Helping children in the Kibera slums
In Kibera, Kenya, the Kings Rugby Development Academy (KRDA) provide children between the ages of 5-19 an opportunity to access rugby as a means of providing sport and education for a better future. Kibera is the largest urban slum in Africa. With no running water, little electricity and open sewers running throughout the community, Kibera can be a tough place to grow up.
The programme also provides fresh drinking water, hot showers, and regular health check-ups, as well as nutritious meals and learning materials. The Lunchbowl Network then offers these same children a high-quality education via their kindergarten and primary school, ensuring they have more and better choices as they grow up.
Development Goals
Education
Healthcare
Community
Situation
There is an incredibly high number of children who are orphaned and extremely vulnerable currently living in the Kibera – the largest slum in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Children do not have access to clean water and regular meals. Going to school is impossible for many young people in the Kibera. The absolute lack of money, through no fault of their own, means that they cannot ever leave the Kibera or attend school. They miss out on the essential benefits schooling provides. This limits their capacity and future.
Solution
The most vulnerable children are collected and transported out of the Kibera each Sunday and taken to the RFUEA grounds to play rugby. The programme is interested in giving the children from the Kibera green fields of open space, positive ‘coach’ role models, nutritious food, plenty of clean water to drink, medical support and the joy of exchanging rags for rugby kits and much more. They have the opportunity to develop and gain some of the life skills that will give them a track out of poverty.
Testimonials
”Kings Rugby Development Academy has given me the wonderful opportunity to coach and guide these young girls, making a lasting difference in their lives and future.”
”I am so grateful to Kings Rugby Development Academy for giving me the opportunity to play the sport I love, and for supporting my education. My life is now changed for the better and I can look forward to my future with a smile and excitement!”
”I have seen firsthand how our projects like the homework hub, feeding program, schools and Sunday rugby program and the rugby scholarship programs have positively impacted the lives of underprivileged children in Kibera. I am eagerly looking forward to launching our news project with Atlas Foundation, The Atlas DigiBus to further support our community’s needs.”
- The principal aim is to uplift the youth of Kibera out of hopeless poverty. To provide them with the opportunity to see their individual worth and fulfil their potential.
- To grow the programme to impact over 1000 children and encourage more children to play rugby.
- To provide healthy role models via positive coaching and peer relationships and provide another alternative for the youth, one that helps them avoid the desperate descent into antisocial behaviour.
- Provide educational support and access to scholarships at local schools.
- To connect each child with a rugby family for their personal needs, food, education, healthcare and other basic needs.
- Transporting costs.
- Meals and clean water for roughly 300 kids.
- Coaches’ allowances, provision of kit, boots and trainers.
- Rugby equipment, including balls, cones and first aid kits etc.
Impact
Education
- We have partnered with a couple of secondary schools that will be giving rugby scholarships to our boys and girls after completing their primary education.
- Our children have been sponsored by the Lunchbowl Network to attend the ACK Good Samaritan & Lunchbowl Network Partnership local primary school.
Healthcare
-
Helped create a healthy competition in the children who took part in several tournaments.
-
Delivering a quarterly deworming programme, improving the vitality of the children. This is a significant factor in combatting stunted growth and poor mental development.
-
Providing up to 300 children with a hot weekly nutritious meal each week.
Community
- We have provided access to rugby which subsequently fosters peer relationships and provides another alternatives for the youth.
-
Providing weekly supervised training sessions for children ages 5-19 years reaching up to 300 children each session.
-
Sourced rugby kits, including boots (150 provided by the Atlas Foundation) and trainers for 250 children.
Join Us in Supporting Children in Kibera!
Stories from KRDA
Maro Itoje visits the KRDA in Nairobi!
CEO Boris and Trustee (and England and British Lions legend) Maro Itoje are visiting Nairobi to see the work of our partners in Kenya