A while back I was invited to be part of a November 1 fashion show in support of Kellee Student Education Foundation Africa (KSEFA) – a volunteer organization that offers educational support for women in South Sudan and Nairobi, Kenya.
I’ll be walking the catwalk for this SOLD OUT fashion fundraiser.
As part of my commitment to say ‘yes’ to opportunities that come my way, I agreed. But being a journalist, I wanted to learn more about KSEFA and the women it supports.
Turns out, the organization has ties to my home town thanks to a friendship that developed between Kellee Jacobs and KSEFA founder Lino Madut Angok. Kellee is the daughter of London-based image and style consultant, Sue Jacobs.
Lino Madut Angok and Kellee Jacobs.
Kellee is currently living in Nairobi where she works as a monitoring and evaluation specialist for the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM). We recently connected by email so I could learn more about how our evening of style will help women half-way around the world.
KSEFA doesn’t have a website. Can you tell me a bit about the initiative?
KSEFA was founded in Nairobi in 2010, but began operations under Lino in 2012. The program supports the education of women aged 24-40 from South Sudan who may not have had access to learning. It also offers technical training, including sewing and tailoring. There are also elements of peace programming, a focus on women and youth, and counseling and coaching of what is sometimes a traumatized group.
KSEFA is registered as a non-government organization in South Sudan and is awaiting registration in Kenya. The cost of registration in Kenya is quite high, so any available funds have previously been prioritized for actual educational programming. With funds coming in soon, Lino hopes to be able to continue classes and pay the registration and legal fees for the formalization of KSEFA in Kenya.
How did you meet Lino?
Lino was a student at Sud Academy in Nairobi, a school originally for South Sudanese refugees who cannot afford school fees in the Kenyan school system. I met him there in 2008 when he was in the equivalent of Grade 11. We spent three years working together at the school to develop small, high-impact projects like building a science lab, creating a sustainable water access and purification system, and a scholarship program that allows students in Grade 12 to join a neighbouring school for their final year so they can graduate with diplomas.
How will the November 1 fundraiser help support KSEFA?
All of the funds raised in London will support two learning locations helping South Sudanese migrants and refuges living in Nairobi, Kenya
With the funds raised, Lino would like to be able to provide small incentives to volunteer teachers at each location, as well as pay some small fees to the churches where classes take place. He will also purchase school supplies like chalk, pencils and books to be shared by the students.
Tell me a bit about the women who are supported by KSEFA.
Many have come to Nairobi from the refugee camps in northern Kenya. Others have come directly from South Sudan, displaced by the last 5 years of war and economic collapse in their country.
These women are interested in learning to help support themselves day-to-day in a fast paced urban environment – at the supermarket, with documents they are required to understand, on immigration and legal issues. They need to have a basic understanding of literacy, English, numbers, math, and their rights. This school is not a formal education centre that teaches the full Kenyan curriculum, but rather a stop-gap that provides otherwise unavailable opportunities to give people the knowledge they need in order to survive.
KSEFA teaches literacy and math skills to help women in their day-to-day lives.
Of course, I’m not the only local entrepreneur involved in this fashion fundraiser. In fact, I’m honoured to be in the company of such an amazing group of sponsors and participants:
Check out these incredible sponsors!
We all owe Sue Jacobs and Allison Stephens a huge THANK YOU for being the driving force behind this amazing opportunity! Keep an eye on my Facebook page for photos….coming soon!
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