Education is extremely important to Kibera families, who recognize its potential to lift students out of poverty. Although both primary and high school have been declared free by the Kenyan government, the reality is that there are fees and expenses associated with attending school that many families can’t afford, forcing students to drop out early or attend substandard schools. In this community, the Sponsorship Program is Uweza’s most frequently requested program/service.

Currently, we provide scholarships to primary students attending local schools, secondary students, most of whom attend boarding schools outside of Kibera, and post-secondary students who attend vocational schools and colleges. Scholarships cover the costs of school fees, school uniforms, school supplies, mentorship and guidance and life skills workshops.

Why we believe providing access to quality education is so important:

• 1 million children in Kenya are not attending primary school, making it the country with the ninth highest number of primary school chidren out of school in the world.  Kenya is one of only 14 countries in the world with over one million children out of school. (Source: UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2013/14)
• As of 2007, only 70% of children of primary school age reached grade 4 and achieved minimum learning standard in reading.  40% of children completed primary school and achieved minimum learning standard in mathematics.  This number drops to just 30% among poorest households. (Source: UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report Sub-Saharan Africa Fact Sheet, 2013/14)
• Only 60% of high school aged children in Kenya are enrolled in high school. While the abolition of secondary school fees reduced the costs for households, indirect costs are  still twelve to twenty times as much as the monthly income of some parents, leaving secondary school out of reach for the poorest households. (Source: UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2012)
• The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated all of the challenges in access to education.

“The consequences of such low levels of education are grim for the young people… Many youth will be consigned to poorly paid, insecure and often risky work, and their countries will be deprived of the kind of skills that can drive economic growth.”     (Source: UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2012)

Invest in the future leaders of Kenya, Sponsor an Uweza Scholar.  

Scholarship recipients receive payment of school fees, school field trips, school uniforms, textbooks, some school supplies, termly life skills workshops, and mentorship and guidance from the Uweza staff. Recipients are chosen on the basis of need and academic performance from the community and from participants in our other programs who are doing well in school. Before admission into the program, Uweza staff conduct an interview with the student and his/her guardians, visit the student’s home, and review past academic performance.

Become a student sponsor today: 
Sponsors commit to monthly support and are matched with a Kibera student.  As a sponsor, you will receive quarterly updates, which will include a letter, report card, and photo.

Please select a giving option to sign up for sponsorship or to request more information. If you are unable to commit to sponsoring a student but still wish to support education in Kibera, please consider making a one-time or recurring donation.  All sponsorship donations will be used to fund the education of students from Kibera.