Douglas Maina first joined the gallery in 2012 and has long been known for his detailed paintings of landscapes and animals. Last year, he decided to focus on painting Kibera. According to Maina, “Kibera is a diverse place with many activities. I decided to do these pieces because personally to…
We recently checked in with some of the first participants of our Female Fundis initiative, which provides opportunities for young women from Kibera to learn trades that are not traditionally “feminine” and is run through our Bright Futures program. Ann, Mary, Janet, and Christine started a course in electrical repair…
Introducing a new initiative under our Bright Futures program in partnership with Junior League of Evanston – North Shore….Female Fundis! Vocational training can be a great way to address youth unemployment. However, female youth are often encouraged to focus only on trades that have been deemed best-suited for women such…
In May, we launched a call for submissions for Kibera ArtFest, an exhibition and art contest aimed at bringing exposure to the beauty of Kibera and abundant talent of Kibera’s artist and photographers. We received submissions from more than 40 creatives and will be holding an opening for an exhibition…
Eight years ago today, we officially launched the Uweza Community Center. We decided to celebrate by posting one photo representing every year since we opened. We are grateful to the members of the Kibera community for embracing the center and making it is what it is today and to our…
Despite years of programming and attention on girls’ and women’s empowerment, the status of women in Kenya is not encouraging. 39% of women ages 15-49 who have ever been married report sexual or physical violence within their marriage. Less than half of currently married and employed women who earn cash are…
[Norman, Brian, and Vincent are first year high school students who participate in Uweza’s Sponsorship Program. This story of their academic journey is written in their own words, without any changes by Uweza] Uweza first supported us to school in 2009. We joined Class 1 (first grade) at Olympic Primary…
What happens when you give girls the opportunity to speak for themselves? For the last three years, Uweza Foundation has provided an answer to this question by providing an open space at their center where girls from Kibera can meet and discuss issues relevant to their daily lives out without…
