Having been a Trustee since spring 2021, it was with huge excitement that I travelled to Nairobi to visit the projects and people of The Turning Point Trust for the first time, as part of a team of 8 from the UK (Directors, Trustees, and friends).
During the week, we had the privilege to visit all three sites (Mashimoni, Laini Saba and Kianda) and to see the incredible work in action. From watching the children develop their
“Tony is now playing in the national youth league with Cheza Sports! And 2 other boys have joined the Cheza Sports Academy, one of the top football academies in Kenya!” reported the coach of the Turning Point Football Club (TPFC) during a recent managers’ meeting. There was celebration and awe at this news.
Many children in Kibera are left behind in education. Many do not have the opportunity to complete primary school and transition to secondary school.
Shelly joined the TP school transition programme at the age of 9, after staying out of school for 2 years. Her mother is a single parent and the sole breadwinner of their family. Shelly is the first child and naturally she is expected to help look after her 2 younger brothers while her mother is out looking for work. This forced Shelly to grow up and take on much responsibility at a young age.
“I want to score 300 or more in my end of term exams”
“I want to become a better footballer”
“I want to stop using bad language”
These are a few of the goals our current Transition Class students set at the beginning of the school year with the help of their mentor teachers. The students returned to school after a long time out of school, their mentors supported them as they settled in school.
“Hosanna! Hiyah! Blessed be your name, hoo-ha!”
Our grade 4 and 5 students belted out this song at full volume while throwing out karate moves in the recent holiday clubs.
In our first holiday clubs since the pandemic began, we explored the power of choice. Over two weeks, we met with our upper school students and secondary school students. The kids had a ball learning new games and songs while the facilitators took every opportunity to help the children reflect and learn.
Have you ever been amazed and perhaps slightly worried by how quickly a child in your life has picked up technology? A toddler who knows how to swipe through photos or a pre-schooler who finds their way to youtube on your phone? Yep, we know the feeling! Fountains of Hope students started using their new computer lab in October. Already, they are not just typing and researching, they are coding.
Kenya is a hub for tech developments in Africa, so many start-ups are innovating new tech solutions and creating new job opportunities. We hope that an early introduction to I.T. will equip our students for future jobs in tech.
Lara, in Class 5, said, “it is important to learn computers because then you can do what you want. You can be an accountant or a shopkeeper or any other thing.”
Lara’s group are getting to grips with a coding game where the players use code to advance their character through the game.
Teacher Kelvin brought his Class 5 students to the lab to research a recycling project. The students googled ideas for ornaments they could make out of waste materials before making various recycled creations.
At the recent ReimaginED Summit in Nairobi, we met innovators reimagining education in Kenya. One of the hosts summarised a common theme at the event when she urged, “we need to prepare children for a future we know not.”
We cannot predict what the future will look like, we can prepare children for whatever the future holds by building their resilience and creativity. And by equipping them with skills to take the lead in developing new technology that will help solve the challenges of tomorrow.
A few months ago, I sat in our social workers’ office listening to stories about the children we serve. Stories about what these children go through at home. I remembered our teachers also sharing their struggles to involve parents in the school. Together, we started questioning – how might we bridge the gap between school and home for our children, families and teachers? How might we get to know the children and families better? How might we help parents support their children’s learning? We knew that visiting homes would be a great start to deepen this partnership.
A week later, a group of staff led by the social workers, started visiting the families we serve. This activity has become a weekly priority ever since.
Beatrice had been out of school for two terms and was nervous about going back to school, she didn’t know any of the other kids at the school. Would she make friends?
We walked through the streets of Kibera and made many stops at the various homes. “Hello, where is Mama Mimo?” we asked a vendor next to Mama Mimo’s vegetable shop. The vendor directed us to where we would find her. It was a hot sunny day and Mama Mimo was seated under an umbrella behind her shop. The moment she saw us, her face lit up in a smile. We could tell she was happy to see us.
In March, we hosted 50 students we support in high school in a 3-day retreat. On the first day, the students came full of anticipation for what we had in store. All smiles, they greeted each other with fist bumps and high fives as they resisted the urge to hug one another in excitement. It was an opportunity for the students to take a break from their busy school life, take a step back and look at where they are now and where they want to be in the future.
