Rafiki Thabo Foundation’s new partnership with Life Skills Oasis (LSO) in Kenya will help street children, youth with disabilities and mothers of children with disabilities gain practical skills, build confidence and create opportunities to generate their own income.
We’re delighted to announce a new partnership between Rafiki Thabo Foundation and Life Skills Oasis – work on our first project together is already underway.
Life Skills Oasis provides holistic support to street-connected and other vulnerable children, young people living with disabilities and their families in Kiandutu, one of the largest slums outside of Nairobi, located on the outskirts of Thika town in Kenya.
Like us, their focus isn’t simply on meeting an immediate need. It’s about helping people develop the skills, confidence and opportunities they need to build a more secure future.
Creating skills that can generate an income
Our first project together is the establishment of a new skills training centre.
The first cohort will see 30 people (youth living on the street, youth with disabilities and mothers of children with disabilities) trained in a practical skill of their choice (hairdressing, tailoring or knitting), alongside important life skills training.
For these groups of people, traditional employment can be incredibly difficult to access. This is particularly the case with the mothers of children with disabilities: caring for a child with additional needs can require flexibility that conventional working hours simply don’t provide.
The skills taught through the centre have therefore been carefully chosen to create opportunities for flexible self-employment, including work that can be carried out from home. This will enable mothers to generate their own income while continuing to care for their children – helping them afford essentials, including their children’s education, and build greater financial independence. But the potential impact goes further still.
Training that can keep growing
The programme will follow a ‘training of trainers’ approach. Those taking part in the first cohort won’t just learn new skills themselves. They’ll also be equipped to pass those skills on to others in future training rounds. Through our funding of the first round of training, Life Skills Oasis will also be able to qualify for government trainers in the future. As with all our projects, the aim is to create something self-sustaining: an initial investment that can continue creating opportunities for many more people within the community.
Some participants may well go on to establish their own businesses. Alongside the potential financial benefits, the programme is also designed to build dignity, confidence and self-esteem, while creating an important peer network of youth and women who understand many of the challenges each other faces.
The first phase is already underway
Thanks to an incredible unexpected legacy donation received by Rafiki Thabo Foundation earlier this year, we’ve been able to fund the project which Life Skills Oasis proposed to us the last time we visited. The equipment for the centre has now been purchased and is in place and ready to go and we have just sent the funding for the local trainers and supervising social worker for the first round of training which will last 8 months and will start this month.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the potential of this approach.
We’ve previously supported the creation of a similar skills training centre at Dadashi Special Children’s Centre, another of our partners in Kenya. The learning from that project has helped shape this one, and the two organisations will be encouraged to share their experiences and learn from one another, with a visit by Life Skills Oasis staff to Dadashi’s training centre happening very soon.
We’re incredibly excited to see the results of this new partnership with Life Skills Oasis.
Providing opportunities through education isn’t always about sitting in a classroom. Sometimes it’s about learning a practical skill. Sometimes it’s about having the confidence to earn your own income. And sometimes, giving 30 people an opportunity to learn can create opportunities for many more.
Help us create more opportunities
Projects like this are made possible thanks to the generosity of our supporters, enabling us to work alongside trusted local partners to create opportunities that can have a lasting impact.
If you’d like to help us continue supporting children and young people with disabilities, their families and the communities around them, discover more about our work and how you can get involved.
A gift that creates opportunities for years to come
This project was made possible thanks to an unexpected legacy gift. Leaving a gift to Rafiki Thabo Foundation in your will can help create opportunities like these for future generations.
If you would like to consider leaving a gift in your will, please contact Janne for more information.
