Next Aid
NextAid www.nextaid.org is working closely with a grassroots Kenyan organization, KVC, that has spent the last 10 years transforming its slum community and empowering kids to get off the streets. KVC employs youth in an ecological bag making business. With YOUR support, KVC will own their own land and launch into a whole new phase of sustainability. Right now, they are building a new facility on this land that will serve the kids and youth of Kawangware for generations to come. The youths are being trained in ecological construction and are building the workshop and community center themselves. With these new skills in eco-construction, they are starting a new business of making and selling earth bricks and roof tiles. The builders include young mothers too, which makes this project especially inspiring and needed. More info here.
Help to raise money for the youth of the Kawangware Vision Centre in Nairobi, Kenya that NextAid is supporting!
Statistics
•9 million youth in Kenya are unemployed.
•41% of Kenya’s population lives in cities. Many children are sent to urban centers to find work to support families in rural areas. Here they are vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and life on the streets.
•One in two Kenyans lives below the poverty line.
•Only 24% of Kenyan children attend secondary school. School fees and costs are usually the primary barrier to sending a child to further education.
•There are an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 children living and working on the streets in Kenya.
NextAid is doing something about this!
NextAid is working closely with a grassroots Kenyan organization, KVC, that has spent the last 10 years transforming its slum community and empowering kids to get off the streets. With YOUR support, KVC will own their own land and launch into a whole new phase of sustainability. Right now, they are building a new facility on this land that will serve the kids and youth of Kawangware for generations to come.
The youths are being trained in ecological construction and are building the workshop and community center themselves. With these new skills in eco-construction, they are starting a new business of making and selling earth bricks and roof tiles. The builders include young mothers too, which makes this project especially inspiring and needed.
They need another $15,000 to finish the construction phase of the project, pay for the land, and move onto the business development phase. This should be done in a heartbeat. I know the economy is tough here in the US right now and there is a lot of need, but its all relative.
About NextAid
NextAid raises awareness and funds for community-based
organizations serving vulnerable African children. Through music
events and public education projects produced in collaboration
with individuals, businesses and non-profit groups, NextAid
provides empowering opportunities for anyone to make a
difference. NextAid believes that an integrated approach in
supporting grassroots organizations in Africa, addressing a
spectrum of challenges and developing sustainable solutions, is
the best approach for real and lasting change.
The Partnership
Kawangware Vision Centre - KVC (formerly Kawangware Street
Children and Youth Project) is a locally created and managed
organization started by former street kids to provide positive
opportunities to get kids off the streets in their community – one
of the largest slums in Nairobi, Kenya. The youth’s primary
income generating business is making custom silk-screened gift
bags and cards out of recycled paper for sale to safari
companies, tourist shops and corporate clients. The profits from
their business enable the participants to generate income for
their basic needs (shelter, food, medical care and education) and
to take care of the community’s orphaned or vulnerable children.
NextAid joined forces with KVC in 2008 by committing to raise
funds for the construction of an eco-friendly, multipurpose facility
for the project’s micro-business. NextAid has also supported
KVC in capacity building, technical assistance and emergency
relief funding. The most pressing need is a larger and improved
physical space with room to expand KVC’s micro-enterprise and
life skills programs to serve more children. The center will also
host other program activities such as community trainings, a
youth feeding program, child care, gardening, and recreation.
The first phase of this project commenced in early 2010 with a
training program for 20 youth apprentices in ecological
construction and manufacturing materials. With these new skills,
the apprentices are now participating in the construction of their
own facility and will be able to train other youth to learn these
vocational skills. We broke ground on the center in early 2011.
The center will feature a multipurpose room for business
workshops and programs, office space, a small retail store, and
a cooking area to feed young children.
NextAid is committed to projects that are environmentally,
economically and socially sustainable.
Sustainable aspects of this project:
• Bags are made from recycled and natural materials
• Creating and expanding local income-generating businesses
• Purchase of 1/4 acre river front land will allow for water
security as well as increased income and sustainable
agriculture projects such as vegetable and bamboo farming
• Education programs teach environmental awareness
• Youth skills training in ecological construction and
manufacturing materials
• Eco-friendly building to feature earth bricks/roof tiles,
compost toilets and rainwater harvesting
• Provides opportunity for single women, mothers and widows
to generate income through business co-op
• Supports healthy minds and bodies through feeding and
enrichment activities for young children
For more information and to support this project,
please visit: www.nextaid.org
