adults. Learn more.