Mission Statement: To provide the vulnerable children of Kawangware, Kenya access to excellent education and a safe environment to facilitate healthy development.

Problem

Education is a child’s best hope for escaping poverty in the developing

world, but current structures in Kenya make attaining a quality education impossible for many children. Free education in Kenya has made major inroads in providing education to the poor, however economic and social barriers still separate the most vulnerable children, particularly those who live in extreme poverty, are orphans, or HIV affected from attaining the benefits of a quality education. 

It was for children born into these circumstances that the Ray of Hope Learning Centre was founded in 2006. For two years the Learning Centre has been providing free informal education to upwards of 50 children in Nairobi’s impoverished Kawangware slum.  While these children are certainly better off than they would be without education a number of

problems plague the programme:

•Children are not participating in the standard Kenyan 8-4-4 education system

•Diarrhoea, measles, malaria, and respiratory infections, exacerbated by malnutrition and HIV impede educational progress

Solution

The Ray of Hope Sponsorship Programme represents an integrated approach to address all of these interrelated challenges facing Kawangware’s most vulnerable children.  It is our firm belief that unless the problems of poor health, undernutrition, and education are all adequately addressed, children will not be able to reach their academic potential.  Through a direct sponsorship and enrichment programme the ROHLC will send children to accredited formal primary schools and provide academic support and enrichment education to ensure children have the opportunity to excel academically.  Children who have not yet been sponsored will continue on the road to sponsorship while d

eveloping basic skills for scholastic success in the Learning Centre. 

The ROHLC program includes proven, cost-effective healthcare and nutrition interventions for all enrolled children (both those with school sponsorship and those enrolled in the Learning Centre):

•Deworming, water treatment, and hygiene promotion to prevent malabsorption

•Two prepared meals and a nutritious snack each day

•Medical check-ups and treatment

•Monitoring data on child health, nutrition, body mass and educational performance