LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Kenyan capital Nairobi is home to around 2.5 million slum dwellers. 60% of the city's population are crowded into just 6% of its land. Half a million people live in Mukuru – a vast slum with poor sanitation, insecure employment, low wages and limited educational opportunities.
Now, global poverty alleviation non-profit World Dream Foundation (WDF) is giving 200 of Mukuru's underprivileged children a better chance, by building them a new school. The Kenyan government granted permission for the project to go ahead on September 2, 2019, and construction work has already begun.
WDF has already funded the school in its entirety. The new establishment will have four classrooms, each for 50 students, along with a community garden, school kitchen, clean water and even a small playground. School buses will collect the children and transport them to the school, which is located in a safe, green neighbourhood 40 minutes from Mukuru.
WDF Founder/CEO Julia Folk comments,
"Every child in the slums dreams of getting out. This new school will provide them with the opportunity to do so. We are delighted to support Mukuru's children towards a better future."
Just 51.6% of boys and 48.4% of girls in Kenya make it as far as enrolling in secondary school, according to UNICEF. Attendance figures are even worse, at 39.5% and 41.6% respectively. In Mukuru, the figures are far lower.
WDF's new school is close to a high school, with a college under construction nearby. Children can progress through the schooling system and onward to good careers, building a future outside of Nairobi's slums.
The school idea was born of WDF's partnership with Kenya's Jambo Charity Organization, which has been serving local Mukuru school children since 2012. Since May 2019, WDF has provided uniforms, sweaters and shoes for every student, along with books, study materials, school supplies, socks, underwear and sanitary pads. Its student wellness program provides deworming medications and vitamin tablets. It was this involvement that led WDF's Julia Folk to take the decision to establish a new school. She explains,
"Sending supplies and funding helped to lessen the burden on the school we were working with in Mukuru, but more was needed. That's why we're building a new school for children outside of the slum. We're raising dreams and expectations, giving Mukuru's children the chance of a brighter future."
To find out more, visit https://worlddreamfoundation.org/, email [email protected], or call 310-620-7707.
SOURCE World Dream Foundation
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