Making Music - Winning Awards
Thank you to Broadway Dreams and artists, Quentin Earl Darrington and Noah J Ricketts.
Nina Stern, a world-renowned performer and teacher, has brought her New York-based S’Cool Sounds to our Kibera schools. With fun video technology, Nina is making powerful connections between young musicians on both sides of the Atlantic.
What’s more, Ms. Stern has mentored our full-time music director, Jacob Asaya, to create a popular recorder ensemble that has won both first- and second-place awards in all-Kenya competitions for several years running! As our founder, Carter Via, likes to say with a big smile, our music programs are proof that Crossing Thresholds schools are indeed schools of excellence.
What’s more, Ms. Stern has mentored our full-time music director, Jacob Asaya, to create a popular recorder ensemble that has won both first- and second-place awards in all-Kenya competitions for several years running! As our founder, Carter Via, likes to say with a big smile, our music programs are proof that Crossing Thresholds schools are indeed schools of excellence.
ChezaCheza Dance Program
ChezaCheza (playful in Swahili) is a Kibera non-profit dance program supporting vulnerable children, teaching them to dance, then training them to lead neighborhood classes, avoiding crime and becoming agents for social and emotional change in the process.
Technology In and Beyond the Classroom
Thanks to generous donors and the extended commitment of major corporations like Microsoft, a significant advance in the education of young Kiberans is now a reality. The IT infrastructure project is a multi-layered effort to install cabling, Wi-Fi networking and educational software, to deliver our students fully resourced computer labs. Gifts of personal computers, printers and sophisticated networking will soon enable every Crossing Thresholds student to have reliable Internet access! In addition, “teach the teachers” training is making exciting new digital methods and programs available to our eager staff.
As a result of the gift of technology, students are able to receive remote tutoring from abroad and participate in group counseling circles to extend the work that is done during Crossing Thresholds visits.
As a result of the gift of technology, students are able to receive remote tutoring from abroad and participate in group counseling circles to extend the work that is done during Crossing Thresholds visits.
Kibera Knights Chess Club
With the tutelage of Board Member Ken Kaplan, students at Crossing Thresholds schools are learning how to play chess! They hold intra-school tournaments and participate in intercontinental chess games via computer-chess! The community being formed, and the skills being learned are invaluable to our students.
Urban Garden
The Wangari Maathai Foundation leads educational hikes in the Karura forest, instructing slum-confined children on the stewardship of plants, trees and streams as part of their outreach to create urban gardens and expanded green spaces. Crossing Thresholds has introduced the first urban garden at MOBJAP, providing healthy food and education on nutrition and sustainability for the students and the broader community.
Young Women’s Empowerment Program
The Young Women’s Empowerment Program offers personal health education and guidance to maturing at-risk teenagers on how to honor their bodies. Respected role models can clarify the social pressures and stark choice many young women face, either to further their education and career or early motherhood.
Crossing Thresholds has partnered with LitWorld.org a non-profit organization that works to ensure that young people worldwide can experience the joy and transformation of reading, writing, and storytelling. The program is designed to develop each of the seven strengths they and we believe are inherent in every child: Belonging, Kindness, Curiosity, Friendship, Confidence, Courage, and Hope. The program encourages self-expression, builds understanding, cultivates confidence and uses literacy as a tool and pathway for self-empowerment.
Crossing Thresholds has partnered with LitWorld.org a non-profit organization that works to ensure that young people worldwide can experience the joy and transformation of reading, writing, and storytelling. The program is designed to develop each of the seven strengths they and we believe are inherent in every child: Belonging, Kindness, Curiosity, Friendship, Confidence, Courage, and Hope. The program encourages self-expression, builds understanding, cultivates confidence and uses literacy as a tool and pathway for self-empowerment.
Sport and Physical Fitness
Crossing Thresholds and our Directors take a holistic approach to the education and development of our students. Daily physical fitness is encouraged. In addition, the schools have formed soccer teams and joined leagues in order to participate in weekly games and tournaments.
