DONATE
CHANUKA SKILLS HUB

Projects

CHANUKA SKILLS HUB

Chanuka Skills Hub is a teens and youth empowerment initiative by Maisha Trust.

This program seeks to empower teens and young adults living in informal settlements with both professional and essential life skills. ‘Chanuka’ is a Swahili slang word that means ‘become smart’.

Chanuka Skills Hub is a teens and youth empowerment initiative by Maisha Trust.

This program seeks to empower teens and young adults living in informal settlements with both professional and essential life skills. ‘Chanuka’ is a Swahili slang word that means ‘become smart’.

About the program?

Chanuka Skills Hub is intentionally designed to run during school holidays—a period when children from informal settlements are most vulnerable to negative influences such as crime, drug use, and other high-risk behaviors.

The program provides a safe, engaging, and enriching environment through a range of creatively structured, hands-on learning experiences. Participants are introduced to ICT skills including computer coding, robotics, and artificial intelligence, alongside chess, movement-based emotional learning through dance, and practical life skills supported by mentorship.

Each session is thoughtfully designed to ensure active participation, nurture curiosity, and equip every child with skills that support both personal growth and future opportunity.

Why this program?

We strongly believe that children living in the slums are equally as gifted and possess amazing potential as their middle class counterparts, but what they lack are equal opportunities to discover and refine their hidden abilities. Abject poverty has proved to be a major obstacle. The heartbeat of this initiative is to change this sad narrative. Through partnering with diversely skilled individuals and organizations, we believe that we can transform their lives through this program.

Objectives of this camp:

 

  • Expose participants to a diverse range of skills and learning experiences.
  • Identify and nurture each child’s unique abilities, gifts, and talents.
  • Create pathways for advanced training and growth by connecting high-potential, committed participants with partner institutions.
  • Proactively address challenges such as crime, drug use, and unhealthy behaviors among youth through meaningful engagement and mentorship.
  • Demonstrate the love of God in practical ways through service to others and community impact.

 

Target Participants

Number of Participants: 30 participants (Boys & Girls of equal numbers)
Age: 1o – 16 years

Location

Chanuka Skills Hub will run at Oasis Kindergarten which is located in Kibera Slums, Nairobi Kenya. Kibera Slum is Africa’s largest slum and one of the largest urban slums in the world. Most Kibera residents live in extreme poverty, earning less than US$2 per day. Unemployment rates are high. 12% of the population is living with HIV. A great majority living in the slum lack access to basic services such as toilets, running water, and decent medical care.