Safe space first
Supervised practice at St. George Orthodox Church — free, consistent, and built for belonging after school.
INUKA.
Inuka means rising.
Free movement arts and life skills for children and youth in Kibera, Nairobi.
Breaking · Capoeira Angola · Girls’ empowerment — at the Inuka Studio, St. George Orthodox Church.
Impact at a glance · First Term 2026
Proof on the floor
Numbers from Inuka’s weekly free programming — the young people who show up, stay, and rise.
~39Youth per Slum Dance Africa class
~34Youth per Capoeira class
35+Girls in empowerment sessions
2010Rooted in Kibera’s creative youth movement
What is Inuka
A safe space to rise
Inuka Cultural Center is a youth empowerment organization in Kibera that uses movement arts, knowledge workshops, and professional development to expand life choices for young people and communities.
All studio programs are offered free to youth and community members at the Inuka Studio.
Inuka means “rising” in Kiswahili
The word holds aspiration, upward mobility, and self-empowerment — the qualities we want every participant to embody as we uplift youth in marginalized communities.
- Where Kibera slum, Nairobi, Kenya
- Studio St. George Orthodox Church, Kibera
- Contact +254 759 145 642 · info@inukacenter.org
Programs
Three pillars. One community.
Breaking, Capoeira Angola, and girls’ empowerment — each with its own pedagogy, mentors, and path to rise.
Since 2010
Slum Dance Africa
East Africa’s community breaking program — weekly classes, exchanges, and an annual festival born from a need for safe creative space after 2007.
Learn more →Beautiful game
Capoeira Angola Center Kibera
Afro-Brazilian martial art as cultural liberation — movement, music, and conflict resolution practiced in the roda. First African branch of Mestre João Grande’s lineage.
Learn more →
Since 2021
Empowerment Program for Girls
Weekly workshops for teen girls — health, confidence, entrepreneurship, sanitary pad support, and career pathway residencies.
Learn more →Schools & companies: host a residency through School & Community.
Our story
One studio. Many futures.
After Kenya’s 2007–08 post-election violence, young people in Kibera needed a safe creative space. What began as dance grew into Capoeira Angola, girls’ empowerment, and a regional festival culture — still free, still rooted in the community.
In after-school hours — when youth are most exposed to risk — Inuka opens the door. They train, lead warm-ups, play in the roda, and practice skills that travel beyond the studio: discipline, voice, teamwork, and hope. Some become teaching artists. All are invited to rise.
Dance and movement arts as catalysts for social change — peaceful coexistence, healing, and capacity building.
Why it matters
More than a class
Inuka treats Kibera youth as artists and leaders — not recipients.
Art forms with depth
Breaking, Capoeira Angola, and girls’ empowerment each carry pedagogy, mentors, and community rites — not one-off workshops.
Partners who show up
Churches, schools, cultural institutes, and funders who invest in youth as creators and change-makers.
On the floor
Moments from the studio
Weekly practice, festival energy, and girls leading their own rise.
Slum Dance AfricaFloor work · freestyle · festival prep
Capoeira AngolaRoda · music · play
Girls risingWorkshops · pathways · confidence
Explore
Go deeper with Inuka
Events, people, partners, and residencies — each chapter has its own page.
2026
Mandinga Ancestral V
Nine days of Capoeira Angola & African arts across Nairobi and Watamu.
Team
Meet the staff
Salim, Victor, Nancy, John, Nasri, Anu — the people holding the floor every week.
With
Partners & hosts
Church, schools, and cultural co-creators who believe Kibera youth deserve space to lead.
Join
Volunteer with us
Studio support, storytelling, research, and community walks — rise with the team.
Get involved
Ways to rise with us
Schools & communities
Host a Capoeira, breaking, ballet, or Afro-dance residency with Inuka artists.
School & Community →Partners & funders
Collaborate on youth arts, girls’ empowerment, and sport for development.
Partnerships →Visit & follow
See programs at the Inuka Studio. Follow @inuka_cultural_center.
Contact →Keep Inuka free for Kibera’s youth
Your gift keeps the studio open, classes running, and girls supported — free programming, materials, and a safe space after school.