Aaron Stanbury, Kenya
Connecting with children and helping them with basic literacy, setting them on a path for an education that will help them out of poverty
In Kenya, many children stop education after primary school, compounding generational, long-term poverty through low earning potential and increased risk of teenage pregnancy.
I will be working with children living in Nairobi’s Westland slum settlements, helping them develop reading and writing skills and build a solid foundation for a better education and a way out of poverty.
This is part of a charitable programme called Kids to Kids run by a local Anglican church for children aged 7 to 10, which helps some of the poorest children in the area.
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More about Aaron’s work
Through Kids to Kids, the children are provided two meals a day and taught life skills as well as given a basic introduction to school subjects. The teaching team spend a year helping children from slums prepare for integration into public schools and then go on to support each child in their first year in a public school.
In addition to teaching, I will coach children in football and other sports, to help connect and build relationships, and provide some fun for the children, whose home lives may not be easy. As there is a strong emphasis on pastoral care and showing the children love, I aim to be a person that the children can rely on and who will help them grow and flourish. Above all, I want to help give these children the best chance at continuing their schooling into secondary school and reaching their full potential.
I have felt a strong calling to Africa since I was 13 years old and have been on two mission trips to Rwanda, where I coached children in sports. I found that it was a great way to build relationships with children and help them thrive. I have a passion for helping and supporting others and have helped lead youth groups, youth sport camps, kids’ church and served as a support worker, looking after adults with disabilities, for the past seven years. I have recently finished a degree in theology, ministry and mission at St Mellitus College.
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