The BBC in the United Kingdom profiled founding Carolina for Kibera (CFK) Trustee Sammy Gitau and his journey from the streets of Nairobi to graduation at University of Manchester. Despite never graduating from high school, Sammy earned a Master's of Science in Management in Implementation of Development Programs from University of Manchester's Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM).
After nearly dying from a drug cocktail overdose as a teenager, Sammy began a youth center in Mathare, one of Nairobi's other slum districts. The youth center supports more than 20,000 youth and also does clean water policy advocacy. Sammy served as a founding member of Carolina for Kibera's Board of Trustees in Nairobi and is now an advisory member of the Board.
Sammy received financial support for his studies from, among others, donors of Carolina for Kibera, Reuters, The Johnson School at Cornell University, SC Johnson & Co., and University of Manchester. Read more about Sammy here on Carolina for Kibera's website.
Read the BBC's feature article here.
As part of its "Digital Diary" series, UNICEF featured Carolina for Kibera Binti Pamoja Center alumna, Fatuma Roba, in a recent online article. Digital Diaries are written by youth across the globe in order to promote children's issues, activism and leadership through journalism. Ms Roba, 20, was a founding member of Binti Pamoja (Daughters United), a safe space and advocacy platform for adolescent girls in Kibera.
Ms Roba was invited by the United Nations to speak as a panelist in the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York City in March 2007. While in New York, Ms Roba also attending journalism skills-development workshops. She is using those new skills to be an ambassador for girls and young women in Kibera to the world via the internet. Ms Roba's interviews with current members of the Binti Pamoja (Daughters United) will be published by UNICEF's Digital Diaries and aired on UNICEF Radio. Read more here.
Helen Snow (UNC Health Affairs) and Deborah Sams visited CFK on the ground in Kibera this week. Below are their impressions from their time with the CFK staff in Kibera. Please also visit Deborah's blog, where she posted photos of the new clinic construction from Kibera.
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Today we were met by Salim Mohamed, Executive Director of Carolina for Kibera and taken to the CFK Office in the Kibera slum on the outskirts of the centre city of Nairobi. The CFK Office is painted a cheerful Carolina blue and a guard is posted at the gate into the office area. But everyone we met was warm and welcoming. We met the CFK program directors and then set off with Salim and Hillary Omala, the Director of the Tabitha Health Clinics.
As Salim and Hillary led us through the narrow passages of clay, we ducked under many metal roofs which overhung the paths. Homes constructed from clay and straw lined the path and we were told that these fragile structures had to be rebuilt after any hard rain.
The first stop was the new Tabitha Clinic which is under construction in the heart of Kibera and where the two clinics will be consolidated once it is completed in early 2008. The foundation is complete and the framing should start soon. We've posted some photos of the construction. Many workers were carrying bags of cement or wheelbarrows full of gravel through the labyrinth of passageways--not an easy access.
Then it was on to visit the first Tabitha Clinic, which was founded by the late Tabitha Atieno Festo, a widowed registered nurse from Kibera with the $26 initial investment made by Rye Barcott from CFK. We met each of the medical team who were very busy having seen 120 patients the previous day. Mark, Lucy, Julia, Angela and James were conferring about various patients. We also met Fred (one of two pharmacists) who presides over the pharmacy.
Next it was off to the Tabitha 2 Clinic which is newer and located across the railroad tracks in the upper area of Kibera. The two clinics are very active and accessible but need more resources. When they are consolidated into the new clinic building, there will be a still be alot of equipment to meet the communities needs. It is our hope that we at UNC can help CFK find sources for contributed equipment.
Next we met with Caroline Sakwa, CFK Deputy Director, who directs the Binti Pamoja Center for young women. She describes it as a "safe place" program that seeks to empower and teach self-development skills to the women who have so little opportunity in the slum. Through training and education on subjects such as reproductive health, literacy, HIV, teen pregnancy and sexual abuse, the program trains a cadre of 80 young women in the various villages of Kibera about ways to protect themselves and insure their future. The program employs mentoring, photography, and drama as tools to deal with some tough subjects. Caroline said that UNC could help her program by providing mentoring program prototypes for her to use as models. We will ask the UNC Women's Center to set up regular contact with Caroline and act as a resource for her program.
Next we spent time with Cantar Abdul Hussen who directs the Soccer Program that now comprises 210 teams from all of the 12 villages. This was the first program undertaken by CFK and it has grown to over 4,000 participants. Besides the games and tournaments, the teams participate in community awareness events such as "Kicking AIDS Out" and the Clean-up Days organized in each village in Kibera. Carter hopes that the program teaches the discipline and focus that each participant will need to lead a successful life. Among the needs of this flagship CFK program are: scholarships to reward winning teams; uniforms, socks & shoes; balls & equipment. In addition, Carter says that UNC could provide "visiting coaches" from our own teams to mentor and inspire the players, especially the women's teams.
Medina Abakar, directs the Trash is Cash program and is a specialist in waste management. She leads 6 groups of 180 people (90% males) who work in waste management and recycling in all the Kibera villages. This is a sustainable enterprise to put people to work and meet a huge community need. Medina's motto is "Waste isn't Waste until its Wasted." The business has grown so big and fast that hauling off the collected trash has become the challenge. She hopes that they will be able to have a lorry or truck provided in the near future, and eventually be able to employ residents of Kibera in a community waste/recycling processing facility.
Directing the HIV-AIDS Prevention Program for CFK is Mary Waithera who grew up in Kibera (as did Medina). Mary works hard to do community education forums and get info into the homes about using ways to prevent HIV infection. Like several of the directors, Mary is a "hometown girl" who is effective because she works with her friends and neighbors who trust her.
What struck us as we met with each of these CFK leaders was how dedicated, strategic, and caring each of them are in pursuit of their program goals. They each spoke with one voice and a strong unity of purpose. They were all careful to build a solid, sustainable plan for their respective program objectives, always being mindful that the communities of Kibera is the primary stakeholders.
The CFK organization is a model for many NGO's hoping to have sustained impact.
We were touched by their commitment and humbled by their ability to leverage so much action with so few resources. We hope that everyone will investigate further how they can help these inspiring young adults achieve what few others have done.
http://cfk.unc.edu/support.php
Helen Snow and Deborah Sams
Since being named the endorsed fund by the senior Class of 2008, Carolina for Kibera continues to gain momentum on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). As part of the launch of the new Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at UNC, the Institute highlighted CFK as one of a few "key opportunities for collaboration" and research between students and faculty at the Institute with service-oriented organizations that share similar goals.
Also getting some press on campus at UNC is the CFK Endowment Fund, which was the focus of the article "Carolina for Kibera gets endowment fund" by the student newspaper, The Daily Tarheel. The article demonstrates how the endowment fund fits in strategically with CFK's goal to become financially sustainable and flexible. "Grants come with so many strings attached," said Mat Despard, professor at the UNC School of Social Work, in the article. The endowment will support CFK staff in Kibera to remain programmatically flexible to the changing environment and to evolve as an organization over time. Learn more about the endowment fund by e-mailing us at cfk@unc.edu.
The Triangle Business Journal profiled Carolina for Kibera in its Oct. 5 article "UNC nonprofit aiding in Africa aims for $4M endowment." The article highlights CFK's new relationship with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and how the two are working together to create a unique, sustainable model for grassroots, community development. Interviews with Rye Barcott (CFK founder and president), Daniel Lebold (director of development for the UNC FedEx Global Education Center), and Jon King (president and CEO of UNC Management LLC) reveal how the endowment will be built upon a partnership between a major research institution, students, and a marginalized community half a world away. Read the article here.
"Talk Straight," directed by University of North Carolina professor Hap Kindem, won the Gold Award for Best Music Based Video at the 2007 Everglades International Film Festival. The award was presented on Sept. 29 in Dargle, South Africa. The video intertwines footage from Carolina for Kibera's Youth Soccer Program with footage of the national-championship-winning UNC Women's Varsity Soccer Team and scenes from the internationally-acclaimed "Bend It Like Beckham" movie. The video is set to the song "Talk Straight" by Chapel Hill, NC indie rock band, The Old Ceremony. Through "Talk Straight" Kindem demonstrates how girls in Kibera, North Carolina, and England can all be connected through the sport of soccer, despite being half a world a part.
The Senior Class of 2008 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chose Carolina for Kibera as the Senior Campaign for Carolina's endorsed class gift. Go here to read the Daily Tar Heel report.
Many seniors are supportive and excited about the choice. "I think it's a good thing to leave a legacy behind," senior Bola Omitoogun said. "The fact they're giving money to service is more meaningful than, say, putting up another statue."
The senior class also said they were interested in supporting the University's growing international focus through a gift to Carolina for Kibera.
Other seniors are concerned that the gift will not go towards a physical gift on campus. CFK Summer Fellow Laura Williamson, a senior at UNC, is working with senior class president Ashley Shores and the senior class marshals to brainstorm ways in which the gift could be used in Kibera for the purchase of a physical gift that would be donated to CFK in honor of the UNC Senior Class of 2008.
Carolina for Kibera is excited to make the connection between UNC students and youth leaders in Kibera stronger through the senior class gift.
"By naming CFK the beneficiary of the Senior Campaign for Carolina, not only are the seniors demonstrating an incredible commitment to service," said CFK President and Founder Rye Barcott, "but they also are embracing their role as leaders and partners with their counterparts in Kibera in making the world a better place. Carolina for Kibera is honored to work with the UNC Senior Class of 2008."
Carolina for Kibera entered the Changemakers "Sport for a Better World" competition sponsored by Nike and Ashoka today. The competition seeks out innovators in the field of sports-for-social-change, and CFK submitted the youth sports and leadership program developed by CFK Founder Rye Barcott and CFK Executive Director Salim Mohamed as a model for ethnic and religious violence prevention in marginalized communities worldwide.
You can help CFK in the competition by registering with Changemakers, reviewing and commenting on the CFK competition entry, voting in December if CFK is chosen as a finalist, and telling your friends + family to do the same! Also, please add the RSS feed Widget from the CFK competition entry to your personal webpages, including Facebook, MySpace, or weblog. That way, you will be in-the-loop when others post comments about CFK. Comments will help us to revise and improve our competition profile. Voting for our innovative youth sports and leadership model in December could help us win one of three $5,000 prizes!
Are you a student, faculty or alumni of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill? UNC-Chapel Hill is one of a select group of universities that will act as Official University Commentators for the Sport for a Better World Competition. There will be prizes for student commentators and an award for the university with the highest level of participation. Sign up for the UNC-Changemakers listserv to receive details and announcements about the competition, UNC’s role in the competition, and how you can get involved. Through this listserv, we will send “how to” details, resources, and helpful reminders to the UNC community. Sign up by sending a blank email to: join-unc-changemakers@listserv.unc.edu.
