Malaika Children's Choir,Introduction

We are a children’s choir based in Kenya that seeks to give children the opportunity to use their passion, talent and love for music to build bright futures for themselves and their communities.

The Malaika Children’s Choir was started on September 17th, 2012 in Kibera Slums (Nairobi, Kenya) as part of the Kibera Informentors Foundation. It is our vision to work with children not only in Kibera, but also across the nation.

We welcome and appreciate opportunities to make new friends and partnerships in order to accomplish our mission. You can learn more about our story below:

ABOUT US

The Malaika children’s choir is a program that started under the Kibera Informentors Foundation, a Kenyan NGO that focuses on leadership and mentorship for youth in Kibera slums. The choir held its first session on September 17th, 2012, and was started to help children in the slums recognize their musical talents and find joy in singing.

WHAT WE DO

We work with many different schools around Kibera, and hold one-on-one interviews with the children interested in joining the choir. We start working with children who are 7 to 10 years old and who love singing.

Many of the children in the choir are currently living with families or relatives here in Kibera. They are all from different backgrounds, some are living with both parents who are earning less than a dollar a day, and others are orphaned and live with relatives or grandparents. We try and bring them all together so that, they realize their talents and know that they are all equal in the eyes of God.

WHY KIBERA

In Kenya, Kibera has a very negative name among the people living outside the slums. Little do they realize that it is not the wish of Kibera residents to live in such concerning conditions. Instead, it is because of the difficult circumstances that these people face that we hear so many negative stories about the Kibera slums.

But we know that there are positive stories too -- there is so much talent among the younger generation, many children who strive for better futures and hard-working parents who try their best to see that their children have at least one meal by the end of the day.

Still, there are many challenges that children in Kibera face. There is very little space or opportunity for children to study music, and even going to school (much less music school) can be very expensive; many families cannot afford to send their children to secondary (high) school, let alone university.

It is because of these reasons that we decided to come up with the choir, so that we can connect the voices of the children living in the slums, and eradicate the negative attitude about the people of Kibera. With this choir, we hope to nurture the musical talents of these young children, encourage them to pursue their love of music, and help them to grow through engaging in the different life skills activities that we do.