Joint effort builds on 2023 work to improve educational outcomes in informal settlements
NAIROBI, KENYA – CFK Africa, an international nonprofit with offices in Kenya and the U.S., announced this month, a new partnership with the We One Action Network (WOAN) to support its Best Schools Initiative in 2024, continuing the organization’s efforts to improve educational outcomes in informal settlements in Kenya.
The partnership will support CFK Africa’s work to improve teacher training in schools, which is a critical component to strengthening educational environments.
“We are grateful for the support from WOAN, which will enhance our efforts to increase the retention and graduation rates of young students in Kenya who are living in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities,” said CFK Africa Executive Director Jeffrey Okoro, who grew up in Kibera and was named the head of the nonprofit this past summer. “Our goal is to help better prepare teachers to create an engaging learning environment that stimulates school attendance while also helping them adapt their methods for the contemporary learner.”
WOAN is a North Carolina-based nonprofit organization that is committed to creating opportunities for vulnerable youth in Kenya by collaborating with a variety of in-country civic organizations and community leaders, as well as those in the United States.
The teacher training project will address issues ranging from instructional techniques and classroom management to learning assessments. The efforts build upon CFK Africa’s collaboration the previous year with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which resulted in the publication of a study on its efforts to improve primary school retention in informal schools.
In 2023, CFK Africa marked an eventful year as it worked to improve educational outcomes, offered clinical and community health services, grew its global Advisory Council, and invested in the talented and resilient residents of informal settlements.
Beyond its education initiatives, CFK Africa’s highlights from the last year include an expansion of its youth leadership projects, Girls Parliament events to advocate for issues identified by women and girls in the community, and the launch of new sports for development initiatives.
For example, in November CFK Africa’s national football club, Kibera Soccer Women FC, completed an intensive training program on facilitation and leadership in preparation to serve as social change ambassadors in 2024, and the nonprofit’s youth football tournaments in Mathare, Mukuru kwa Njenga, and Kibera reached thousands of young people.
CFK Africa’s healthcare programs also got a boost over the last year, when the Tabitha Medical Clinic was awarded the 2023 Best Facility in Nairobi County by CIHEB-Kenya, highlighting its ongoing scale-up of anti-retroviral therapy treatment and patient retention, doubling to close to 2,000 patients.
“Since our founding in 2001, CFK Africa has grown every year, and last year was no different,” added Okoro. “We expect even bigger things to come in 2024 between our new partnership with WOAN to support our Best Schools Initiative and our other efforts to catalyze youth leadership across informal settlements in Kenya.”
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About CFK Africa
Founded in 2001, CFK Africa works to improve public health and economic prosperity in informal settlements in Kenya through integrated health and youth leadership initiatives. Using a participatory development approach, the organization works directly with community residents to develop and implement sustainable programs. After marking 20 years of service in Kibera in 2021, CFK began expanding to additional informal settlements in Nairobi County and across eight counties in Kenya, including Kajiado, Kiambu, Kilifi, Kisumu, Machakos, Mombasa, and Nakuru.
For more information, visit www.cfkafrica.org.
