The Power of Stories

KGSA students explore the new E-Book

Just months ago, the KGSA Journalism Club submitted their quarterly articles to their international magazine partner Global Journal Project.  Little did they know that someone would go on to read their stories and feel inspired to act... in a large way.

Thanks to an anonymous donor, the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy just received 100 E-Books with over 10,000 stories and educational tools uploaded onto them.  The donor worked through an organization called Worldreader who additionally conducted a two-day training with our teachers on how to use and integrate the E-Books into the classroom, trained the students, and organized a community kickoff party where family and community members were able to hear about this exciting new tool for their students.

Abdul Kassim shares a few words during the kickoff party

Of the 10,000 E-books the students and teachers have access to, their favorites so far are Let Me Tell You, a collection of stories written by Kenyan coastal girls and published by Storymoja, and Who is Barack Obama by Roberta Edwards.

Thank you to our wonderful donor and their family, thank you to Worldreader!

Watch Worldreader's promotional video featuring the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRCBUCRWMHE

More pictures from the day are below.

Community members in attendance

A classroom of very excited students

Parents learning about the E-Book

Knowledge is my Amour - Asha Jaffar

Asha Jaffar is a writer, university student, and a graduate of KGSA

  Asha is a graduate of Kibera Girls Soccer Academy.  Around the school, she is spoken of in legendary, mythical terms.  She is a KGSA hero.  With leadership and tenacity, Asha rose to the top and took over the school.  She was president of the Journalism Club, Head Girl, top of her class and President of the Student Board.  All these honors were well deserved.  She is witty, courageous and speaks her mind in passionately and fluently in three languages.  A vivacious reader, Asha is also kind and cheeky.  She is a loyal and compassionate daughter, sister, classmate and friend to many.

In many ways, Asha is a prophet.  She sees the truth clearly, and she is agitated by injustices in every system she is a part of.  She warns of coming times and refuses to say the expected thing to make people feel comfortable.  People listen to Asha.  She has something to say, and her passion will not let her mince words.  She hates the systemic oppression that is holding her back.  She knows the story she is a part of, and she wishes she had more power to change it.  Meanwhile, she actively looks for inspiration so that she doesn't give up.  Asha is working diligently to hone her reading, writing, interviewing, editing and radio skills so that she can continue to be an effective journalist who tells her story and the story of young women in Kibera.  She is a priceless gem in the KGSA family. 

An entry from Asha: 

"Mere passion.  This was what drove me to the search of the only amour I knew of as a young girl and even to get myself admitted in a university. Education; it was what everyone would whisper to me every time I said I wanted to be a writer, a journalist and a lawyer. To think I came from Kibera where people were viewed as unreasonable and ignoramus, they were the ones who pushed me to the road of assertiveness.  Over 10 women told me that if I wanted men to respect me, then I should go for education. Fiercely surprising, men told me the same. They only added a little spice to make it even more tantalizingly mouthwatering; that we will only love a woman who knows what was on the papers, a woman who will not ask for money every 5 minutes for household stuff, a woman who can be able to stand with her husband in a court of law and demand her rights and a woman who knows her rights and who does not want to be oppressed. 

 

The reasons to go to school from them were to conquer, to be superior, and to beat the men. To me going to school and to be knowledgeable was what I had always wanted. I was tired of men chauvinist, but I knew the only way I could fight them would be to get better education. Violence to me came with negative connotation, I didn’t like it. Education and Knowledge are the best weapons a human could ever have according to me if you are wondering.  I had gigantic dreams and I was very ambitious and still am. To me all that mattered in life were books, be it educative, Informative, or comic. I would get myself attached to a corner trying to understand the hard terms and the languages used; I would even read some book with a dictionary attached to my thighs.  To me knowledge is very dear,  I was always taught that without education life would be miserable, of course that was not true but coming from Kibera then it was supposed to have an impact on me somehow.

I started cultivating my dreams, when I was in high school - Kibera Girls Soccer Academy; I joined as a very quiet and a serious person which saw me getting picked in some of the student’s leadership posts. What interested me most in the school was when I became a member of the journalism club, it has always been my dream to do a documentary or write an article. The journalism club when I joined had only 7 students most from the from the senior classes, the other ones were from junior classes were never interested, but I was! The teachers and the interns who came to the school left a mark in me, they encouraged me to be strong, and aggressive when it comes to knowledge.

One day as I was loitering around the Kibera girls soccer, trying to get the different places mastered, it was not a big school but I wanted to know every part of the school. I saw some students gathered together looking at something, I wasn’t able to see what they were looking at, so I walked some few inches and I got to where they were. There I saw a thing, sort of a computer, which know I know is a laptop.  I felt so happy to see such “technology.”  It was not a big school with a million students but it was something else these students were being introduced to computer by a very young teacher Mr. Teka, I quickly cut the teacher short and asked immaturely “can I join this club?” and he said “yes of course”. I was so damn elated! It could not be described with words. Beautiful things can never be defined by words we only glow or smile or excrete some tears. It was in K.G.S.A where I started career as a journalist.

If I am to give any thanks, or gratitude I would definitely give it to girls soccer, I learned how to edit when I worked with Ryan, and though he was a little strict I loved working with him. I became an editor at the age of 16 when I was in form two for the journalism club and now that I am pursuing this course in university.  I look back and express gratitude to the people who were there when I was growing up in the field of journalism.  People like Tim, who came to see us and ended up facilitating us to come up with a magazine that I typed with a one hand until Ryan showed me how to place my finger while typing.  All the  articles typed in our small computer room that was cramped up, and very beautiful, had those big computers of the past centuries that was back in back in 2009.

Asha on her way home

 I managed to type impressively the first time I went to college, I was even better than all the students in my class. I was able to express myself better. I was able to speak English, because I interacted with people who came to K.G.S.A and because I read a lot. When my lecturer asked one day asked how many books I read, I stumbled trying to remember all of them they were so many.   Miraculously the student who Ryan took her hands and put them on the keyboard can now type! The girl who sat at the library telling Ryan and Sean that she needed more books has now read and had developed a reading habit. If it weren’t for girls’ soccer then I would have poor communication skills, poor typing speed and poor editing skills, and a poor writer.  

All these skills came as a package of being in Kibera Girls soccer. It is a small school but the knowledge surpasses the building. I was taught how to edit sound and in school I will be taught that, and I will have to show off during that lesson just as I showed off in the interviewing class. Thanks to Ellie who I worked for as an intern I got skills that no university could teach me in in –depth. Where I came from (Kibera girls soccer reduced blocks on my road to success)"

-Asha Jaffar

Save the Date - KGSA Foundation's U.S. Tour

The KGSA Foundation is working to bring the director of the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy (KGSA), Abdul Kassim, to the U.S. this December to kickoff our $200,000 fundraising efforts around our new 2012 Dormitory Campaign: Thriving Girls. Thriving Community. 

KGSA students and families have advocated for a voluntary dormitory that would provide safe and secure housing, afterschool tutoring and academic support, on-site counseling and referrals, and community programming as a way to strengthen the academic experience of our students.  Help us make this a reality and join us at a fundraiser nearest you!


1.) New York City

Venue: SILKSTONE LOFT
Address: 120 East Broadway, Manhattan
Date: Tuesday, December 11th
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm, presentation at 7:45pm
RSVP to  rmsarafolean@gmail.com. Space is limited.

**Cocktails & appetizers provided. No Cover.




2.) Saint Paul / Minneapolis

Venue: UNIVERSITY CLUB
Address: 420 Summit Avenue 55102, Saint Paul
Date: Thursday, December 20th
Time: 5:30pm - 8:30pm, presentation at 6:15pm
RSVP to rmsarafolean@gmail.com

**Live music, appetizers provided, cash bar.  No Cover.


If you cannot attend but would like to make a tax-deductible donation, click HERE.

United Nations International Day of the Girl

The International Day of the Girl is about celebrating, discussing, and advancing girls lives and opportunities around the world, that is why the KGSA Foundation has decided to use this day to launch our 2012 Dormitory Campaign: Thriving Girls. Thriving Community.

The KGSA students and families have advocated for a voluntary dormitory providing safe and secure housing, afterschool tutoring and academic support, on-site counseling and referrals, and community programming as a way to strengthen the academic experience of our students, ultimately strengthening the larger community.  This past summer, the KGSA Foundation purchased land directly next to the school specifically for this initiative, and have been working with students, staff, and administration, along with a Kenyan architectural firm to design this very building.

In regards to community development, together the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy and the KGSA Foundation have always been about quality over quantity.  We know that through education, extra-curricular opportunities, and a supportive community, these students can become the next generation of leaders and will transform their communities and country.  We have no interest in competing in the numbers game within International Development in terms of 'how many girls we are educating' but instead, we tend to focus on how well we educate and what that translates into for the students upon graduation.  Six years after starting with a few soccer balls and interested students, nine graduates from KGSA have been admitted into universities and their final year exam scores continue to rise.  The 2012 Dormitory Campaign is a continuation of our belief in women as change-makers - when girls in Kibera thrive, the entire community thrives.

You may be asking yourself, "Why is this building necessary, there is already an existing structure?"

For most of our students, the time they spend at school is the only time they have to process and learn the material for the class.  Many of their households do not have electricity, they lack adequate space to read and study, and they have additional responsibilities within the household to attend to upon their return home. This will continue to address the issue of quality over quantity.  In order for the KGSA students to continue to excel and increase their performance, they need to be able to have the adequate space to study and learn.  This means that they space for tutoring, mentoring, quiet studies, and most importantly, distraction free housing options.  This is all voluntary, they can spend a night before an exam, or stay for a full year, it is up to them and their family.  We are only responding to what they have been advocating for over the past years.


The 2012 Dormitory Campaign will increase performance, participation and, engagement through:

1.)   Safe Housing:  Currently, one-sixth of KGSA students (~20) live in unsafe housing, including situations of abuse.  First and foremost, this dormitory will provide a safe, stable living environment for these students furthering their academic progress and development. Next, we will open the dormitory up to students in their last two years of high school.  This will provide distraction-free housing with additional academic support to study and prepare for their Kenya Certificates of Secondary Examinations (KCSE).  KCSE’s are final term exams that have a large influence on what one can do after graduation.

2.)   Academic Opportunities: We are incorporating an academic study room and library into the dormitory to serve as a quiet place to research, study, and receive tutoring assistance after school hours.  Space will contain 10 computer stations, high-speed Internet & a comprehensive library.

3.)   Counseling & Resource Referral:  KGSA Foundation is working together with the School of Social-Work at both Denver University and the University of Nairobi to find ways to create an on-site counselor to facilitate individual and group sessions for our students and families.

4.)   Community Programming /Micro Credit:  More space means more community programming.  A large community center will hold our micro credit meetings, vocational training, and social entrepreneurship skill building classes.

5.)   Craft Room: We will be expanding an already successful program of helping mothers of the students gain bead-working skills so that they can sell their products through fair trade organizations. More money in families means more meals for KGSA students, which supports their academic performance.

6.)   Eco-Friendly: The building will use solar panel technology to power the building and will incorporate a rain harvesting and water purification system to insure clean water for the school and surrounding community.

  Help spread the word about the 2012 Dormitory Campaign: Thriving Girls. Thriving Community.  Share this on Facebook & Twitter, send to family and friends, and DONATE TODAY.  To ensure that your donation will go directly to this Campaign, please write the word Dormitory in the notes section and your donation will be moved to a separate savings account.

Soccer is more than just a game...

Soccer's role in KGSA

KGSA operates an Under 10, Under 12, Under 14 & a Senior's team for girls within Kibera building communication and teamwork skills. In addition, soccer breaks down the gender barriers and roles between men and women here in Kibera. Soccer builds self-confidence, establishes supportive community, and empowers our players.  Unfortunately, gender-based violence is a reality in Kibera.  We use soccer as as a space to gain confidence in the physicality of their bodies.  Soccer is more than just a game, it strengthens minds, bodies, and spirits to combat poverty.

Meet Rose Atieno   (below is an article written by the KGSA Journalism Club)

She is also among the famous footballers of Kibera Girls Soccer Academy. She is a 21 year old girl living in a family of nine. Rose Achieng plays as a defender in position three. According to her, she claims that football is the best talent she ever has had and always is ready to compete with other talented footballers as the best player. A part from all that, she also enjoys playing just as part of fun to manage her leisure time.

After graduating she would like to be a business lady, because through business she believes that she can be independent and also possess the high chances and ability to satisfy her siblings and provide for the family. Some interesting things about her are that she likes making jokes, watching football matches, and dancing.

For more information on how you can support the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy, please visit:  www.KGSAfoundation.org 

TED Talk Opportunity

Over the years, most of you have heard me talk about the Founder of the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy, Abdul Kassim.  He is one of the most incredible people I have ever met and is one of the largest reasons that the KGSA Foundation even exists today.  He inspires, challenges, and empowers everyone around him and has gone on to create the only free, all-girls high school in the Kibera slum, and provides educational, artistic, and athletic opportunities to some 130 girls every year.  It is an amazing, wonderful place filled with talented, driven and world-changing young women and the men and women who teach them.

In a well deserved stroke of luck (and a lot of hard work) Abdul got to present at the TED@Nairobi Talent Search. His talk was so excellent, he's eligible to be a TED Fellow, which would be an incredible opportunity for Abdul, but more importantly for the girls he's devoted his life to helping.

In order to make this happen, we need his video to be the most watched/commented upon video by August 31.  I know that these types of "asks" can seem like a burden but this is incredibly important.  PLEASE, take a few minutes to watch this inspiring video and share it with your family, friends, and colleagues.  We need votes and comments and if Abdul wins, he'll be on the 2013 TEDTalk series.  This could be the moment that drastically blows the door down (in a really good way) for these young women.

here is the link:
http://talentsearch.ted.com/video/Abdul-Kassim-Real-change-requir;TEDNairobi

Thank you!

Input & Output

It has only been a month so far that I’ve been back in Kibera at the school, and already I have witnessed so much growth as an organization on the ground and in the students of KGSA. Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of input and output and how sometimes you never really know when you’ll see the results of your labor and intention. Every financial decision, every decision to expand, every decision to bring staff on board that Abdul has made since 2006 was intentionally to strengthen the school’s ability to provide quality education. He had the idea to pay our teachers to return to school for diploma courses, to recruit a university graduate to serve as principal, to craft strong extra-curricular activities for the students to expand their studies, he pushed for a dormitory to provide safe housing. We are now at a point where after all of that input into KGSA, we are seeing the beginning of that output, and it will only grow into something more effective as time goes on.

Many of you probably read that one of our recent graduates from KGSA, Linnet, was accepted into Baraton University, Nairobi. This will be the first time that this has happened for a KGSA student. It’s been great to talk with her about her thoughts, expectations, and fears on entering university because I had all of the same thoughts when I left for college too. Every one of her peers is extremely proud of her; she has single-handedly raised the bar for each and every one of them and they love her for that.

Our most recent graduates also have a lot to brag about. The number of students that received a C- or higher rose from two in 2010 up to nine for the 2011 class. Because of this score, they are eligible to pursue a two-year degree in August. Four students have already looked into their programs and will be getting diplomas in mass communications, finance, and business management. This is obviously increasing the amount of money we thought we would be spending in 2012 but this is a good problem to have. After talking with Abdul, Christine (the principal) and Teka (Programs Manager), we decided that they best way to raise the overall performance of the school is to offer financial scholarships to any student with a C- or higher. We will need to find a way to pay for this additon but it is important that we create a system that can allow for the “full cycle” as Abdul puts it (from secondary to college). If case you are wondering how much money we’re talking about, a two-year diploma costs $635.00… that’s right, only $635.00 for two years and each individual student will have a greater chance at employment, leading to an independent, sustainable, healthy life.

Interested in supporting our efforts? Click HERE

There is more to come… so much more. For now though, please spread the word about our work, pass on our website or this blog, and donate if you can, or else encourage others to do so. As always, thank you for your support.

“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time to do so is now.”