Friends of Ngong Road

We empower Nairobi children living in poverty to transform their lives through education and support, leading to employment.

Archives for January 2018

By Leave a Comment

A 4-yr-old asks for education for kids in Kenya for her birthday

Marwa and her mother

Marwa’s four-year-old birthday looked slightly different than other four-year-old birthdays. She still had several of her best friends and cousins running around with cake in their hands and singing “Happy Birthday.” But instead of inviting her friends to bring gifts in celebration of her birthday, she asked for money to “Send Sam to school.”

Sam was the student she gravitated to when Marwa and her parents looked at students who needed sponsorship on the Friends of Ngong Road website. Her parents think she connected to him as a peer because he looked younger than the rest of the students. Marwa loves school and wanted Sam to also have the chance to go to school too.

It wasn’t without the nudging of her parents, however. They recognized that Marwa as an only child was experiencing holidays centered around herself. Birthdays and Eid celebrations all unintentionally included a focus on what material item she would unwrap. They wanted her to focus on more than presents at celebrations and to learn the joy of sharing. So they taught her about kids not having the chance to go to school. They looked through pictures on the Friends of Ngong Road website together and excitedly talked with Marwa about what a great choice she was making to invite her friends to bring money for school instead of presents.

The day came, and Marwa had a big decorated box for her friends to drop their gifts of money. When she presented it to Lacey, the Development Director at Friends of Ngong Road, she proudly shook the coins in the box exclaiming that it would help send kids to school. Her smile said it all when Lacey said Sam was now going to be going to school.

Marwa got a taste for sharing and helping out friends across the world. Her birthday wish came true and Sam was going to school. He has since been sponsored full-time by another family, and Marwa plans to help send another child to school on her birthday next year.

Marwa and friend
Marwas Birthday

By Leave a Comment

2017 Annual Appeal Match Met!

Together we met the 2017 Truscott Family Match of $60,000 and more! Thank you to everyone who donated generously to provide important programming for students to transform their lives through education in Kenya. The Friends of Ngong Road Annual Appeal funds elements of our program that sponsorship does not. This includes nutrition support, healthcare, a Saturday program, caseworker support, the library, a computer lab, and more.

This year’s annual appeal success of over $132,000 raised could cover the cost of 5,280 meals for families who are particularly needy, 220 new computers for the computer lab, or the gap for 264 students who attend boarding school but their sponsors are only able to provide tuition support.

Thank you for helping to change lives. From the children, their families, and Friends of Ngong Road, “Asante Sana.” Thank you very much.

By Leave a Comment

Notes from Paula

Dear Friends,

As Friends of Ngong Road begins our 12th year of operation, I would like to share a few thoughts with you about the progress the organization is making in leadership succession.  Our board of directors began thinking about this challenge several years ago and we continue on the path we devised.  Although I expect to lead Friends of Ngong Road for the next several years, it is prudent to lay plans.

  • Staff and Board.  We are making progress in transitioning from a volunteer-run organization to one with a more traditional staff/board model.  Lacey Kraft completed her second year as Director of Development and we added a part-time Operations Associate and a part-time Chief Financial Officer.  Jil Bakko is our long-serving, faithful accountant and together these people are transitioning activities from volunteers to staff where appropriate.  
  • Financial Model.  We are also making progress in creating a financial model that does not rely 100% on U.S. philanthropy.  The elements of a sustainable long-term financial structure include building a successful business in Kenya (Karibu Loo), a strong endowment fund, and a professional development program.  I believe that Karibu Loo will start to contribute to our charitable work in 2018 and with each year that passes our endowment grows and our development program matures.
  • Leadership Succession.  We are continuing to involve more people in the organization and remain committed to an active and engaged corps of volunteers who can provide substantive leadership.  While we have not yet identified my successor, we are working on it.  I feel confident that the right person will emerge.

We have much to celebrate in Kenya:

  • We had 38 students finish 8th grade in 2017. 12 of them (31.5%) have been selected to attend national high schools, our highest percentage to date.  This demonstrates the impact of more selective student selection processes that began in 2012.  Our experience has been that when students are successful in academics they don’t get into as much trouble during adolescence!
  • We had 27 students finish high school in 2017.  25 of the 27 (96%) are enrolled in our post-secondary program.  They are currently taking computer classes, have completed a 2-week Life Skills training program, and will begin college applications soon.
  • In December, we launched a new Sexual & Reproductive Health Program with strong support from Dr. Patty Kissinger from Tulane University.  Our objective is to ensure that students understand their sexuality and feel responsible to manage their own bodies, that they have access to contraception and that there are safe places for them to go to get help. We trained 20 Youth Peer Providers, 8 of whom are leading the education of all students in Class 7 and higher.   We believe this Youth Peer Provider model is the most robust available. We hope it results in fewer unplanned pregnancies among girls.
  • We welcomed 31 new students to the program in 2017, giving them each hope for their future.  Our waiting list remains long with over 200 students and our goal for 2018 is to add 40.  If you or anyone you know would like to have a direct, positive impact on a child in Kenya, please follow this link to sign up: https://ngongroad.org/sponsor/

This work would not be possible without the hundreds of you who believe that education can transform lives and partner in this important work with us. Thank you!

Paula Meyer
President and Founder
Friends of Ngong Road