How to Build from Nothing- The Story of FURAHA youth, Kenya
How to start with nothing and build something substantial—
The story of FURAHA youth (Kenya)
How did four young people forced to work menial jobs build a high school with an endowment fund, high quality student support services, and academic results that placed their poorest students at top national colleges? That too, in Mathare, Kenya’s second largest slum.
Read their incredible story below….
These young men had grown up and lived in Mathare, in tiny one-room homes, but worked hard for good grades and made it to college—only to drop out in a year or so because they could not pay the tuition fees.
Now in their early 20s, they had to make a little money, so they took on manual day-jobs like community trash collection.
Yet, in the evening, their one-room houses would become “safe havens” for young kids struggling to stay in school—these children had no one to help with homework, conceptual understanding, or keep up with grade-level work. They came from homes with single parents, or foster parents—with often one meal a day to live on.
Lesson 1: Even if you have nothing by way of funds, and get nothing by way of income from what you’re doing—focus your youthful energies on opportunities for service. That opportunity for service could have the potential to grow into a productive line of work for you and others in the community.
A little help from these tutors improved student performances dramatically, so much so that parents urged them to teach full-time. Encouraged by their youthful pastor, they sensed an opportunity- to serve children in early education for a small fee. Having met each other at Church, at their menial day jobs, and as they went about the day, they decided to act on the opportunity, pool their energies, and take one concrete step.
Lesson 2: Listen closely to your community, engage with the world around you. Your opportunities could be right there.
The problem was that even with pooling the small fees they raised, the founders could not afford much. Just a small space negotiated from a landlord in the community.
The idea of a full-time school, even at the primary level, was not on the radar screen. One or two small concrete steps at a time were all that could be managed—and even that involved a significant extension of their time, money, and problem-solving skills.
Lesson 3: Take the one or two concrete steps that you can. Grand visions can overwhelm and discourage.
And so it began— In 2005, a formally designated space where a few children could gather in the evening to review their lessons, complete their homework under supervision. The results were quick and consistent—school academic performance for these children improved dramatically. Proudly, they named it the “Sir Isaac Newton Tutoring Center”.
Upon seeing the hard results, parents and guardians pledged to send their children to their school on a full-time basis---IF ONLY they could pull together the resources for a full-time school. There was now increased demand for their services.
Taking stock, the founders realized that the rental space was lying unused during the day— the possibility of increased enrolment might mean they could use the space for day-time school, and move from the work of volunteers to a small full-time staff. With careful thought and effort, they were able to hire one full-time teacher. Community-donation drives were organized to build a collection of used textbooks.
Lesson 4: Take stock from time to time---where is your position exactly? Where are the next opportunities? Are you utilizing existing resources fully? Make a plan—one or two more concrete and manageable steps.
Fortuitously, they met—through their local community networks—an NGO worker from the US. Impressed by their efforts, he promised to donate a shipment of books to stock the school library. Shelves were built to display the almost 300 books that arrived—and the young men decided to share with the community, and invited local schools to borrow from their library as well.
Again, impressed by the use rate of the books on the shelves, the same donor moved to ask the founders what their next steps might be.
Lesson 5: Results – when demonstrable— will increase the demand for your work. It will draw people willing to infuse resources in your work because they are convinced you can deliver.
Presented with a concrete plan and budget for expansion of space and services that could be offered, the donor pledged to support that move financially. He brought in other donors as well. Together, they raised the money for the intended expansion. They decided to call the school FURAHA (joy).
Even at this time, the dream was practical—limited to the next one or two steps.
The growth stage: Stay engaged with the community, listen closely and build your networks--- you will find your opportunity and your resources right there. Put in the work, extend yourself---the results will come. Track your results---demonstrate them. The results will attract resources from people convinced of your ability and integrity—keep networking. Understand your needs—make a plan. One or two concrete steps- geared toward improvement.
At every step, the founders innovated in response to a practical problem.
A meal program was necessary to keep children in school through the afternoon break into the evening. Without a meal, the number of children in attendance would fall from 100 in the morning to about 20 in the evening. They were wandering off in search of something to eat. A kitchen was opened in the school.
A social work program became necessary to build relationships with parents and guardians— to identify children with the greatest need in terms of financial insecurity, chronic disease (such as AIDS) or lack of available caregivers; to work toward a solution for each such child in collaboration with their home; and keep them in school.
A sanatorium and full-time nurse were required to check absenteeism for the more mundane sicknesses that were not being attended to—a skin infection, or stomach upset might keep a child at home without medical attention because caregivers were out at work. But assuring families that the children would receive basic medical care at school and would face no adverse judgment for being sick—went a long way to keep children in school.
A partnership with a local hospital was necessary to provide FURAHA with a number of vouchers each year that the more seriously sick students could use to get free treatment.
And the big realization- that FURAHA children graduating from the primary school were performing at the highest levels in the district, but did not have the funds to pay for the top ranked high schools for which they had the academic scores to gain admission. They were used to paying 1,500 Kenyan shillings per year for FURAHA primary school—but high school would cost at least 80,000 Kenyan shillings/year for a top national school or at least 20,000 Kenyan shillings for a local high school in the district. The FURAHA experiment considered itself a failure if it allowed children who had come so far and done so well to lapse out of school for lack of funds. A high school was set up –one administrative and classroom block at a time—to allow for the 100% transition of these high-performing primary graduates into high school. Besides quality of programming and services, one of the main concerns was that the high school be built away from the slum---in a serene, peaceful location—where children could concentrate.
Lesson 6: Always ask the hard questions—why is this added space, or added service necessary to deliver the mission more effectively? What will it cost? If you do not understand the specific need and its cost structure, you cannot explain it with conviction, nor will you persuade donors to invest in the project.
To the chagrin of the founders, the smartest high school graduates who qualified in national examinations for the top national or mid-level colleges were faced with the same dilemma as they had themselves faced—having come all this way, FURAHA students were unlikely to complete college because of the required tuition and associated costs. A failed transition to college (for lack of funds) meant a fallback to the cycle of menial unskilled work—rendering useless all of their efforts to beat the odds and complete high school.
The founders turned to their networks—and found a donor willing to contribute toward an endowment fund. Each year, this endowment fund ensures that about 30 students get a full ride into college, for the entire college period of 4 years. Everything is covered, except accommodation. To date, almost 200 full academic scholarships have been made available to graduating FURAHA high school students entering college.
Lesson 7: Program completion is a good benchmark for the project—but does not inherently ensure student success. The project’s ability to help the student transition to the next productive stage is the best way to ensure the student lands on his/her feet.
With so much experience under the belt, the founders applied and won fellowships to international conferences where they networked with peer leaders from around the world, and learnt about new ways of running administrative procedures, updating systems and innovations.
These travels introduced them to the Street Business School—an organization that trains coaches in business operations who then go on to coach community members in starting up their own micro-enterprises. This connection and training has helped many FURAHA students set up and run small businesses on the side—to generate a small income on the side to support them through school and college.
Lesson 8: To solve problems, one must be open to learning. Instead of costly trial and error trying to reinvent the wheel, ask mentors, partners, and donors. Listen to the world, learn how others are solving similar problems. Put yourself out there to learn, and continuously improve systems, capacities, and operations.
FURAHA tracks all alumni who graduate from their programs or have been supported by scholarships. This serves as a measure of the project’s success over the long term. Alumni networks share information, success stories, and continued support for each member. FURAHA offers jobs in its schools to some alumni; others go on to build their own businesses while some go onto white collar professions, such as insurance, banking, etc. Some choose to move away from the slum, but come back regularly to contribute to its programs. Others choose to remain the slum—enjoying a significantly higher quality of life and providing essential services to the FURAHA schools and the community.
Lesson 9: Nurturing the next cohort of leaders is crucial to the survival and continued growth of FURAHA. The alumni network creates virtuous cycles- developing future sources of leadership and capacity through inter-cohort mentorship –and staying focused on the community that is at the center of all its work.
In 20 years, FURAHA has grown from nothing to something real and substantial—a real community treasure. From the evening tutoring program in 2005 to the early primary school with 3 only grade levels –to its transition into a full primary school ---and in 2012, the beginning of the high school with the first cohort of 30 students in residence—FURAHA is worthy of celebration.
Outstanding academic performance, building a portfolio of donors and an endowment fund, that can support 50 full-time staff, successful transitions and completion of college work, employment opportunities, and mentoring beyond college. FURAHA alumni are going places and giving back—never forgetting where they came from and the institution that stood by them over the many years it takes for a child to grow up and find his/her footing.
Lesson 10: The founders of FURAHA built something great starting only with their youthful energy, ideas, listening ears, and a commitment to serve. The first step is rarely funding. Take that first step—and keep building one or two tangible steps at a time.
For more information- contact FURAHA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION (Nairobi, Kenya) OR contact us at [email protected] and we will be happy to connect you to FURAHA.
Mr. David Oginga- Founder and Executive Director
Mr. Peter Odhiambo- Executive Administrative Assistant
