LitWorld Team Member Jen E. with the Girls Club of Kibera

Dear Special Friends of LitWorld,

Over these last days here, working closely with our LitClubs for Boys and Girls in Kibera, we have been deeply moved by the impact the Club concept has on them. I was recently reading a book by Thicht Nhat Hanh in which he says the concept of "I am here for you" must begin first with the "you" being yourself, then your friend, then your community.

The girls clubs embody this every day. The Clubs have been the first time they have gotten to think about themselves, reflect on their lives, and take care of themselves in any way. As a result, they are making friends for the first time, loving them, and are emerging as wondrous, dynamic, extraordinary voices together, desperate, hungry, craving school and the life that is suddenly seeming possible to them through education.

As we walk through Kibera we see hundreds of women by the sides of their shacks with babies and hours of grueling labor to make sure their families will eat. The girls want a bigger chance now; with the support of one another, they are emerging into the world.

-Pam

Lauren B. writes:

"The girls in the LitWorld Girls Club today spoke with us about this idea they have to stay at school 24 hours a day, because the 10X10 shacks where they live (with no fewer than 10 family members) is an impossible place to read or do homework or study. They said they would do all the cooking and cleaning themselves since they do this at home anyway. They were serious. They are 10-12 year olds."