About
The Blessed Hope Project
The original Blessed Hope school was started in Kibera, Kenya in 2012 by Elsa Atieno (School principal) and the school roll has grown from 1 student on that first day to over 300 students today. The children are aged from 2 ½ - 11 years old and they are divided into the following nine classes: Baby class, Nursery class, Pre-unit class, and grade classes 1 - 6. The school curriculum consists of Mathematics, English, Social Studies, Science and Swahili.
In 2016, Michael volunteered as a teacher at the original school. The five weeks with these children helped change his outlook on life so much, he promised the children and staff that he would find a way to build them a school they could be proud of. The Blessed Hope Project was born.
In January 2019, Michael delivered on his promise and we opened a brand new, full-service primary school in Kibera, one that we hope is the first of many.
Africa has the highest rates of educational exclusion in the world and a UNESCO study showed that the number of primary aged children not attending school accounted for more than half of the global total. Adding to that, children in Kibera face some of the harshest living conditions in the world, with many families living on less than $1 day.
The Blessed Hope Project was built on the premise that a high-quality education provides these children with the necessary platform to embark on a brighter future.
The Blessed Hope Project strives to foster an environment that is conducive to learning and promotes kindness and respect. Our meal program caters to our students nutritional demands, and our sponsorship program is designed to alleviate some of the financial stress that their families face.
While our efforts to date are making an impact, there is still more work to do, and we need your help to get there.
The next steps for the Blessed Hope Project are to:
Purchase and enclose the adjacent plot of land to provide the children with a safer and controlled play area – cost $50,000 (completed 2022)
Establish a Creative Learning studio that will allow students to develop skills with computers, art & musical instruments – cost $30,000 (2024 target completion)
100% Sponsorship of our students at Blessed Hope to cover school fees and meals (2025 target completion)
Launch a purpose-built sports academy for students at Blessed Hope, and other talented children from the slums who have a passion for sports – cost $200,000 (2027 target completion)
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like to be involved with The Blessed Hope Project or if you would like to sponsor a child at our flagship school.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”