COUNTRY / PROBLEM
Kenya is a country in East Africa positioned on the Indian Ocean. Although it has achieved economic growth over the last decade, the country still struggles to redress social inequalities. Nairobi, the capital and largest city of Kenya, has a population of more than four million people. There are huge economic disparities among people living in Nairobi. Kibera, one of the slums in Nairobi, is often considered one of the largest city slums in Africa.
Living conditions in Kibera are very difficult. Most families live in houses without access to water or sanitary facilities. Lack of access to electricity is a common problem. In the evenings, Kibera becomes dangerous, especially for girls and women.
ORGANISATION
Project Elimu (‘elimu’ in Swahili means ‘education’) is a local organisation that combines extracurricular artistic education with the promotion of school education, emphasising not only the passing of exams at school, but also the development of a child’s personality and creativity. The organisation was established in 2017 to give the children from the Nairobi slums a chance to get in touch with art and thus a form of escape from life in the slums.
The founder of Project Elimu is Mike Wamaya, a Kenyan dancer and ballet teacher, who in 2017 was one of the top 10 finalists nominated for the Global Teacher Prize.
PROJECTS
Kulczyk Foundation supported Project Elimu through:
- production of the “Voices of Kibra”, a ballet performance in the slums of Nairobi. Voices of Kibra is a 120-children ballet production that explores the positivity, strength, cohesion, and togetherness of Kibera through the innocence of its children with a key focus on inclusion, equality amidst our cultural diversities. The aim of this production is to enable children to develop a sense of pride and belonging as they voice out solutions to challenges they face using movement. It is fusion of African dance and European ballet through the combination of European classical music and the East African Drums. Two performances by a group of children have already taken place (24 October and 30 November 2018),
- funding educational scholarships for 120 children participating in the performance,
- support for the development of Project Elimu’s Arts education,
- support for the infrastructure of the Project Elimu organisation,
- funding educational scholarships for three children from a Maasai village,
- financial support (social aid) for two families from Kibera.
Kulczyk Foundation is the first organisation to have supported Project Elimu.
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