Safe Spaces update
Now that you’ve heard the latest from Night Light, let’s change continents and talk about Safe Spaces. This is the organization we met with in Kenya. Founded by Peninah Nthenya, they offer guidance, vocational training and support to young girls and women trapped in the slums of Nairobi. Since we last saw Peninah, her girls have won the NBA Championship – that’s the Nairobi Basketball Association. The first time a team made up entirely of girls from the slums has ever won. You may be wondering why this is such a great accomplishment, or why it would matter to girls living in such poverty, but basketball is a way out of a life in the slums. In Nairobi, many companies have basketball teams and they use this league to scout for new employees. Winning this league championship provided additional exposure for the girls in this program that could help them find education and employment opportunities. In addition to sports, team building and vocational training, they also focus on developing leadership skills. Part of this development includes letting the girls run some of the programs and help establish the curriculum. Two of these girls (Mamu and Florence) are still working with Peninah but hope one day to finish their education. Mamu would like to become a photojournalist and Florence an auto mechanic. Safe Spaces helps raise money so that girls like these can finish high school and attend college. As with all charities, raising money has been more difficult over the past couple of years. Despite these difficulties, we are happy to say that eight girls have received high school basketball scholarships and two girls are headed to college. Mamu and Florence are still waiting for financial assistance so if you would like to help them, or girls like them, please check out the Safe Spaces website. This is a small organization doing great and important work.
http://www.safespaces.me/nairobi.html
