Little Rock Inclusive Early Childhood Development Centre

Kibera, Nairobi
In partnership with AbleChildAfrica

Little Rock Inclusive Early Childhood Development Centre provides early childhood education for the orphans & vulnerable children in the Kibera slums.They provide Education, Nutrition, Health intervention for poor children, orphans, children infected/affected by HIV/ Aids and children with special needs such as cerebral palsy, down syndrome, deaf, mentally & physical handicapped and autistic.

Little Rock supports 442 children between the ages 1 to 13 years and aims to give a holistic development to the children that pass through her gates.It was established in 2003 to provide early childhood Education for children living in the slum areas of Kibera prepare them for transitioning to primary school to actively participate in formal schooling in later life.

The Centre is housed in a three bed-roomed house block located in Kibera Olympic in Nairobi and accommodates 2½ to 8 year-old children of all tribes, walk and religion from the Kibera slums.

The goal of Little Rock is to promote and empower the over vulnerable child to enjoy especially the right to access basic early childhood education, health care, nutrition, recreation and safety, thus making it possible to fit in the free primary education.

Little Rock’s objectives are:

To develop and nurture the children’s cognitive, emotional, social and physical development
To develop self confidence and freedom of expression
To prepare an emotional and social environment through play and other activities
To provide at least one nutritious balanced diet meal a day for their growth and health development to sustain learning
To lay a firm foundation to acquire the skills and ability to read, write, paint and count so as to fit in class one
To develop their knowledge of the physical and biological world.

Little Rock makes sure that Nairobi’s poorest disabled children have the opportunity to learn:

Melissa is six years old and suffers from cerebral palsy. She joined Little Rock’s special class in 2006 where she has since excelled in her academic studies. As a result of her progress, she has been integrated into the kindergarten with other able-bodied children. She is expected to continue on to primary school soon. Her physical disability is being addressed through therapy which has resulted in significant improvement in her movement.

Felicity has cerebral palsy and is unable to use her limbs. She used to attend the Little Rock ECD centre three times a week but on the days she didn’t go, she would cry at the sight of her brother leaving with his schoolbag in the morning. Felicity now attends every day and her mother says that she has never been happier.

To find out more about Little Rock's amazing work please click here

AbleChildAfrica

AbleChildAfrica works with local partner NGOs in Africa to change the lives of young disabled people. They champion the rights of young disabled people and work to improve their access to healthcare, education and employment opportunities.

Advocacy and child rights: Support local partners to lobby locally and nationally on child rights.

Education: Equip teachers with skills to educate young disabled people, refurbish classrooms to make them accessible and provide resources for learning.

Health: Train professionals in skills such as mental health care and ENT, provide rehabilitative surgery and make sure that facilities are available as close to children as possible.

Social Participation: Work to reduce stigmatisation of young disabled people and increase awareness of their needs among the public and policy makers.

Families: Establish support groups for families and help them to be positive and effective advocates for their children.

Employment Opportunities and Livelihoods: Refurbish and manage vocational training centres, improving the chances of young disabled people in the job market.

Sexual Health Issues: Support parents in communicating sexual health messages and we produce materials in a variety of formats to raise awareness about sexual health among young disabled people.

By 2012 they seek to be an established point of contact for those working with young disabled people in Africa, providing resources and support to local partner organisations and a wide range of information and learning opportunities to ensure that young disabled people can be involved in development in Africa.

To find out more about Able Child Africa's amazing work please click here

Registered UK charity no. 326859