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Mt Carmel Learning Centre
All
classrooms at Mt Carmel consist of sheet metal nailed to posts for walls
and roofs, dirt floors, and wooden bench desks. Chalkboards are a
real necessity because those that exist are in poor condition.
Classes are made up of children of a variety of ages and small and
overcrowded desks that should serve three children,
Classes start at Baby Class level, moving into Nursery School, Pre-Unit (like our kindergarten), then standard one, two, three, and four. Students take an exam to determine if they can be promoted to the next grade year. Subjects taught include Math, English, Kiswahili, Science, Social Studies and Bible. Textbooks are a great necessity but rare at Mt Carmel which is challenging for both the children and teachers.
The Children
It is hard to imagine the level of poverty that the children we serve
grow up in the slums of Soweto in Kenya. Some
Mt Carmel’s Families and Their Homes
In Kenya, the extended family has traditionally taken care of orphaned children. However, the growing number of children who need care as the incidence of HIV/AIDS grows now increasingly burdens the traditional care structures. In many cases the grandparents have to care for the young children and in some cases children as young as 10-12 years olds become the head of such families. In yet other cases children living completely outside any family structure either in orphanages or on the streets. Poverty has eroded the capacity of Kenyan families to take up additional children. In the slums people live quite densely. Houses are made of corrugated iron sheets and mud. Entire families often live in a one room shack. Many of the children attending Mt Carmel only eat one meal a day, and malnutrition is a major concern. Feeding the children has continued to be a major challenge at Mt Carmel.
Hope Through Caring
The faculty at Mt Carmel embraces all the children at risk and gives them a basic education. Joyce, the Director, writes, "We also counsel them and pray with them for God to intervene in their hardships. We do all this with the aim of molding them and giving them hope for the future." In their short lives they have encountered many difficulties ranging from great poverty, hunger, illness, and loss of loved ones. Yet, they remain optimistic for their education and their future.
Making a Difference
Becoming involved in Mt Carmel is an incredibly rewarding experience whether you sponsor a child or make a gift donation. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the world's poverty and heartaches, you will know that you are part of the solution, making a difference in the world. The Njaramba’s had this to say about their participation in Mt Carmel, "Although we have sponsored through other organizations in the past years, we were immediately attracted to sponsoring the children at Mt Carmel because we knew exactly what our money was doing which is providing desperately poor children with an education. This is the only chance these children have of ending the cycle of poverty they were born into, an education that they would not be able to get without our help."
The School Faculty The teachers are extremely dedicated. Their salaries are far below the government school's pay scale. They get paid sh3,500 to sh4,500 a month which is equivalent to $40 - $50. Despite large class sizes and limited teaching materials, they strive to provide an excellent education and move the children closer to their goals.
Message from the School Director Mrs. Joyce Njagi is the Director of Mt. Carmel Learning Centre. She communicates regularly with the Njaramba’s to keep them informed of special activities and needs. Joyce is an inspiration to all who have witnessed her commitment to the children at Mt Carmel. She works tirelessly on behalf of the children, and has demonstrated time after time her compassion, honesty, sense of ethics and responsibility. She is a woman with a vision and the drive and commitment to see it realized.
Joyce says, “ I have a dream that one day, the orphans and street children around will have a place they can call home” We especially would like to watch out for the HIV/AIDS orphaned children, who are always discriminated against and ignored by a society which views them as outcasts. We hope we might be able to provide medical care for those who fall sick in the near future as God enables us. With your smallest donation to any of our needs you will be helping us in a big way to realize our vision, and thus helping further the lives and future for these children. Join us in bringing positive developments in our school which is still being housed in temporary structures. Your decision in taking part in this noble work will go a long way in making a big difference in the lives of these children, who otherwise would be languishing on the dangerous streets. They and they alone hold the key for a better world tomorrow. Let us help them today and be sure of a better world tomorrow. Remember to pass information about us to your friends, relatives, etc. For as the saying goes, many hands make work easier. We are very blessed for great support we have been receiving from Mr. and Mrs. Njaramba from North Carolina, USA. These two are the only sponsors we have had so far. We especially thank them for passing out the word to their friends at work. Special thanks to Dr and Mrs. Joe Chege who visited and financially sponsored the school front block wall. During their visit in Kenya, Last December Njaramba’s donated finances, clothes, and school supplies given in love from an organization they work with. They talked of a possibility of bringing a group to visit our school and on behalf of the school board, members of the staff and our dear students, we welcome you warmly. Our prayer is to have partners willing to go an extra mile with us in changing the lives of our future generation in Kenya. Education in Kenya
The Kenyan education system is severely underfunded. The system,
established in the 1980s to replace the system that existed under
British rule, consists of eight years of primary school, four years of
secondary school, and For many of our families living in the Soweto slums, this makes primary education impossible, so they turn to community schools such as Mt Carmel for help. In addition, there are no public schools that would be easy for our children to attend in the outskirts of town where the Soweto slums are. The standard of schools varies enormously, from the well-funded and equipped national and provincial schools to the desperately under-equipped and under-staffed community schools like Mt Carmel. The majority of poor Kenyans do not get beyond primary school. Examinations taken at the end of the 8th and 12th grades determine whether students will be admitted into high school and university. The National Curriculum has been in place for some time and is heavily influenced by the British system. The first national exam is the KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education), which is taken at the end of Standard 8, the last year of primary school. Since this is an extremely important exam, the marks gained determine the type of school which a pupil can attend.
The official languages of Kenya are English and Swahili but the first language is the local tribal language.
Become a Friend of Mt Carmel
There are many ways friends can help! From helping to build a school library to providing educational materials for the teachers' use, from doing backyard fundraising for latrines to donating so the hungriest of the hungry can be fed. Become a Friend of Mt Carmel Learning Center and provide for improvements, for better education, and a brighter future. Many of the families are completely unable to raise money for school fees which is equivalent to $5 a month; thus we are almost typically offering them free education.
Take a moment and consider what ideas from below you can put into action.
2. Sponsor a student, a class or whole school uniform expenses. $30 dollars will buy a child full uniform good for a full year (sweater, dress or shirt, shorts, socks and shoes) 3. Make a donation to buy textbooks or assist with new or used books. Mt Carmel follows the Curriculum guidelines from the ministry of education. Any financial contribution will boost this humble project.
4. Send
a
Friendship Package or school supplies kit to "any child".
If you wish to send a box to a young child, you may fill it with the
following items: box of crayons, coloring book, and pair of child's
scissors, pencil case, box of pencils, several erasers, handheld pencil
sharpener, small toy or doll, picture book. If you wish to send a box to
a an older child, you may fill it with the following items: box of
colored pencils, pair of scissors, pencil case, box of pencils,
notebook, several pens, several erasers, handheld pencil sharpener,
ruler, box of highlighters. Book relevant to age.
5. Send a Parcel of Hope to “any child” with clothing and hygiene items. Ideas include a toothbrush, toothpaste, bar of soap and towel, underwear and socks, a sweater, and a small umbrella. 6. Send a Teacher Care Package with classroom materials--flashcards, wall charts, maps, chalk pieces, calendar, calculator, note books, diary, clock, reinforcement cards or certificates, etc. The highest paid teacher gets a monthly salary between $40-$50 dollars. You can sponsor a teacher’s salary and this will be beneficial to Mt Carmel because it will bring more efficiency in their work. 7. Food is always in great demand. One $ 1 dollar can pay for a Childs full day meal. $25 dollars would feed a child for a whole month.
9. Help us build improved classrooms for better learning environments. Any financial donation toward the building project, electricity, school furniture etc will be highly appreciated. 10. Help us build better sanitary latrines. As little as $80-$90 dollars is enough to move the children from a pit latrine to a flushable toilets. 11. Support the director. Joyce works sacrificially to ensure that every child is happy. She treats them as her own. Joyce has a husband and three children (two boys and a one year old girl). Her husband puts his own income to meet the needs of the school….But guess what, they have never lacked.
13. Support us in bringing the future goal for an orphanage into reality. We worry about our student orphans and where they go after school. Help us build a home for them. 14. Assist in building a school Hall to boost more school activities and general school-parent meetings. We rent a church hall whenever we have an event. We hope to have one of our own in the near future as finances become available. 15. Assist us financially to build a well equipped school kitchen to meet student’s food services and needs. Food supplies, Space, pots, plates, cups, serving dishes etc are a real necessity.
17. Call or write to us. We would love to hear from you. 18. Spread the word about Mt Carmel Learning Centre 19. Make a general donation to be used toward the area of our greatest need. 20. Above all remember us and pray for us.
MAY GOD RICHLY BLESS YOU AS YOU PARTNER WITH US IN WHICHEVER WAY HE LEADS YOU! THANK YOU FROM MT CARMEL LEARNING CENTRE, NAIROBI, KENYA!
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Looking
out over the multitud
serves six and even more at times. 
Despite the
challenges of serving one of Nairobi's neediest areas, Mt Carmel strives
to provide quality educational, extracurricular and community enrichment
programs. The teachers and students are proud of their accomplishments
and committed to expanding their opportunities for a brighter future of
these children. 
of
these children are actually 
their
parents due to financial destitution. Others are AIDS orphans trying to
fend 
The work we
are doing has always been challenging, but we are driven by the passion
of helping children in need. Our vision for these children has always
been big. We are determined to go the extra mile to see to it that they
are educated, cared for and protected from the cruelty in society, fed,
clothed, and that in the near future, those without a roof over their
head will be accommodated in a place they can call home.
four years of higher education. Schooling is
compulsory for 8 years. In recent years, a law was passed making primary
education free in Kenya. However, while technically "free", in order to
attend students must meet the cost of uniforms, books, food and
supplies. 
1.
