Red Rose on TV !

The Red Rose students are back to school. After a relaxing holiday,they are rejuvenated and ready for the new academic term. This term promises a flurry of activities for the students since it is known to be the busiest term of the school year.

Red Rose students being prepared for the shoot

To start the term off, the Red Rose school received an invitation to participate in an exclusive children's show that airs on Citizen TV every Saturday morning-The Know Zone.  The Know zone show is all about having fun learning.The children have fun with numbers, words and various games. Participants from Red Rose were very excited to be on the Know Zone set. The colors , the wardrobe,the people, the props, the equipment- it was all mind blowing and they couldn't possibly take it all in at once.

They shared great rounds of laughter as they played the different games and cheered each other the whole time during the different stages of the competition. Our students came out as the winners in most of the competitions and won amazing prizes including amazing school books and story books. It was a wonderful experience meeting new people and being a part of one of Kenya's greatest children TV shows, an experience they shall definitely hold close.

Red Rose students on Know Zone set

As their day at the shoot came to an end, the students were ecstatic and showered many "thank you(s)" to the hosts, they sang their hearts out to the lovely Know Zone song and counted it as a day well spent.


                            Every one come and see the greatest  thing on your TV
                            Learning new and exciting stuff,making homework not so tough
                           Move your feet and shake your bones,have some fun in the Know Zone.
                             Know Zone,Know Zone have some fun in the Know zone!***

SCHOOL'S OUT!

After three months of school; running to classes, working on assignments and homework the RedRose students can finally take a breather!
It has been an exciting term given that the students were getting into new grades meaning new classrooms, friends, class teachers not to mention new lessons and activities. This term,we also had the one week school break so as to hold the general elections which were peaceful and did not interfere with the school schedule, it has indeed been a smooth term.

The RedRose students are a happy bunch as they prepare for the holidays. “My family is planning to travel to the country side to visit my grandparents. My grandfather promised that this holiday, I could join him in the mornings when he goes fishing. I have never gone fishing before but I plan to catch really large fish!”- Says Emmanuel, a sixth grader at the RedRose School.

Time has gone by so fast and when the students open, they shall begin their second term and at this speed, it looks like they shall move on to the next grade before we know it.

Happy April holidays!

Aftermath of the general election

Before the 4th of March, there was a lot of anxiety on what would happen after the general elections. Many people feared that a repeat of the 2007/2008 post election scenario might occur. As our school closed for the mid term break, we all put our faith in a peaceful aftermath of the whole exercise as it came to pass.
The school has resumed to normal learning, students are enthusiastic and we are looking forward to a successful completion of the remaining weeks of the term.
As a school we are also proud that out of the 16 candidates who sat for their exams last year, 14 have already reported to high school and two are to report this week. We wish them all the best in their first year in high school as they act as Red Rose ambassadors. 

Bella and Millicent revising for an up-coming exam

Red Rose School Takes a One Week Break

General elections in Kenya are known to be such a busy period with many voters traveling to various parts of the country to express their democratic right and perform their civic duty by casting their votes. 

With only three days to the Kenya general elections, schools will be closed until the electoral processes are complete. This will pave way for a smooth process as most of the public primary and secondary schools are used as polling centers. The Red Rose School will also be taking a break for one week because of the elections due to be held on the 4^th of March.

With the unfortunate events that took place in the previous general elections, the Red Rose teachers and students assembled today to reflect and express their thoughts and feelings on the forthcoming pivotal event in our nation's history as it will be our first election under the new constitution.

       “It was really sad what happened the last time, 

but I hope that this year’ elections will be smooth

 and that we shall come back to school on the 11^th.” 

Said one of the students.

The students and teachers shared their hopes for a peaceful election and promised to preach and practice peace especially at this very crucial period.

Jeff sharing with the students

Red Rose, like most schools shall re-open on the 11^th of March and resume the usual school program.

We hope to have  peaceful elections and also get a good rest during the break.

See you soon!

Hosting schools at the community clubhouse

Children enjoying a drawing activity

Every day of the week is a great day at the clubhouse as we get to have children from various community schools in Kibera visit the clubhouse for amazing library sessions!
These particular schools have very limited resources and go through quite a struggle to acquire basic school materials. With such conditions, it is extremely difficult to accommodate any kind of extracurricular activities.
Thanks to the LitWorld team, the children from the community schools are now able to visit the clubhouse at least once a week and get engaged in a myriad of fun activities and games!
At the club house, the children get to read story books, learn great songs, draw and paint, play various games and even watch movies. Most of the girls love fairly tale books and the boys love books about animals, monsters and an absolute favorite- about action super heroes! They are not well acquainted with board games yet as some are too young but they totally flare up when jumping rope, playing ball and running.
It is a priceless and the most beautiful sight to see the children enjoying themselves in the clubhouse, having so much fun and making it count like it is their last.

“Most times, it is the children who teach us to slow down and enjoy life.”
-Gena Lee Nolin

Joseph having a read aloud session in the library

Maureen reading a story to the children

“Most times, it is the children who teach us to slow down and enjoy life.”
-Gena Lee Nolin

A Visit from Norway

Mwanaisha has now been at the RedRose School for a couple of weeks. She is a pedagogic student at the Østfold university college in Halden. Østfold University College is a further and higher education institution in south-eastern Norway. Mwanaisha is young, vibrant and loves children! She has blended quite well with the students and the teachers at RedRose but the preschool children are mostly fond of her as she spends so much time with them. At Østfold, they run an intricate preschool program and the university students get to carry out research studies as a graduate requirement.

For her research paper, Mwanaisha has been conducting a study on leadership with key focus on preschool teachers and has therefore been working very closely with the teachers at the Red Rose preschool classes  to find out how the lessons are planned ,organized and the everyday preschool routine.

She is finding Kibera to be very pleasant and Red Rose to be very homely so far .She is  immensely enjoying the little pleasures such as playing with the children during recess and sharing mealtimes with them !Her favorite dish is ugali and sukumawiki.
Mwanaisha has been a great deal of help in promotion of language and communication amongst the preschool children since she has great ideas and suggestions that she often shares with the teachers.

We are happy to have her around and the children adore her so much. We shall continue to make the most of her visit before she has to go back to Norway!

A Big “THANK YOU” from Diana.

My journey with Children of Kibera Foundation started eight years ago. This amazing organization started to support me in school since I was in nursery school. I am very grateful for their help since I was able to get good education.

I am also thankful because, when I was at Red Rose School I was a member of the LitWorld Girls Club. There, we learnt many things that are very good and I am sure will help me in my life. I got to learn the values of courage, hard work, sisterhood. We were also taught  how to bake, how to knit and went for very many trips.

 As I go into high school I feel that my interactions with Children of Kibera Foundation and the activities there have made me a better person: very confident and ready to start my high school life. CoKF has promised to see me through my through my first year of high school education with support from my father. 

 I would like to work hard and become a journalist so that I can tell the Kibera story to the world so that many more Children like me can get the help they need to make it in life.

Thank you very much.

 

Diana- 2005

Diana-2006

Diana -2007

Diana -2012