History of ERCN
Edmund Rice Centre Nairobi (ERCN) is a community-based organisation that provides educational, vocational and livelihood services to vulnerable communities living in the informal settlement of Kibera. ERFA has a proud history of supporting ERCN projects.
In 2022, ERFA is supporting ERCN project Education for Children living with disabilities (formerly Mary Rice Centre).
The project aims to enhance learning and developmental outcomes for 77 Children with intellectual and Autism spectrum disorder, by improving their cognitive and adaptive abilities.
They will be recruited, assessed and then enrolled at ERCN. Those enrolled will be taught basic learning skills based on their abilities; which will include reading, writing, outdoor/ creative activities and activities of daily living. Their guardians will be empowered through various trainings on how to handle and offer continued support to the CWDs during non-school days. The project will transition the children every 3 years having empowered their parents.
About Kibera
Kibera is a large informal settlement or slum located in Nairobi, Kenya. It is one of the largest urban slums in Africa and home to an estimated population of between 200,000 and 500,000 people, according to various estimates.
Kibera is located just 5 kilometres from Nairobi's central business district, but it is characterized by extreme poverty, overcrowding, and inadequate infrastructure. Most of the residents of Kibera live in informal housing made of corrugated iron sheets, mud, and other scrap materials. The lack of basic amenities such as sanitation, clean water, and electricity is also a major challenge.
Despite these challenges, Kibera is a vibrant community with a strong sense of identity and resilience. There are a number of community-based organizations and non-governmental organizations working in Kibera to provide basic services such as education, healthcare, and sanitation. Many residents of Kibera are also engaged in informal sector activities such as small-scale trading, artisanal work, and other informal employment opportunities.
In recent years, there have been efforts to improve the living conditions in Kibera through a number of initiatives such as upgrading of housing, provision of basic services, and empowerment of local communities. However, the challenges of urban poverty and inequality in Kibera and other informal settlements in Nairobi and other cities in Africa remain significant.
About ERCN
The project aims to enhance learning and developmental outcomes for 77 Children with intellectual and Autism spectrum disorder, by improving their cognitive and adaptive abilities.
They will be recruited, assessed and then enrolled at ERCN. Those enrolled will be taught basic learning skills based on their abilities; which will include reading ,writing, outdoor/ creative activities and activities of daily living. Their guardians will be empowered through various trainings on how to handle and offer continued support to the CWDs during non-school days. The project will transition the children every 3 years having empowered their parents.
Vision:
An empowered and transformed society (Kibera community) where everyone enjoys fullness of life.
Mission:
To restore the dignity and quality of life for the most vulnerable households with children with disability in Kibera through advocacy, special education, and socio-economic empowerment.
Core Values
Presence
Compassion
Liberation
Program focus
Education - Education for primary and secondary students
Health care - Physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.
Training - Livelihoods training for parents
ERCN's Response
Activities of Daily Living include fundamental self-care skills that play a major role in a person’s overall functional growth, confidence and independence.
These essential skills include a child’s ability to feed themselves and to perform toileting, personal hygiene/grooming and transfer (moving about). Through training for students and their parents, Edmund Rice Centre in Nairobi (formerly Mary Rice Centre) has supported 42 students so far this year to become confident in self-care and daily living tasks.
A student’s mother declared, “I was always worried about the future of my child and how she will live if I am not around. I had believed that she would live her entire life being dependent on others. I am so grateful that I brought her here in 2018. She has learned skills in bead work which she is using to make various things which I help her to sell. I am so happy that most of the things she uses can be paid for from the income she receives from her bead work.”
The hard-working team at Edmund Rice Centre Nairobi have also been tending to a sprawling garden and animal farm for some time.
The garden includes tomato, kale and spinach crops, adjoined by a piggery and poultry section. The agricultural project was started as a parent empowerment project at Mary Rice Centre, whose cohort of students enjoy the nutrition of most of the produce grown.
As with all ERFA-supported projects, sustainability is embedded in the roots of the project. All profits received from excess crops are planted back into the project. Three teenagers from Mary Rice Centre have been receiving agricultural training from ERCN’s experienced team of farmers.
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