Amani means peace, but for many children in the deprived suburbs of Nairobi and Lusaka it also means hope for a better future. For thirty years now, the Italian non-profit organisation has been supporting children in the Kibera slum and other poor neighbourhoods of the Kenyan capital.

This year to Kibera and especially to young pregnant mothers or those who have already given birth, Amani has dedicated the 2025 calendar, the sale of which will also go to support women who have only ever lived on the streets and who, in the heart of Kibera, find shelter in the small house that opened its door a few months ago under the name of ‘Tabasamu la Mama’ (the mother's smile).

In this new initiative, Amani and Koinonia Community will soon also be able to count on the support of the Santo Versace Foundation, which has decided to make it its first project outside Italy.

Currently, six mothers with their young children, the last of whom was born just two weeks ago, are guests at the facility. The home is co-managed with the help of a ‘mentor mother’, a woman with a past of life on the street who has now found her own stability and lives with the girls taken in and is a point of reference for them. Kibera is not just a photographic calendar, but a journey into the everyday life of the inhabitants of one of the largest shanty towns in East Africa, through 13 images by photojournalist Brian Otieno, who grew up in those very places and is committed every day, with his KiberaStories project, to debunking stereotypes and clichés about his homeland. The introduction to this journey is in the words of Judie Kaberia, an award-winning Kenyan journalist, media expert and passionate about human rights, public policy and gender equality.

‘Thanks to Amani and Koinonia, children living on the streets were able to go to school and free themselves from poverty and crime. Led by Father Kizito Sesana, thousands of them have been taken off the streets and found a home and a centre where education is a right. Children who face challenges such as gender-based violence, drug addiction, early marriage, labour exploitation and human trafficking are supported,' writes Kiberia. “While presenting formidable challenges, life in Kibera is also a testament to the tenacity of its residents, who embrace their destiny with pride and face adversity with creativity and resilience, writing a tale that exalts the indomitable spirit of man”.

The KIBERA calendar is available with a donation starting from € 10 each in wall size (42x34cm) and € 5 in desk size (12x14cm). For information, please write to segreteria@amaniforafrica.it

For those who are in Italy, it will be presented in Milan, at the ‘Comunità Nuova’ headquarters in Milan, via Luigi Mengoni 3, with the presence of the journalist Pietro Veronese, the president of Amani Gian Marco Elia and other guests.