Final  Progress  Report    Final  Report  Content  

1. Please  provide  the  following  information:    

a. Organization  Name  Shining  Hope  for  Communities  (SHOFCO)  b. Program  Title  SHOFCO  Kibera  School  for  Girls  &  Economic  Empowerment  Initiatives  c. Grant  Amount  $36,263.79  d. Contact  Person  Lexi  Hensley,  Director  of  Community  &  Outreach  e. Address  175  Varick  Street  6th  Floor,  New  York,  NY  10014  

 2. Recap  briefly  what  outcomes  the  program  was  designed  to  achieve.  

In  2011,  Shining  Hope  for  Communities  received  funding  from  Dining  For  Women  for  the  Kibera  School  for  Girls,  the  first  free  school  for  girls  in  the  Kibera  Slum  of  Nairobi,  and  our  economic  empowerment  initiatives  for  the  Kibera  community.    By  the  completion  of  2012,  we  had  achieved  several  milestones  within  both  projects,  including  an  expansion  of  the  Kibera  School  for  Girls  and  a  redesign  of  our  economic  empowerment  programs  to  help  more  women  become  economically  secure.      

3. What  was  accomplished  in  connection  with  this  project?  Please  address  each  stated  objective.  If  any  project  objectives  were  changed,  please  also  explain  the  circumstances  leading  to  the  modification  of  the  objective(s).  *(See  answers  to  questions  5  &  6)  By  the  end  of  2012,  the  Kibera  School  for  Girls  provided  a  superior  education  to  100  girls  from  pre-­‐K  through  third  grade.  It  also  built  the  capacity  to  add  one  grade  level    (40  girls  per  grade)  each  year  through  the  eighth  grade.  We  were  able  to  use  funding  from  Dining  for  Women  to  fully  support  our  school  operations  including  teacher  salaries,  health  care  and  meals  for  our  students,  school  supplies,  uniforms,  operate  the  library  and  IT  services,  and  run  our  parent  programs.  This  funding  has  also  allowed  us  to  allocate  outside  funding  for  important  expansion  and  improvement  projects  at  the  school,  including  a  new  school  building  and  new  curriculum  additions.  

• In  January  2012,  SHOFCO  opened  a  new  school  building  for  the  Kibera  School  for  Girls  that  doubled  the  number  of  new  students  we  enroll  each  year,  from  20  to  40.  The  new  school  building  includes  a  computer  lab,  theater  and  art  rooms,  an  assembly  hall,  and  a  

 

   

rooftop  playground.  These  facilities,  paired  with  our  innovative  curriculum,  ensure  our  students  receive  a  well-­‐rounded,  comprehensive  education  that  give  them  the  tools  to  forge  paths  out  of  poverty.    

• At  the  Kibera  School  for  Girls,  we  also  implemented  curricular  additions  that  made  significant  improvements  on  our  previous  curriculum  and  are  far  ahead  of  the  traditional  rote-­‐learning  system  used  in  most  Kenyan  schools.  For  example,  we  incorporated  an  interactive  science  curriculum  (Delta)  that  engages  students  with  their  environment,  and  a  new  math  curriculum  (Math  in  Focus)  based  off  of  the  Singapore  system,  which  is  widely  lauded  as  being  the  best  in  the  world.    

• In  addition,  we  have  improved  our  after-­‐school  and  music  programs.  These  curriculum  improvements  enable  us  to  offer  a  world-­‐class  physical  and  arts  education  to  some  of  the  most  disadvantaged  girls  in  the  slum,  which  will  empower  them  to  lead  creative  change  for  themselves  and  their  community.  Music  classes  are  held  every  Wednesday  and  we  paved  the  way  for  a  state  of  the  art  rooftop  playground.    

 Additionally  in  2012,  with  support  from  Dining  for  Women,  our  economic  empowerment  programs  were  expanded  and  re-­‐designed  to  enable  more  women  in  Kibera  achieve  social  and  financial  independence.  78%  of  SHOFCO  women  involved  in  our  Economic  Empowerment  programs  have  their  own  source  of  income  according  to  our  community  baseline  thanks  to  SWEP,  our  group  savings  and  loans,  business  training,  and  social  support  networks.    

• Shining  Hope’s  Women’s  Empowerment  Project  (SWEP)  is  a  collective  of  HIV  positive  women  living  in  Kibera  that  makes  beaded  jewelry,  yoga  bags,  aprons,  tablet  cases,  purses  and  more  from  traditional  Kenyan  textiles.  In  addition  to  learning  how  to  make  crafts,  they  also  participate  in  weekly  support  group  meetings,  design  and  business  workshops,  and  take  part  in  our  group  savings  and  loans  program.  In  2012,  SWEP  also  found  success  beyond  local  markets  to  the  United  States  and  Singapore.  SHOFCO  purchased  more  sewing  machines  so  that  we  could  keep  up  with  the  growing  demand  for  SWEP  crafts.    

• Like  SWEP,  our  other  economic  empowerment  programs  are  also  designed  for  groups  with  common  interests  and  challenges.  These  groups  include  parents  of  our  students,  youth,  and  new  mothers.  Each  group  participates  in  regular  support  group  meetings,  saves  together,  and  makes  investment  decisions  together  with  their  collected  funds.  In  addition,  they  participate  in  professionalism,  accounting,  and  entrepreneurship  workshops  that  help  them  find  employment  and/or  start  small  businesses  ventures  of  their  own.  Our  economic  empowerment  programs  were  redesigned  and  bolstered  in  February  of  2012.  Funds  from  Dining  for  Women  have  been  used  to  support  groups  that  are  for  women,  such  as  new  mothers,  SWEP,  and  pregnant  HIV+  women.    

 

   

   

4. What  challenges  did  you  face  in  connection  with  this  project?  How  did  you  address  these  challenges?  Our  primary  challenges  in  the  implementation  of  our  economic  empowerment  programs  were  that  the  Gardens  for  Growth  and  the  Project  Poultry  did  not  adequately  address  the  needs  of  our  participants.  Therefore,  we  redesigned  our  programs  to  include  aspects  that  made  SWEP  a  successful  program.  At  its  core,  the  redesign  embraced  the  social  support  system  inherent  in  SWEP,  based  around  the  common  interests  and  challenges  of  the  participants.  We  also  allowed  our  participants  to  take  advantage  of  small  business  opportunities  in  the  local  markets  (see  questions  5  &  6).      

5. Is  your  organization  or  program  situation  different  than  presented  in  the  approved  proposal?  For  example,  new  executive  director,  significant  program  staffing  changes  or  NGO  affiliation,  loss  of  large  funding,  or  other  significant  changes?  &  

6. What  were  the  most  important  lessons  learned?  SHOFCO  did  not  experience  staffing,  structural  organizational  changes,  or  losses  in  funding.  However,  we  did  experience  a  lesson  in  flexibility.  We  strongly  believe  flexibility  to  be  a  key  tenant  of  our  operations  as  a  grassroots  organization.  SHOFCO  believes  in  providing  the  programing  and  resources  that  are  urgently  needed  by  the  community.  Concurrently,  it  was  a  practiced  lesson  to  maintain  this  character  when  reporting  to  a  grant-­‐giving  institution.      As  discussed  in  the  interim  report,  our  original  program  objectives  of  educating  the  most  disadvantaged  and  vulnerable  girls  of  Kibera  and  helping  community  members  gain  economic  security  did  not  change.  The  specific  program  components,  however,  were  modified  and  enhanced  based  on  the  needs  of  our  community.      Our  economic  empowerment  programs  were  redesigned  in  February  2012:  after  monitoring  our  three  proposed  programs,  SWEP  had  the  most  clear  potential  for  success,  largely  due  to  participants’  strong  connections  over  common  challenges  as  low-­‐income  women  living  with  HIV.  Thus,  we  redesigned  our  other  economic  empowerment  programs  to  include  similar  social  networks  for  our  participants  to  be  able  to  form  strong  social  bonds  that  would  help  them  reach  economic  stability.  We  placed  more  emphasis  on  growing  our  group  savings  and  loans  programs,  and  piloting  additional  skills  and  literacy  trainings  within  those  preexisting  groups.  Based  upon  profit  margin  research,  SHOFCO  decided  to  provide  diversified  business  and  entrepreneurship  training  to  our  economic  empowerment  participants  so  that  they  could  apply  acquired  skills  to  a  variety  of  fields,  depending  on  the  state  of  the  local  economy  and  their  own  creativity.  Our  economic  empowerment  programs  are  now  more  flexible,  robust,  and  provide  more  social  support  for  our  participants.  We  are  confident  that  our  redesigned  project  enables  more  women  to  achieve  economic  security  and  overcome  institutional  challenges  to  their  wellbeing  as  slum  residents  in  Kenya.      

7. What  has  changed  within  your  organization  as  a  result  of  this  project?  &  

 

   

8. Describe  the  unexpected  events  and  outcomes,  including  unexpected  benefits.  SHOFCO  is  even  more  readily  able  to  adapt  our  programming  to  community  needs  than  in  the  past,  and  we  have  launched  several  new  initiatives  from  which  we  expect  great  success.  SHOFCO’s  new  “Innovator’s  Platform”,  targets  our  most  vulnerable  and  entrepreneurial  beneficiaries,  particularly  women  and  youth  ages  18  to  35,  in  an  effort  to  provide  them  opportunities  to  launch  their  small  businesses.  Through  business  mentorship  and  other  skills  training,  the  platform  grows  emerging  entrepreneurs’  small  business  ideas  to  sustainable  realities.  Once  participants  satisfy  training  requirements,  they  become  eligible  for  loans  in  order  to  start  their  business.    

9. Did  you  change  your  strategy  as  a  result  of  obstacles  your  encountered?  How  will  you  address  these  challenges  in  the  future?  Please  see  the  answers  to  questions  to  4-­‐8.  We  will  continue  to  employ  flexibility  and  used  needs-­‐based  assessment  of  the  communities  in  which  we  work  and  with  whom  we  work  in  close  concert.  Employing  community  members  in  the  design  of  our  annual  work  plans  is  a  valued  hallmark  of  our  program  design.    

10. Approximately  how  many  lives  have  been  touched,  both  directly  and  indirectly,  by  the  program?  In  2012,  SHOFCO  had  27  participants  in  our  SWEP  group,  benefitting  HIV  positive  women.  We  had  a  total  of  91  participants  in  4  group  savings  and  loans  circles,  86  of  whom  were  women.  We  served  100  students  in  our  Kibera  School  for  Girls,  from  Pre-­‐kindergarten  though  the  3rd  grade.  Through  increased  capacity,  much  in  part  through  the  support  of  Dining  for  Women,  we  will  eventually  serve  up  400  students  through  the  8th  grade  at  the  Kibera  School  for  Girls.  In  2012,  SHOFCO  estimates  that  it  reached  approximately  17,000  direct  beneficiaries  and  30,000  indirect  beneficiaries  through  our  programming  across  the  education,  economic  empowerment,  and  health  sectors.    

11. What  are  the  measurements  used  to  monitor  success  and  how  was  this  information  measured  (e.g.,  surveys,  observation)?  Be  specific  and  include  measurable  results.  SHOFCO  is  dedicated  to  the  robust  monitoring  and  evaluation  of  our  programs  and  the  inclusion  of  the  community  in  this  process.  

The  community  identifies  the  focus  of  SHOFCO’s  services  through  annual  random  surveys  assisted  by  GPS  technology.    Since  2010,  SHOFCO  has  annually  recorded  responses  from  1,200  households  in  Kibera  regarding  program  utilization  and  a  wide  range  of  indicators  including  attitudes  on  gender  and  family  roles,  health  care  access,  economic  indicators,  and  education  attainment.  The  research  serves  two  primary  purposes:  it  establishes  a  representative  community  “baseline”  or  random  control-­‐group  against  which  to  measure  our  program  

 

   

outcomes  and  it  functions  as  a  community  needs-­‐assessment,  helping  to  inform  program  development.  We  conduct  similar  annual  surveys  of  SHOFCO  members.  

Additionally,  SHOFCO  provides  every  beneficiary  with  a  unique  ID  card,  allowing  us  to  document  every  program  use  through  barcode  scanning.  Bolstered  by  robust  data  through  this  technology,  we  then  develop  services  in  partnership  with  community  stakeholders.  Each  program  has  an  annual  work  plan  developed  by  our  local  program  managers  that  provides  a  road  map  for  achieving  the  established  program  outcomes  and  annual  beneficiary  goals.    

12. If  the  program  is  ongoing,  provide  plans  and  expected  results,  including  projected  timeframe.  The  timeline  for  these  programs  remains  unchanged.  SHOFCO  plans  to  operate  our  education  and  economic  empowerment  programming  for  as  long  as  there  is  an  express  need  in  our  community  for  these  services.      

13. Provide  a  detailed  list  of  all  expenses  incurred  during  the  grant  cycle  which  have  been  paid  for  with  the  Dining  for  Women  grant.    (Next  page,  please.)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

KSG  Kindergarten  Class  1  2012      Description   Expense  Teacher  Salary    $2,400.00    Teacher  Assistant  Salary    $1,100.00    Curriculum  Materials    $1,341.67    Health  Care  for  Students    $1,000.00    School  Supplies    $563.50    Feeding  Program      $1,758.00    Supplemental  Education  Fund  (start  up  costs  for  new-­‐preschool)    $1,000.00    Maintenance/Improvements    $590.33    Employee  Benefits    $268.33    Teacher  Training    $1,073.33    Field  Trip  Program    $402.50    Uniforms    $1,341.67    Parent  Programs    $211.00    Total  Kindergarten  Expense    $13,050.33    DFW  DVD  Production    $800.00    KSG  Kindergarten  Class  2    2012      Description   Expense  Teacher  Salary    $2,400.00    Teacher  Assistant  Salary    $1,100.00    Curriculum  Materials    $1,341.67    Health  Care  for  Students    $1,000.00    School  Supplies    $563.50    Feeding  Program      $1,758.00    Field  Trip  Program    $402.50    Total  Additional  Kindergarten  Expense    $8,565.67    Total  Education  Expense    $22,416.00    SWEP      Description   Expense  Sewing  Instructor    $1,500.00    Program  Coordinator    $2,300.00    Materials  and  Supplies    $2,500.00    Total  SWEP  Expense    $6,300.00    Women's  Empowerment  -­‐    GS&L  /  Skills  Trainings      Description   Expense  Program  Coordinator    $2,300.00    Literacy  Instructor  (1.5)    $2,250.00    

Enterprise/Job  Skill  Trainer  (2)    $3,000.00    Total  Other  Women's  Empowerment  Expense    $7,550.00    

TOTAL  EXPENSES      $36,266.00    

 

   

14. Did  this  grant  and  relationship  with  DFW  assist  your  organization  in  obtaining  other  funding,  partnerships  with  other  organizations,  or  public  recognition  in  some  capacity.  Over  the  past  two  years,  we  have  been  fortunate  to  receive  additional  funding  for  our  organization  as  a  whole.  We  have  used  this  additional  funding  and  influx  of  new  partnerships  to  both  deepen  infrastructure  in  Kibera  and  begin  to  build  out  our  model  in  the  neighboring  slum  of  Mathare.  We  are  deeply  indebted  to  Dining  for  Women  for  being  one  of  Shining  Hope  for  Communities’  preeminent  and  earliest  champions,  enabling  our  work  to  be  the  shining  and  growing  beacon  of  hope  that  it  is  today.    

   

                     

Thank  you  for  your  incredible  support.

 

   

Appendix  Messages  -­‐  Spotlights  -­‐  Photos  

 Spotlight  on:  Vanessa,  Grade  4    

Vanessa’s  Tribute  to  her  Mother  for  Mother's  Day  

Spotlight  on:  Mary,  Pre-­‐Kindergarten   Aileen  is  a  student  in  Teacher  Rita’s  Pre-­‐K  class.  She  is  very  responsible  and   has   assumed   the   role   of   “student-­‐teacher.”   Whenever   the  teachers  are  out  of  the  classroom,  Aileen  will  stand  at  the  front  of  the  class   and   instruct   the   other   students   to   read   the   wall   charts.   She  assigns  who  will  read  first  and  distributes  the  reading  evenly,  following  the  example  of  her  teachers.  She  loves  helping  in  the  classroom.  Every  week,  a  different  student  is  assigned  class  prefect  and  Aileen  is  always  begging  to  take  on  this  role.  Because  she  cannot  be  the  prefect  every  week,  she  names  herself  the  “prefect-­‐helper”  and  aids  in  the  prefect’s  responsibilities.  She  always  wants   to  know  more,   is  constantly  asking  questions,   and   assigns   herself   extra   work.   Last   week,   the   students  were  told  to  write  5  words  that  begin  with  the  letter  ‘R.’  Aileen  wrote  10.   The   other   girls   in   the   class   respect   her   and   look   to   her   as   a   role  model  and  the   teachers  appreciate  her  help.  At   the  end  of   the   term,  Aileen  was  awarded  the  “Most  Responsible”  title  for  the  Pre-­‐K  class.    

 

   

   

   

Evelyn’s  Story  

Evelyn  and  her  four  children  were  widowed  after  her  husband  refused  life-­‐saving  antiretroviral  treatment  for  HIV/AIDS.  With  few  options,  she  joined  the  SHOFCO  Women’s  Economic  Empowerment  Project  (SWEP),  an  initiative  specifically  designed  to  benefit  HIV+  women,  where  she  sews  beautiful  yoga  bags  and  ipad  cases  as  a  means  to  support  her  family.  But  Evelyn  didn’t  stop  there.  She  joined  our  Group  Savings  &  Loans  Program,  and  through  the  start-­‐up  capital  from  collective  savings,  launched  a  peanut  butter  business.  Now,  her  business  is  booming—and  she’s  proud  of  it!  Today,  Evelyn  and  her  children  are  thriving.  There  are  thousands  of  Evelyns  in  Kibera;  strong,  smart,  passionate  women  reinvesting  in  their  communities.  

 

 

Evelyn  Showcases  her  peanut  butter  product  cultivated  through  our  GS&L  Program