Mathare North

Term 1, 2023

Greetings from the Mathare North family. It is another awesome opportunity to share termly highlights with you, our partners and friends. Thank you for your support and partnership that is making all the transformation possible.

Selina Gathura, Head Teacher Mathare North.

Total Enrolled: 1019 students
Total Unsponsored: 298 students

Tita* is 12 years old and in grade 5. She lives with her grandmother who is a casual laborer in the nearby Matopeni community. Tita had always been obedient and well-behaved, but as she grew older and joined grade 5 her behavior began to change. Tita would skip school a lot, but when she did attend she wouldn’t care about her classwork and did not do her homework at all.

Her class teacher noticed her change in behavior and contacted her family social worker who investigated the matter and talked to Tita. Tita told her social worker about what was going on at home. When Tita’s mother would come to visit her at her grandmother’s, she would be cruel to her and treat her harshly. Tita’s grandmother found it difficult to intervene and defend Tita. This left Tita feeling unloved, lonely and uncared for. As a result, she no longer cared about her future or about school; so Tita started skipping school and not paying attention to her school work. 

Tita’s social worker went to talk to Tita’s mother and grandmother about the situation at home. They were taught about the rights of a child and how their actions can affect a child’s development. They were made to understand how Tita felt and understood their role in creating a healthy and happy environment for her to grow into the kind of person that God wants her to be. They understood and soon Tita’s behavior began to change. Along with her own counseling with her social worker Tita began to become excited about the future. 

We thank God for this family restoration and for the life of Tita; who can now enjoy being a part of a healthy family.

*Name was changed

• We were able to start our Junior Secondary  School this term. Our boys and girls have settled into the new section and in their new school uniform. 
• Our grade 4 to grade 8 started a journalism club. They have been giving news reports every Friday during school assembly. They have learned to be confident and have worked on their grammar and communication skills. 
• We have identified some excellent swimmers in our lower classes. Our Kindergarten to grade 3 students have been going for swimming lessons and we have identified some talented swimmers. We will continue to nurture our swimmers till their full potential.

• One of our partners called Brook Wilson visited our school and prayed with us . We were grateful to spend time with him.

• Pray for good health among our students and staff members in Mathare North. We thank God for the access to medical attention by MOHI and pray that all our students that are unwell will be healed. 
• Pray for the families we serve who are struggling with unemployment. Some of the families are choosing to go back to their rural homes because of the lack of jobs here in Nairobi. We pray for our parents to find jobs so that their children can stay in our school.