UPDATE FROM JILL SOWERBY, HOTCOURSES FOUNDATION HELPER IN NAIROBI

After the shocking reality of a country destabilised by political unrest in January, the Hotcourses education programme in Kenya has proven its success.

We owe this largely to our implementation partners, Nyumbani’s outreach home-based care Lea Toto programme, in the slums of Nairobi. They responded to the immediate needs of their clients, who are our clients, at each of 6 stations at the time of the crisis. The station most affected was Kibera where numbers of displaced residents were camped at a nearby showground.

We are now beginning the third term of this school year. The Lea Toto Social Workers are preparing the fee and books payment requisitions to Nyumbani. The payments are made by the Social Workers direct to the school for each child. The school gives a receipt for each payment. It must be noted that most of the administration costs for the Hotcourses Foundation are covered by Hotcourses Ltd, so more than 95% of any donation goes directly towards paying for the educational needs of the children sponsored.

The Lea Toto programme serves nearly 3,000 children in the slums of Nairobi so there is enormous potential for the Hotcourses education programme to grow. We are grateful to you as sponsors for your support in this.