CFK Africa Interview

#576 Great.com Talks With... CFK Africa

With over 1,400 informal settlements, also known as slums, in Kenya alone, millions of people are living with health, education, and economic challenges. CFK Africa is a stand-out NGO that works directly with community members to improve public health, educational outcomes, and economic opportunities in these communities. The organization develops, implements, and evaluates services directly and independently as well as through key partnerships with NGOs, research institutions, and government entities. CFK Africa prioritises a participatory development approach by working with communities to identify their most pressing challenges and developed unique and tailored solutions. In this article, we talk with Joshua Omweno, Project Officer, Education & Facility Support Supervisor of CFK Africa and take a deep dive into CFK Africa’s work in Nairobi, Kenya.

CFK Africa: Healthy Communities, Brighter Futures

CFK Africa was founded in 2001 after University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student, Rye Barcott, met Tabitha Festo, a Kenyan nurse, and Salim Mohamed, a Kenyan community organizer while researching ethnic violence among youth in the informal settlement of Kibera. By 2002, the organization had founded a Girls’ empowerment program, opened their first medical clinic, and created the first all girls’ soccer league in Kenya with the goal of promoting community cooperation and preventing ethnic violence among youth in Kibera. Since 2002, the organizations programming and facilities have grown significantly. 

Currently, in the sphere of public health, CFK Africa focuses on adolescent and youth health, clinical services, maternal and child health, nutrition, and WASH programming. The organization has a number of healthcare facilities including the Tabitha Medical Clinic, the Young Health and Wellness Centre, and the Tabitha Maternity Home. These facilities provide high quality and affordable health care to the community of Kibera through a dual focus on prevention and treatment as well as appropriate referral care and strengthening health-seeking behaviours among community members. CFK Africa serves over 65,000 community members annually, provides over 700 children with routine vaccinations monthly, and delivers over 45 babies safely every month.

CFK Africa understands that talent is universal but opportunity is not. Residents of informal settlements are skilled and possess an entrepreneurial drive. However, cycles of poverty and poor educational outcomes are fueled by income and gender inequality, barriers to education and job-training opportunities, and high rates of unemployment. The organization's response to these issues is multifaceted. Through scholarships to help students cover school fees and engage in extracurricular activities, work readiness trainings, school improvement efforts, and the Best Schools Initiative (in partnership with MIT), CFK Africa is working with community members to ensure that more young people are finishing school and feel prepared and qualified to join the workforce. 

Research is a key component in CFK Africa’s work. Currently, the organization co-hosts one of the CDC’s largest overseas population-based infectious disease surveillance platforms; works with UNC Chapel Hill students and faculty members to research nutrition-related factors among adolescent girls and young woman living in informal settlements; partners with informal schools to address structural challenges through data-driven interventions through BSI in partnership with MIT; and works with the CDC and Washington State University to implement, evaluate, and improve WaSH interventions in informal settlements.

As the number of people living in informal settlements continues to grow globally, CFK Africa will continue to work alongside community members to address their most pressing challenges, and their successful program models have been replicated around the world. To learn more about the organization, its progress, and ways to support them, kindly visit their website and follow them on their social media handles. Ensure you follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.