General Motors Partners with Carolina for Kibera
On May 23rd 2005, a crowd of excited Kenyans encircled the pick-up truck as a General Motors executive handed the keys to Salim Mohamed, the Carolina for Kibera program manager. Exuberant smiles and exclamations arose from the young women that had just shared a showcase of talents with visitors from GM, including Maureen Darkes, the company’s Vice President for South America and Africa. This milestone visit by top GM executives culminated in the donation of the Isuzu truck and an additional $1,000 to purchase books for a community library.
GM East Africa's Committment to Carolina in Kibera
Click here to learn more about Carolina for Kibera, Inc. (CFK)
Learn about GM's sponsorship of "A Closer Walk," an HIV/AIDS awareness film
Within Kibera—the largest slum in East Africa—moments like this provide continuous hope and evidence of a brighter future foryouth rising above poverty and hardship. General Motors’ relationship with Carolina for Kibera exemplifies the company’s commitment to community outreach and its investment in sustainable participatory development. In particular, the corporate support and employee volunteers that GM East Africa brings to Carolina for Kibera enhance the ground-breaking work of Binti Pamoja, a program which empowers young women to be peer educators through the arts.
During a recent interview, Ben Mshila, the Human Resources manager for GM East Africa, shared his company’s history with CFK, highlighting the exceptional leadership and accomplishments made possible by the partnership between the corporation and non-governmental organization. Mshila “saw [CFK] start from the beginning” through his friendship with Advisory Board member, Professor Jennifer Coffmann, and founder Rye Barcott, a graduate of the University of North Carolina who planted the seeds for CFK when conducting research on youth violence in Kibera.
Through the leadership of Salim Mohamed (formerly with Mathare Youth Sports Association) and the late Tabitha Festo (a committed nurse), Carolina for Kibera initiated a successful sports program and a community clinic aimed at promoting peace, health, education, and development. CFK has expanded to include Taka ni Pato (Trash is Cash), a waste reduction and recycling project, and Binti Pamoja (Daughters United), the young women’s reproductive health and empowerment group to which GM has lent essential support.
Since its founding in 2001, Mshila attests that CFK has “grown tremendously” and “GM gets involved in the community awareness and clean-up.” Mshila explains, “I thought it was important to link GM staff with Carolina for Kibera… so we decided to make it part of our HIV/AIDS awareness programs and philanthropic activity for outreach to peer educators.”
Volunteer Plus International, GM's Global Phlanthropic Incentive Program
Through Volunteer Plus International, GM corporation’s global philanthropic incentive program, employees within the company receive donations for charities with which they volunteer for at least fifty hours. Over the years, GM East Africa employees have become involved as active volunteers and advocates with the Tabitha Clinic, befriending HIV positive community members and supporting their income-generating crafts. GM supports the purchase of food and medicine for clinic clients as part of World Health Day activities. Isuzu t-shirts unify the sports teams and youth groups that participate in community clean-ups alongside GM volunteers.
GM East Africa's Support for Binti Pamoja (Daughter's United)
General Motors also shows commitment to Binti Pamoja through funding HIV/AIDS awareness and outreach in community forums, expanding young women’s skills and knowledge through peer education, and enabling the purchase of books and educational materials. The creativity and resourcefulness of Caroline Sakwa, the director of Binti Pamoja, are complemented by the gifts of time and skills volunteered by GM employees such as Gilbert Onyango, a trained librarian who enthusiastically supports the work of Binti Pamoja.
Sincerity, accountability, and commitment are marks of distinction for General Motors, Carolina for Kibera, and the fruitful partnership that has grown between the two. The support and mutual friendship that connects the corporation and the charity invests in a future of education, opportunity, and health for Kibera’s youth and their families.
Carolina for Kibera, Inc. (CFK) is a 501(c)(3) international non-governmental organization housed at the University Center for International Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Supported by private donations and grants from the Ford Foundation, CFK has established a youth sports association, girls' center, and medical clinic in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya. General Motors’ long-standing partnership with CFK demonstrates the corporation’s humanitarian work in East Africa.
