It has become clear to us over the last four years that we are providing a valuable service to the HIV/AIDS affected youth of Kibera. We are therefore planning carefully for the future so that we can continue to offer this service and can expand its scope. We’re looking forward to building a new facility, which will enable us to serve our students more effectively.

New School Building
Early in 2006 we purchased a plot of land that is a five-minute walk from Kibera. We plan to begin constructing the new school in early, 2008. We will build in two phases. Phase I, due for completion by the end of the year, will provide the basic facilities needed to run the school at a capacity of 280 students. Phase I will include 8 classrooms, the library, two science labs, a computer room and office space for administration.  Phase II, which we hope to begin immediately after the completion of Phase I, will include four classrooms, a third science lab, a second computer room and the dining room and assembly hall and kitchen. The completion of Phase II in 2009 will enable us to begin accepting three classes or 105 students first-year students in 2010 and build to our eventual full capacity of 420 students.

The present estimated cost of the building project is US$2 million. Each phase will cost approximately US$ 1 million. As of October 31, 2007, we have received in gifts and pledges, the full amount that we need for Phase I. We have received US$350,000 for Phase II.

A Dream: If we would receive enough additional gifts and pledges for the building project before the end of 2007 to enable us to go forward with the whole project in 2008, we would avoid the noise and congestion of building Phase II after the students have already moved to the new campus.

Click the image above to see a larger version of the sketch of our new school, on which we are about to begin construction.

There are currently many opportunities to help support St. Al's and to help us complete construction of the new building we'll use to educate more students from Kibera. Please visit the support us page for details on our needs and how you can help.

After Graduation
As the time approached for our first class of 20 students to graduate, we faced the reality that, if we said “Good-bye” to the graduates when they finished high school, we would have given them a false hope. The reality is that a Kenyan with only a high-school education has little chance of securing a decent job. We heard a call to reach out and support our students for college studies.

The Social Service Program
The first issue that we had to examine was what to do with our students during the period between graduation in November and beginning tertiary studies, which normally is not before August of the following year. We used what at first seemed a problem as an opportunity. Most schools following Ignatian pedagogy have a component of social service and reflection as an integral part of the high school program. Because the Kenya government curriculum is so heavy, we did not find a way to implement an ongoing program of social service during high school, but we found we could organize it after the completion of school.
During the so-called “Gap” period between December and August, we implemented a program of social service to enable our students to reach out and begin to make a return for what they have received. Monday through Thursday the women work at a home sponsored by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, and the men are assigned to one of two orphanages for boys. Friday is given to a reflection group on the graduates’ experience of service. The reflection group enables the graduates to realize what it means to be “Men and Women for Others” and to make involvement with the poor and marginalized a part of their life commitment.  The social service program becomes a way to implement the values that our students were picking up during their time as students at St. Aloysius.

College Studies
On Fridays, the graduates also undertake career counseling so that a suitable college program can be chosen by each. Most of our 2006 graduates are already in college studies, and the others will begin early in 2008. We are able to cover tuition and other costs for college studies for $1,000 per graduate per year. Programs generally run between 2 and 4 years.
Please visit the ‘support us’ page to see how you can help us realize our dream of providing the “after graduation” components that will enable our graduates to become productive members of society who have a vision of service.