Slum Ministry: Education
One of the main means to get out of poverty is through education. This is the reason why most parishes in slum areas, have either start one or more schools, or assist the public schools in the area, to enlarge and better them so that more pupils from the slums can attend them.

Most of the Catholic schools in slums belong to the "informal education" (private schools in poor neighbourhoods). The quality of the teaching in most of them is very good, and the teachers are quite devoted.

Kibera Catholic schools
Primary school Laini Saba

• Secondary School John Paul II
• Kindergardens

Korogocho Catholic schools Primary School

• School for children with hearing problems
• Mukuru Catholic schools

Guadalupe nursery schools and Vocational Training
Education at Holy Cross - Dandora Parish
Kibagare Good News Center

Education Department at Christ the King Parish - Kibera
The Parish has a Primary School, Laini Saba, on the Parish Compound with 12 teachers caring for 360 students.

The Secondary School John Paul II, has four classes with 65 students.
There are four kindergarden in the Parish, deserving the main outstations: Laini Saba, with about 120 children; Soweto; Lindi and Shilanga.

There is a feeding program for all children in the different parish schools. It is funded by the WFP and by particular donors.

The parish has also a number of Vocational Training Schools:

• Don Bosco teaching masonry and carpentry for boys;
• Tailoring school (for girls and boys - 2 years formation.
• Hair-dressing (saloon)
• Computer training.
• Operating Industrial machines (for adults searching employment)

The aim of these Vocational training schools is to prepare young people, women and men for getting jobs.

The Parish started KAEP association for the on-going formation of all the teachers working in all the Kibera schools. They meet once a month for an on-going formation. Different themes have been dealth with: HIV/AIDs; counselling; physical punishment; stress management, etc.

Meeting on Stress Management for the teachers of Kibera
The Kibera Alternative Education Programme, KAEP, organized a seminar on Stress Management to which about 60 teachers attended. Sr. Begoña Iñarra, from the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa animated the seminar. Participants were drawn from different learning institutions including secondary schools and vocational training centres. St. Begoña helped participants to realize that the skills learned would also help the pupils in discovering their own stress. Teachers could now show them how to cope.

The meeting was quite interactive throughout and the teachers discovered new ways of coping with the many stress and pressures they are subjected to. "We are glad that we have been able to attend to a need that has a direct impact on school performance", explains Sr. Margaret.

The workshop was a great success. The attendance was good and everybody participated.

Education at St. John - Korogocho

• St. John Informal School: 750 poor children from various ethnic and religious groups, who attend the primary informal school and who also receive a daily hot meal.
• St. John Nursery School: The community kindergarten attended by some 150 children.
• Library: Help daily by over 200 youth and children of the slum. It houses some 6000 books.
• Hair Dressing: A school of hair-dressing for young women in difficult situations. Sustained by the Comboni Sisters.

Mukuru Catholic Schools
The parish has provided funds to rebuild the public school "Kwa Njenga" adjacent to St. Bakhita outsetation.

Our Lady of Nazareth close to St. Mary's Mukuru parish is managed by the Marianist. It is a full primary school.

The Mukuru Community Center though private is assisted by the Parish.
In Reuben "Gatoto School" is a community school assisted by the Catholic Church. The AEF is managed by the Christian Brothers.
St. Elizabeth school in Lunga-Lunga is Catholic assisted.

IMANI, the Marianists Training Centre for the youth in Mukuru has three programmes, namely, Maria House Women's Centre, Chaminade Training Centre and the Job Creation Programme. The Training Centre offers various courses while the Job Creation Centre helps create employment for its trainees through enterprise development.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish
The parish has a nursery school with 2 classes plus a pre-unit in the compound of the parish; and a nursery with a pre-unit in each one of the three sub-parishes: St. Andrew; Olympic and St. Thomas. In the whole there are 5 classes plus 4 pre-units for smaller children. During the day hours when the church and the chapels are not used they serve as Nurseries for the small children.

The parish has a Vocational training Center that provides formation and training in dressmaking, tailoring and introduction to computers.

Education at Holy Cross Parish - Dandora
St. James Primary School is located within Dandora Holy Cross Catholic Church Compound. It developed in 2000 from the nursery school that had already been in operation for twenty years. Although the school is surrounded by city council and private primary schools, the Holy Cross Religious and lay group in Dandora saw a need for a church run school which would promote Christian living and moral behaviour. The school caters to the children in the area, yet it is not even able to absorb the number of students that come from the parish nursery school because of limited space. Its objectives for the future are to continue to grow to meet the need of the community while still providing quality education, addressing the intellectual, spiritual and moral needs of the children.

The school began from a good foundation and has set the highest academic standard. It is counted among the best school in the area and achieves the first position in Terminal Exams since its establishment.

Vocation Training School - Kyarusozi
The Vocation School began in 1995 in response to inadequate secondary education facilities in the parish. Its aims are to provide students who left primary the opportunity to pursue further studies and equip these youth with technical skills, thus elevating their socio-economic standard. It grew from a simple carpentry workshop that was established by Kyarusozi Socio-Economic Development Club, increasing enrollment every year, and now providing classes in sewing, handcrafts, knitting, nutrition/home management, tailoring, dressmaking, carpentry, concrete practice, and brick laying. A number of students are employed by the time they graduate, and even those who are not yet employed can assist others in the community to see the importance of education as a tool for socio-economic emancipation and advancement.

Audrey Veldmen Agro-Technical Education Center - St. Brendan's
The Agro-Technical Education Center was founded in 2001 to foster faith in young people and educate on career development. In phase one, the Center began educating young women in skills and academics, including sewing, knitting, crop management, animal husbandry, mathematics, English, civics, home management, physical and religious education. In January 2005, phase two, a young men's division will open, and will include career training in carpentry, masonry and computer literacy along with the above academic courses.

Education at Sr. Mary's Mukuru Parish

• There are 6 primary schools recognized in the parish, with approximately 1,200 children per school. Each school has the 8 classes of Primary.
• Each Parish Centre has one school and kwa Njenga has two.
• Nursery Schools Each Parish Primary School has a nursery section with two or three classes: pre-unit and nursery. Reuben has 4 classes.

Primary Schools

• Our Lady of Nazareth in Mukuru kwa Njenga is sponsored by the Marianists.
• Kwa Njenga Primary School with 1,600 students.
• Reuben Primary is run by the Christian Brothers (800 students).
• MCC Community School near St. Bakhita Church.
• Gatoto Primary School (community school) in Mukuru kwa Reuben.(900 children)
• Lunga-lunga St. Elizabeth Primary School

The Mercy sisters are in charge of some of these schools and they run the Mukuru Promotion Centre in South B.

All the schools provide high quality education, literacy, security, healthcare and feeding for the children at low cost. The schools aim at breaking the cycle of poverty in which the children live, raise economic prospects in the area and reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS infection among the young. provide It The staff and a parents' committee, which is elected annually, manage the community schools.

Vocational Schools
Chaminade Polytechnic run by the Marianists. It has three programmes, namely, Maria House Women's Centre, Chaminade Training Centre and the Job Creation Programme. The Training Centre offers various courses while the Job Creation Centre helps create employment for its trainees through enterprise development. Training Centre for girls (about 250 students): catering; hair dressing; dress-making; needle work.

Training Centre for boys: electricity; masonry; iron works; woodcraft and carpentry.
Reuben Training Centre, managed by the Christian Brothers. Skills training for girls: dress-making; uniforms.
Training Social Center at Lunga-Lunga for street children (girls and boys) and unemployed. It is run by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word
Secondary Schools Mbakasi Girls Secondary School

The Catholic Teachers Association takes care of the on-going formation of the teachers. The REAP trains them.
There is a very good collaboration between the parish and the many Primary and Secondary schools in the area, either community schools or privately owned. The priests from the parish go there regularly to celebrate the Eucharist and to participate in some of the Boards.