Zabibu Founder and members of her teaching staff
A gala dinner hosted by the Safaricom Technology Division has raised over Ksh. 4 million to go towards the completion and furnishing of a state of the art dormitory for the Zabibu Centre, which was founded in 2005 by James and Irene Wagema as an education centre for orphaned and vulnerable children.
Until December 2009, the Centre exclusively admitted girls from ages 4-18 years but in January 2008 they embraced the boy-child.The Centre accommodates children living with disabilities, those affected by HIV/AIDS, victims of abuse, girls rescued from early marriages and Female Genital Mutilation. They come from as far as Kilifi, Malindi, Isiolo, Loitoktok, Kisii, Nyeri, Nairobi and its environs
The dormitory is to cost a total of KES 12 million and will help meet the accommodation needs of the Centre which are currently stretched by the current population of 180 students; 150 of whom are girls.
This is the second dormitory that Safaricom through its various arms is helping construct. The Safaricom Foundation funded the construction of a 64-bed capacity dormitory for the Centre under its World of Difference programme.
Safaricom’s Director of Technology, Thibaud Rerolle who has been spearheading the campaign said they have in the last one year carried out various fundraising initiatives including one in which some staff members donated 1% of their salaries for six months.
Safaricom’s Director of Technology – Thibaud
“This project is an illustration of our collective strengths in making a difference in our communities. We all stand tall knowing that we not only contributed financially, but laid the basis for children to not only dream big, but also inch closer towards realising their grand dreams,†said Rerolle.
Here’s a video that explains more about the Zabibu Centre