THE OASIS COMMUNITY CENTER MATHARE

The Oasis 'Community Centre' Mathare is a legally registered community-based
organization. Established in July 2013, with mission of providing practical solutions to
the disadvantaged and marginalized youth and children of the Mathare slum in Nairobi.
A safe-space for youth and children, Oasis Mathare offers ICT training, a community
library, mentorship opportunities, and early childhood development activities. Oasis
Project Name: THE OASIS COMMUNITY CENTER MATHARE
Code: KVDA/MLTV/2022/04
Location: MATHARE SLUMS, NAIROBI CITY
Service Sector: EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENTMathare provides a relief in ‘the desert of the absence of affordable ICT training service
and general youth development opportunities in the slum’.
The specific objectives of Oasis Mathare are:
1. To empower the youth and children of Mathare to take control of their own
development through ICT and education
2. To give youth the tools they need to champion environmental sustainability, health
and wellbeing, and productive livelihoods.
3. To reduce extreme poverty, crime rates and disease among the youth
4. To improve the literacy level and reading culture among disadvantaged youth for
their personal empowerment.
Local Context: The Mathare slum, with a population of around 500,000 families, is one
of the largest informal settlements in Nairobi. Just like any other informal settlement in
the world, the Mathare slum is characterized by poor housing structures made of old iron-
sheets, inadequate or absent sanitation facilities, large mountains of garbage or solid
waste materials, poor infrastructure, lack of proper health facilities, unemployment, high
illiteracy levels, and high population density - of which youth constitute 65%. In Mathare,
HIV/AIDS has led to high dependence rate and increased number of orphans. Due to a
lack of job opportunities, many youth find themselves engaging in major societal vices
such as handling and abusing drugs, violence, mugging, commercial sex work, and youth
gangs.
Activities: To address the pressing challenges facing youth and children in the Mathare
slums, Oasis Mathare provides the following four main community services:
1. Information, Communication and Technology Information and communications
technologies (ICT) have the power to change the way people learn, find employment, start
businesses and earn productive livelihoods throughout the world. The digital divide,
defined by a lack of access to information for a specific population, symbolizes the largest
difference between developed and developing countries. The digital divide runs much
deeper than hardware and software. The real heart of the digital divide is that those
without access to information resources often suffer needlessly while the solutions to their
problems are exist beyond their reach. Given the opportunity and access, youth in
marginalized communities have the ability to utilize ICT to improve their lives and the
lives of those around them. The ICT Center at Oasis Mathare is up and running, and is
currently equipped with 15 donated computers. Paying a basic registration fee,
community participants can access this center and learn how to use computers to improve
their skills, market their talents and promote their businesses. These courses are offered
by trained youth facilitators, who also act as coaches and mentors. To date, 500 youth
have accessed the ICT Centre and available courses, creating a significant ripple effect in
the community as this knowledge is transferred to family members, friends and
neighbours.
2. Library Oasis Mathare provides students with a safe, quiet environment where they can
study and access a library stocked with relevant resources. Children in the Mathare slumpossess the same talents, creativity and capacities of other children, but are prevented
from excelling academically due to challenges at home or high school fees. Most family’s
lives in a 5 by 7 meters house which makes student difficult to study at and by providing
students with this study space, they can improve their academic performance and keep-
up with their classmates while they are out of school. Our small library serves a minimum
of 45 children per day.
3. Mentorship The youth and children in the Mathare slum are greatly talents in
performing arts, creative art and sports, but they do not have access to people who can
challenge, encourage, mentor and help them develop these talents. At the Oasis Mathare,
we use a peer-to-peer mentorship process that helps youth and children to use their
talents to earn sustainable livelihoods. The Oasis Mathare also provides a space for youth
and children to showcase their talents to the community.
4. Early Childhood Development A key feature of slum dwellings is the absence of open
play spaces for small children. As a solution, the Oasis Mathare provides space where
children are able to come and play with toys for free. An additional benefit is that as they
play, they are encouraged by the older children and youth that surround them to read,
develop their talents and use technology. We have witnessed great improvement in the
performance of students who come to Oasis Mathare. Using time with the computers as
a reward, students must complete all their school assignments first. This approach has
been very effective as students who frequent Oasis Mathare are ranked within the top 5
positions of their classes - a great improvement from the previous school term. In addition
to the four main services provided, the Centre also provides young people with learning
on sexual and reproductive health rights, rescue services to abused children and girls, and
training in youth leadership and entrepreneurship.

 Kenya Voluntary Development Association (KVDA) is an indigenous, non-political and membership organization which is non-sectarian and non-profit making started in 1962 as a work camp organization registered under the Societies’ Act. In 1993, KVDA was registered as a Non-Governmental organization by the establishment of the NGOs Coordination Act.  KVDA has since inception hosted over 50, 000 international volunteers to its community service development projects that have left indelible mark to efforts to enhance sustainable development.

Terminal  Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi is the port of arrival and KVDA will designate a driver for the airport pick up.  We strongly advice volunteers against getting taxis on their own without reference to KVDA due to the obvious risks and in case of any challenges on arrival kindly contact KVDA via mobile telephone 0721650357 KVDA RESIDENCE  Volunteers will be driven to the Nairobi South YMCA Hostel located 15 Kilometers away from the airport where they will be accommodated ahead of their placement to the project.  The residence is situated in the serene environment with amble space for recreation and spectacular setting as the inauguration of volunteering to make a difference in the world.