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Civic Education

The Civic Education Program by GF holds weekly collaborative Thinking and Acting sessions with young people in Nairobi ghettos to encourage critical thinking around citizenship, governance and accountability.

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This program was inspired by the community dialogues (Ghetto Talks) conducted by Ghetto Foundation under the EU-funded Ushirikiano Mwema Kwa Usalama (UMKU) project. Read more.

 

During these dialogues, GF discovered the extent of the knowledge gap among young people in Nairori ghettos, which spurred these sessions. Kimathi class is a safe space where young people can ask critical questions and develop (new) knowledges to develop lasting solutions to social, political and economic and as such they are setting standards for future generations.

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More on Civic Education below

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Some of the emerging issues that the Civic Education Program addresses are:

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Human Rights

  • Extra judicial killings and documentation

  • Arbitrary arrests/ Rights of an arrested person

  • Extortions by the police

  • Forceful evictions

 

Special Planning Area

  • History and public spaces in Mathare

  • Safety and Dignity

  • Stakeholders mapping; Situational Analysis

  • Water and Sanitation

 

Governance

  • The constitution

  • Leadership training

  • Current affairs

 

Conflict Resolution

  • Peace and Coexistence

  • Group dynamics

  • Disaster Management

  • Resource Mobilization

 

Environmental Conservation

  • Garbage Collection

  • Rehabilitation of Mathare river

  • Tree planting and identification of open spaces

 

Mode of Teaching

  • The class takes 3 months

  • The weekly class is rotational encompassing all the bazes (local youth groups) in one particular ghetto.

  • An external speaker on a different topic is invited every month month to offer their knowledge on the areas of their expertise

  • The class involves several study visits to: prisons, law courts, police stations, and justice centers.

  • Alumni are engaged in trainings.

  • The class  collaborates with the social justice centers’ Sankara political class for alignment of the curriculum (read more).

  • The training also involves watching political documentaries and has a continuous book club.

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