Ndegwa Family visits Red Rose

Dana and her husband Ndegwa of Washington in the USA are friends of Ken. They visited Kenya in June and took time from their busy schedule to come see the Red Rose School. They came to Red Rose together with Dana’s mother, Mrs. Walton, and their young daughter, Ciru. The Ndegwas and the Waltons have all been generous contributors to the Children of Kibera Foundation. During their visit to Red Rose, they donated children's story books and assorted school supplies. Thank you very much for your support and friendship.

American Women Association of Kenya Visit Red Rose

American Women’s Association (AWA) is a nonprofit, charitable organization promoting community services and development and volunteering opportunities in Kenya as well as providing social and cultural activities for its members. Their members came to Red Rose on a field trip to get to learn and see how the school is doing and some of the programs we have been able to achieve through the help of the Children of Kibera Foundation. On the same day Charles Desantis, a dear friend of the CoKF and Red Rose, was visiting together with a friend Clin and his two sons Dillan and Tim. We received a donation of exercise books and pencils from AWA. The children were very happy. To all our visitors, thanks for your friendship and support. You are most welcome to visit Red Rose again.

PRE-UNIT MUSIC ACTIVITY

Mrs Emmily Mudavadi, a teacher at Red Rose Children's Centre in Kibera teaches her pre-unit (kindergarten class) pupils how to play music the recorders. The recorders were delivered this summer by Children of Kibera Foundation board members who visited Red Rose, as a donation from the Potomac School in McLean, Va. Thank you!

Sierra Club and Green Belt Movement Members Visit Red Rose

This summer we hosted Sierra Club and Green Belt Movement members from the USA led by Mr. Matt Finch, uncle to Potomac School alum Chris Coe. Chris visited Kenya for community service in June 2007 with his former teacher Ken Okoth, and urged his uncle to suppor tand visit the school too. Indeed, Mr. Finch made sure that he and his group of 18 travellers visiting Kenya to learn about environmental sustainability put aside some time in their hectic schedule to visit Red Rose and spend some time with the teachers and students there. They shared songs and dances with the children and gave the school a lot of classroom supplies they had brought with them.  The children and teachers at Red Rose are very grateful for the gifts and were happy to make some more new friends. 

NEW VIDEO: Red Rose School - What It's All About!

Full eight-minute video above. Short trailer below. Please click to watch and leave us your comments and feeback after you have watched!

St. Lawrence University Students Visit Red Rose

Today we were lucky to host 12 students and two professors from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. They we able to share and spend their time with our children at the centre. The group went to work immediately, helping the Red Rose staff unload a shipment of food that had just arrived at the school, and they also made an unexpected donation to the school. The children and teachers at Red Rose say ASANTE SANA to Professor Celia Nyamweru and Professor Erica Barthelmess including a visit to Red Rose as part of their summer course.

The Red Rose children enjoyed meeting the St. Lawrence students, and hope they will come and visit again another time; Emmanuel, Daniel, Johanna, Carl, Emily, Michael, Rachel, Ardelle, Katherine, Casey, Lindsey and Galen -- Welcome Back to Red Rose!

Strife in Kenya - January 2008 Update

Dear Friends -
So far, it has not been a happy new year in Kibera. The communities surrounding the Red Rose School and where many of our children, their guardians, and families live have been the epicentre of some of the worst violence currently rocking Kenya.

For an update on the situation in Kibera and at Red Rose, please listen to this interview we had on NPR on January 3rd. The story also has a link to a blog entry and a haunting gallery of photos by children in Kibera.

We also were on the WUSA New Channel 9 TV Station Thursday night. It's a good report you can read and watch the video clip on the top right hand side of the page.

The Children of Kibera Foundation is a registered non-profit organization in Washington DC which has taken on Red Rose as its main project. If you would like to join our efforts to continue helping the Red Rose School or other children in Kibera, please do not hesitate to contact us by email -- childrenofkibera [AT] gmail.com . Contributions to support our efforts can be sent by check to
"Children of Kibera Foundation"
4701 Alton Place, NW
Washington, DC 20016

Since 2006, many friends of Red Rose have taken care of 90 orphans and vulnerable children in Kibera. Your generosity and support has been transformative for the children and their teachers. Although the violence destroys the community today, we can support the next phase of healing, reconciliation, and rebuilding in Kibera. We know we are going to be called upon to once again step up in love and charity, to give of our time, skills, and resources to spread awareness about the beautiful children of Kibera. We need all your support in order to take care of as many of Kibera's children as we can by providing them a school environment where they can learn, eat, sing, play, make art, dance, make friends, dream big dreams, and simply be kids like kids anywhere else in the world. Even the simplest of gifts will help us to make an extraordinary difference -- click here to see a fact sheet about the impact donations of all sizes can make in Kibera.

Pray for peace in Kenya. Keep the children of Kibera in your thoughts, and please join us in helping take action to improve their lives.

Sincerely,
Ken Okoth

Visual Update - August 2007

We had a wonderful time in Kenya this summer, and accomplished some significant work at Red Rose, thanks to the generosity of our friends in the USA who contirbuted money, materials, their time, and efforts to make life better for the children and their teachers.

You may view a more comprehensive album with additional images by clicking on this link.

Adventure and Community Service at Red Rose School in Kibera.

Hallo Friends and Families

Below are a few photos that were taken when the Potomac crew was in Nairobi for a week in June before heading out to Samburu. The crew walking down on "Karanja Road Kibera," the neighborhood where Ken Okoth grew up!

Cate and Caitlin at the internet cafe run by Ken and his brothers on Karanja Road in Kibera

Merrell, John and Hilary in Mama Ken's living room.

Michelle, Caitlin, Chris and Merrell before they left Red Rose for the safari.

Dominique, Hil, Kat and Allison on the last day at Red Rose before they left for the safari.

Elizabeth presenting a gift to thank Chris on Thursday at Red Rose

Allison and Keegan at Mamba Village during the educational tour and field trip on Wednesday .

Ken Okoth got a chance to touch LEMPAUTE, one of the elephants at the Sheldrick Trust Elephant Orphanage that his advisory group at Potomac adopted.

Brian Amuramwa also got the chance to hold the trunk of LEMPAUTE, the naughty baby elephant at the Sheldrick Trust Elephant Orphanage

More Red Rose children got the chance to touch LEMPAUTE too.

Merrrell and Mitchell at the entrance of Sheldrick Trust Elephant Orphanage

Cate and Caitlin having a great time in Kenya.

Hilary relaxing a bit at the Sheldrick Trust Elephant Orphanage.

One of the tortoises at the Giraffe Center.

Caitlin and Dominique at the Giraffe Center.

You can see in Dominiques eyes how happy she looks when feeding the giraffes at the Giraffe Center. "It comes once in a life-time," she says.

"Here its all about being scared and happy to be feeding the giraffes," thats what Cate said.

Caitlin just about to do what many of us were scared to do ... "KISS THE GIRAFFE"

There you go a big kiss from Caitlin.

Nixon and other Red Rose children feeding the giraffes.

Merrell and Derrick, "The First Potomac Scholar." Derrick's education will be sponsored by a gift from the lower school children and families at the Potomac School in McLean, VA. thats how they call him now.

One of the Rothschild giraffe's at the Giraffe Center.

Allison busy in class with the class two kids.

Caitlin and Vinand having a great time in the new 'Potomac Classroom.'
Michelle receiving a surprise letter from the class two kids, which they told her to share with the kids at Potomac.

Michelle looking more surprised as Allison and Kat look on.

Chris and Bradley outside Red Rose.

Matt receiving one of the many gifts from Virginia Mboga.

Michelle teaching in class three.

Michelle all happy to see the new 'Potomac classroom' "Asante sana!!" THANK YOU to the lower school children at Potomac for the financial help that paid to build this new classroom.

Allison and Teacher Musau on the first day at Red Rose, she was being shown around.

Teacher Emily showing Teacher Michelle her classroom.

Teacher Rose and Merrell in the class two room at Red Rose. The Potomac Crew painted the inside and outside of teacher Rose's classroom during their days on site for community service. This is how the inside of the classroom looked like before the Potomac crew came to paint it and improve it.

Catilin signing the visitors book at Red Rose.