UPDATE: Groundbreaking expected to take place in Sept. 2009

In 2009, NextAid is proudly supporting the Kawangware Street Children and Youth Project in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya.  We have partnered with this outstanding group of youth who have self-organized to create sustainable solutions to support street kids, orphaned and vulnerable children in their disadvantaged community.

The Kawangware Street Children and Youth Project is a locally created and managed organization started by former street kids to provide positive opportunities to get kids off the streets in their community- a slum bordering Nairobi. The youth’s primary income generating business is making silkscreened gift bags out of recycled paper for sale to safari companies and tourist shops. The collective of former street kids operate out of a cramped and crumbling two-room shack in the Nairobi slum where they live. The profits from their business enable the participants to generate income for themselves and to take care of the community’s orphaned or vulnerable children while providing a productive and positive environment for the youth.

Program Director Wendy Cross is currently in Nairobi working with the project in capacity building, construction planning and obtaining land.  NextAid has equipped the local project coordinators with a new laptop computer and digital camera. This small donation has already had tremendous impact by decreasing the cost and amount of time they spend traveling to and from cyber cafes to conduct their work. Wendy says it is truly inspiring to watch the process of empowerment unfold before your eyes with the right equipment and a little training. 

Our current fundraising goal is $25,000 of the estimated $50,000 total cost to build Kawangware Project a multi-purpose building to run their programs and expand their income-generating paper bag making business. We are partnering with other organizations and funders to raise the other half. Join NextAid in supporting this endeavor and the many more small-scale sustainable development projects we plan to work on in the future. www.nextaid.org/kawangware.htm