Project Overview
[A great overview of the project is in our Annual Report.]
Town of Kilifi:
Kilifi is town located on the Kenyan Coast about 60 km north of Mombasa. It is the capital of its district, also named Kilifi. The town is home to 15,000 people and the district is home to 720,000. While it has many assets, such as a beautiful locale and a tourism industry, Kilifi is one of the poorest regions in Kenya. [Learn More about Kilifi] [Kilifi's Rotary Club]
Kilifi Kids & International Partners:
Kilifi Kids was created by Rotarians and other volunteers to assist the residents of Kilifi in developing their community assets. Rotary clubs and Rotary districts from Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Virginia, and other areas are also helping Kilifi Kids support the work of Kilifi Rotary Club. In addition, we will be working with a number of well-known and respected nonprofit organizations already operating in Kenya and the Kilifi District.
Project Components:
- Improve the health of primary school children - (Immediate Impact):
Kids cannot learn effectively when they are sick or underfed. Many of the health obstacles kids face, however, can be solved at a very low cost. Kilifi Kids is planning to provide safe, anti-parasitidic, and nutritional supplements that have been proven to significantly decrease absenteeism. Costs are expected to be as little as 29¢ per student, so every dollar really goes a very long way. [Learn More]
- Provide secondary school scholarships and create a network of tomorrow community leaders - (Long-term Impact):
Approximately 90% of students cannot afford high school, so education often stops at grade 8. For $250 per year per student, we can provide an education to needy students in Kilifi. But this support has strings attached for the students - each will be asked to give back to the community during high school as a condition of the scholarship - with the idea that we'll be instilling a call to service as part of their education. [Learn More]
- Advance secondary education by improving skills training:
Part of the project - already being implemented - is to provide educational materials to needy secondary schools. For instance, having computers skills gives students greatly expanded job opportunities after graduation and can serve as a catalyst for economic advancement in the community. Fundraising is already complete for this portion of the project. [Learn More]
Interact Clubs:
The main vehicle of student involvement with scholarships is going to be the Interact clubs of Kilifi. There are plenty of opportunities for Interact clubs in the US and around the world to get involved; these projects are a great oppotunity for Interact clubs to be active and to make connections with clubs in Kenya. Contact Kilifi Kids for details.
Measuring Succcess:
The aim of the program is to maximize the return on the investment of sponsors. Both facets of the proposed program—short-term and long-term—will be modeled after existing, on-the-ground efforts in Kenya. These efforts measured graduation rates, attendance rates, and test scores on standardized tests to come up with a cost per year of increased schooling for the kids. The available metrics for evaluation of the service aspect will, at this point, include the number of hours spent in service project, success rates of service requirement completion, and self-reported attitude towards service.
