As millions of people around the world marked the World Yoga Day on Tuesday, a small group of Kibera students were never left behind.
They took the chance to display their yoga skills, which thrilled crowds that had gathered to witness the rare talents. The students were trained by two American yoga instructors operating within the slums.
Africa Yoga Project, a nonprofitable organisation is the brainchild behind the two American yoga instructors, Paige Elenson and Baron Baptiste.
The organisation which was established way back in 2007, aims at creating more employment opportunities while empowering the youth living in the impoverished areas of Nairobi.
For a start, the twin founders raised a total of Sh1million ($10,000) to fund the organisation and has so far trained 40 Kenyan yoga instructors. Currently, 72 instructors are working within the poor areas of the city, including schools and prisons.
According to the slum locals, the two Americans have positively transformed Kibera, a place that has for long been considered a home to criminals.
‘'Before they came to the slums, I used to steal from people to make ends meet since entertaining crowds through acrobatics was no longer paying enough,’' said Margaret Njeri, a yoga instructor in Kibera.
Njeri says she now earns at least Sh10,000 a month from conducting five yoga classes each week in prisons, public schools, and other parts within the city.