This week our trustee (and England and British Lions legend) Maro Itoje is spending some time see the impact Atlas and it’s local partners in Kenya are having on children’s lives.
Yesterday, Maro visited Kibera – Africa’s largest urban slum, housing over 1million people – to meet with children and families living there. During the visit Maro spent some time in the home of Alice and her four sisters. Living down a small side-alley, Alice’s home is perhaps the size of a small double bedroom. Inside it is immaculately clean, a stark contrast from the open sewers running outside. The small burner, used for all their cooking, gives off a strong smell of propane that is almost over-powering.
Alice’s parents are loving and kind, but Kibera is a tough place to live and an even harder place to find work. As a result, they are often out of the home 14-16 hours a day, trying to earn enough money to feed their children. Often, despite their best efforts, they don’t succeed.
Our local partners KRDA and The Lunchbowl Network have become a lifeline for them. Weekly rugby sessions give the girls a chance to have fun and express themselves in a safe environment. Each day they are bussed to a school outside of Kibera, where they not only receive a high-quality education, they get two hot meals as well as regular health check-ups.
Their lives remain incredibly challenging, but thanks to Atlas’s support, they do have hope for a better future. Alice, the oldest is planning on becoming a chef – and already has a place at catering college next year. Her younger sister wants to become a teacher. The youngest two don’t know what they want to be yet, but the education and support they are getting from Atlas and KRDA means they will grow up having more and better choices for their future.
