1. African pioneers
In 2005, GOAL Kenya received the very first African mobile school to support their street work in Nairobi. In 2014, the oldest African magic box on wheels was transferred to the team of Kenya Good Neighbors, who are still using it to date.
2. What’s in a name?
Good Neighbors is an international humanitarian development NGO founded in Korea in 1991 and is currently active in over 40 countries worldwide. The Kenyan branch of the organisation has been implementing its projects in Kenya since December 1995. Kenya Good Neighbors undertakes community development projects in both urban and rural areas, and also runs a program in the Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya.
3. Korogocho CDP
The mobile school is used within the Korogocho Community Development Project (CDP) in the capital Nairobi, where the street team has its own office within the premises of the Korogocho Glory School. From there, the team and the volunteers push the mobile school uphill to about five main target areas within the community - such as Kisimu Ndogo, Highridge and Ngomongo - where a lot of street-connected youngsters can be found.
4. Children in and of the streets
Kenya Good Neighbors builds strong trust relationships with children and youngsters from 5 to 24 years old who have dropped out of school and who are living and/or working on the streets. Moreover, the team aims to refer some of the youngsters to rehabilitation or vocational training centres to ensure they can develop their talents to have a sustainable income. A lot of the boys and girls or their family members are depending on the economic activity on the nearby dumpsite of Dandora to make a living.
5. Two mobile schools in Nairobi
In the summer of 2019, the team of Kenya Good Neighbors hosted the new mobile school team of the Joy Divine during the implementation of the second mobile school in Nairobi, which is active in nearby Mathare. The team was able to share all their knowledge with the new educators of the Joy Divine to make sure they would make a big impact with their mobile school on the streets.
6. Contacts and impact
Many years of working on the streets have resulted in extremely high impact statistics. Over the past years, the dedicated team stayed mostly stable and was able to get the support from a few motivated older youngsters who wanted to give back to their community by assisting during the sessions. With over 1,300 sessions and over 20,000 participants, it’s crystal clear this mobile school has had its impact on Kenyan young people in Korogocho the past few years. No surprise the team can share a lot of success stories of youth who were rehabilitated or were able to find a sustainable job thanks to different skill development trainings offered by the street educators. Respect!
7. Own Mobile School and materials
Before the mobile school was transferred to Kenya Good Neighbors, the street team of GOAL even made their own version of the mobile school. Moreover, they also designed a couple of educational materials themselves, adapted to the reality of their target group on the Kenyan streets. Even today, a lot of these materials are still being used by the street workers of Kenya Good Neighbors.
