Clean drinking water. Hot showers. Education for all. We’ve come to expect and rely on these basic necessities in our daily lives, and most likely we take them for granted. But what would life be like if these were taken away? For people living in Kibera, Kenya, the largest urban slum in Africa, living without is their daily reality. But in recent years, an organization called Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) has begun transforming this community by “building urban promise from urban poverty.”
SHOFCO provides quality healthcare and community empowerment programs, and also maintains the only all-girls school in Kibera and Chapin’s sister school, The Kibera School for Girls (KSG). The school is tuition free and provides a world-class education to girls in Kindergarten through eighth grade, creating the next generation of leaders for Kenya and the world.
Charlotte Cohen ’19, a Chapin junior, first visited KSG two years ago, when her family spent a day touring the facility. Although it was during the Kenyan students’ summer vacation (in December), 20 students came to the school to meet them. “It was incredible! I had always dreamed of going there,” Charlotte exclaimed. During their visit, Charlotte and her family delivered books, toys, and curriculum materials from Chapin to KSG. “The girls were so appreciative of everything and were so excited just to meet us.”
Last month, Charlotte and her family returned to Kibera for the second time to join in celebrating a momentous occasion… the school’s first ever eighth grade graduation ceremony. “I didn’t know what to expect. I stayed for an entire week. To be able to spend that much time there, I really got a feel for how it is to live there. It made it feel a lot more real,” she shared. During this visit, Charlotte was able to go beyond the school’s walls and walk through Kibera’s streets with several respected community leaders as her guides. She witnessed daily life in the slum first-hand and spent time with the many SHOFCO volunteers that staff Kibera’s libraries and health centers. “They provide everything from vaccines and cancer screenings to teen empowerment programs and an aerial water system,” Charlotte noted. “These programs were put in place by SHOFCO so that the entire Kibera community can benefit from them.”
Charlotte’s passion for KSG was evident as she vividly described the recent graduation ceremony. “The [graduating] students walked in with their teachers and were holding roses. Then they put music on and started to dance.” The entire school participated in the festivities, including the younger students, who read poetry and performed songs they had written especially for the event, and the school’s founders, Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner Odede, also spoke.
Just recently, Chapin received a special visit from Kennedy Odede, who told his inspiring story to the Middle School during an assembly. He shared his experience growing up in Kibera -- “No permanent buildings. No healthcare. No schools. It is a tough place. There are a lot of challenges.” – and his determination to learn despite these difficult circumstances. After teaching himself to read on the streets, Mr. Odede read a book by Martin Luther King Jr. and was inspired to make changes in his own community.
“I realized that the only way to make someone powerful is through education. With education, a girl can be anything she wants to be,” he explained. This thought sparked the idea that would eventually grow into The Kibera School for Girls. The school began in 2009, and Mr. Odede shared his pride and excitement for the students of the first graduating class. “I am so happy that many of these graduates are coming to America to study in high school,” he said. “These girls are smart. They speak better English than I do and they teach me a lot.”
Mr. Odede’s presentation to the Middle School brought back memories for Charlotte, who was in Class 4 when she first heard him speak about KSG. “I went home and told my parents how excited I was by his story and how proud I felt that Chapin had decided to support the school,” she recalled. Those feelings of excitement have not faded away for Charlotte. She is currently the president of Upper School SHOFCO, a club that plans fundraising events and spreads awareness about Chapin’s partnership with KSG. Most recently the group organized Family Community Service Day, an annual all-school event that raises funds for their sister school. KSG is also one of two causes that comprise this year’s Miss Chapin’s Project, an annual school-wide fundraising effort.*
When asked about her hopes for the future of SHOFCO at Chapin, Charlotte imagines organizing an annual summer trip to Kibera with Upper School students and teachers. “To actually be there and see it live is incredible,” she noted. The goal is that this trip would ignite a passion for service in Charlotte’s fellow students, just as she felt after her first visit.
Charlotte’s belief in the power of helping others continues to inspire her classmates and all members of the school community. As Kennedy Odede explained to Chapin’s Middle School students, “All of you are going to do amazing things – but don’t forget to care about other people. Be nice too! And the next time you start to complain about your homework, remember how lucky you are.”
*Click HERE to make a donation to The Kibera School for Girls (part of this year’s school-wide Miss Chapin’s Project).
Browse photos from Charlotte's trip below: