Day 2 continued - Kibera - Mashimoni project

Next stop was the Turning Point Mashimoni project, and a 40 minute walk over the other side of Kibera. Up to 90 children are associated with this centre although on the day we visited there were around 60 children there.
As we entered, children were gathered round a bowl washing their hands before the mid-morning snack.

A tea line formed and mugs of tea were passed along the line as the most efficient way of distribution.

Tea and bread satisfies hungry children until lunchtime!

What’s cooking? In the kitchen there is preparation of nutritious and filling food: today, beans and Ugali - a maize based porridge staple.

Ashley Benson(Christchurch Woking Youth Worker) who was visiting at the same time as us, and Emily a TP worker, play clapping games with two of the children.

Basic literary and numeracy skills are taught to children that have no means to any other education.

In the creativity room, which the Pastor’s wife, Eunice oversees, pre-school children learn various maths concepts, like shape and size sorting and also dexterity skills, through Lego, puzzles and sewing cards. Sewing cards are particularly helpful for developing a pincer grip, needed soon for holding a pen and learning to write.

Moses is the Finance Project Manager. Small loans are given to help people start small businesses such as selling charcoal or fresh produce. The loans have to be small so that those receiving them can learn basic bookkeeping and money management skills and not be tempted by an inappropriately large amount of money. This part of TP’s work is going well and Moses now needs an Assistant to support this important work.

Karioke is the on-site manager. Now 60, his life is radically different from 15 years ago when he was a hopeless alcoholic, permanently under the influence of Chang’a – Kenya’s deadly homebrew (made from millet and some very dangerous additives). He explained to us how he became a Christian and discovered God’s power to transform him, something that was beyond his own means. Karioke is well-known around Kibera; his mother bought a plot here many years ago and built a dwelling where he now lives. Jo says that there is still a kind of awe amongst locals who knew him for the first part of his adult life, so great has the transformation been.

As we look out the window of the office that Karioke shares with Pastor Shadrack we see children enjoying the outdoor equipment. The children who come here have a chance to have happy relaxed playtimes, essential schooling and some good hearty meals. Turning Point is an organisation that is at work at the grass roots and doing a fantastic job.