Holistic Education for Children

In the East African country, access to education for children is linked to the financial resources of the families. The chances for children at expensive private schools are high that they will complete secondary school, then go on to university and finally pursue a profession. In contrast, Kenya’s public schools are often overcrowded and lack staff and equipment, which has a negative impact on the quality of education in the institutions. In addition, many orphans or children from families whose parents have no or very low income drop out of school before eighth grade and thus before secondary school begins, because they cannot afford school uniforms and materials. The lack of access to further education leads to low career opportunities. This makes it difficult for them to escape the cycle of unemployment and poverty. To the unequal educational opportunities is added the fact that the Kenyan education system does not provide institutions such as vocational schools. This makes it particularly difficult for many young people in Kenya to enter working life. The youth unemployment rate in the country is 17.3%, the highest in East Africa. In order to give young, financially weak children access to education, Carol Karuri-Bockle founded St. Joseph’s House of Hope near the port city of Mombasa in 1999.

The project consists of: Primary School, High School and the Training Center. Around 470 children and young people are taught in the schools and the training center. Many of them come from very poor backgrounds and some are orphans or half-orphans.

Currently, the young people in the project can complete both practical and theoretical training in the subjects of cooking & baking and hairdressing & beauty.

There are also accompanying IT courses.

The aim of all the training is to qualify the young people and enable them to later become self-employed and earn a living with the skills and qualifications they have learned. In this way, they can escape the cycle of poverty.

A number of measures have already been taken to ensure the sustainability of the project and to achieve long-term financial security for the project. For example, children and young people whose parents can afford to send them to school are also accepted, and in the IT room additional computer courses are offered for a fee.

However, we still support many other projects in the region.
To the projects