By Eddah Waithaka
The Embassy of France hosted a special cocktail reception at the Residence of France in Peponi Gardens on Thursday, 3 July, at 6 PM, to celebrate a transformative education initiative in Mathare.
The event highlighted the construction of a permanent school building for the Roots Institute Centre, a grassroots organization providing free education to children in one of Nairobi’s most underserved informal settlements.
With backing from the French Embassy and partners in Kenya and France, this project marked as a major step toward securing dignity, opportunity, and long-term impact for Mathare’s youth.
Roots Institute Centre: Empowering Mathare’s Youth Through Education
Founded in 2013, the Roots Institute Centre is a community-based organization (CBO) in Mathare’s Kosovo area, serving over 450 vulnerable children and youth with free education and essential support.
The school, led by local leaders, operates as a non-profit, non-political, and non-religious initiative, driven by a simple mission: no child should be left behind.
The key programs include Free Early Childhood and Primary Education, which offers nine classrooms serving 450 children from Playgroup to Grade 6. Secondary School Scholarships that have supported 105 students since 2021.
Life Skills and Awareness Workshops that focus on important topics such as health, child rights, and civic education and Extracurricular Activities, which encompass dance, art, and acrobatics to foster creativity and discipline.
The school currently faces significant challenges, operating in iron-sheet classrooms that lack electricity, poor ventilation, and limited water access, while many students reside in overcrowded homes without basic amenities, for most, the school provides their only daily meals and a safe space to learn.
To address these challenges, the vision is to construct a permanent multi-storey concrete building to replace the makeshift structures, offering proper classrooms, sanitation facilities, electricity, ventilation, and safe recreational spaces.
This project, supported by the French Embassy and partners, is more than just an infrastructure initiative, it represents an investment in the dignity and future opportunities for Mathare’s children.
By 2025, the school serves over 450 children (51% girls, 49% boys), provides 900 meals daily, employs 17 staff members, and supports 105 students on scholarships, with the French Embassy and its partners championing community-led solutions that reinforce education as a pillar of sustainable development.
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