With each step into the Mathare Valley slum, the overwhelming smell of sewage gets stronger and stronger. Then, the sound of music floats down the alley from the local pub where most of the men are drinking and arguing away their pain. To your right, children play tag in the streets, unaware that without the right opportunities, they’re destined for a future of extreme poverty.
We’re working hard to help these kids break out of poverty, and we need your help! Your gift could give a scholarship to an elementary-aged child living in the Mathare slum.
Deep within Mathare Valley, behind the street lined with shoe vendors, you will find Shamim and her family’s tiny hut. Inside, there’s a twin-size bed with pink sheets covered in strawberries. A small bench welcomes visitors, and a closet-like back room holds a few pots and some blankets. The light from the door shines onto the right corner of the room, covered with cobwebs. As you look left, the rest of the room remains shrouded in shadows.
Shamim sits on her bed, ready to tell her story.
“Life here is not easy. My daughter sleeps on that bench, and my two sons sleep in the back room on the blankets. We don’t have enough space and Mathare is very dangerous. One night, when I was sleeping, someone came in and stole our things. I am grateful no one was attacked or hurt.”
Bright Hope helps support several schools near the slum through Mathare Community Outreach (MCO). Shamim works as a cook at the MCO Joy Elementary School so that her three kids can attend. But not every parent in Mathare has a chance to work at the school. In fact, most parents living in this slum can’t give their kids any kind of education at all. That’s why we need your help to provide more kids like Shamim’s an education and Hope.
We know that education provides the surest path out of extreme poverty and into a life of sustainability.
Shamim shared: “We are living in a home made of iron sheets and mud. My hope is that one day my children will be able to leave Mathare and have a good life. Going to school will give them the chance to survive, and that gives me Hope. The school is also teaching them to love God.”
Your gift of $25, $50, or more will give the gift of education to elementary-aged kids living in the slums of Mathare Valley. Also, we are $3,000 short of our fiscal year scholarship budget and would love your help bridging that gap!
Remember—when kids get a good education, they are more likely to permanently break out of the poverty cycle! If this project receives enough funding, additional gifts will go toward other strategic needs.
