Kelvin Thuku’s Trip to the U.S.

Kelvin recently returned from a ten-day visit to the U.S. Kelvin is the Programme Coordinator at Ngong Road Children’s Foundation and joined the organization in 2013 as a computer lab instructor. Today Kelvin leads our Information and Communications Technology Department, Summer Camp, and Saturday Program hence he gets to interact with all the children in the program and understand them quite well. During his visit, he was able to meet various sponsors and donors and spend time with the US-based staff. Kelvin was able to help sponsors understand the supportive community programs that their sponsored children engage in and how these programs help them in the journey of transforming their lives.

A Tight Schedule
During his time in the US, Kelvin traveled throughout Minnesota, Iowa, and Texas meeting with sponsors and donors as well as giving presentations to churches (Christ Lutheran Church of Alamo Heights and Our Saviors Lutheran Church in the San Antonio area, friends and family, and of course at our Annual Gathering and Friends of Friends fundraising breakfast. He also met individually with some sponsors and donors and gave insight regarding the students they sponsor.

Kelvin is responsible for the technology and budget planning, therefore he was able to spend time with the tech team and gain a deeper understanding of the systems that the organization is leveraging to better support operations at NRCF. He also spent time with the board member in charge of financials and controls. He also spent time with the strategic planning committee discussing the scaling plan.

In addition to these meetings, Kelvin was able to experience life in Minnesota where he visited some of the landmarks such as Stone Arch Bridge, the Minneapolis sculpture garden, and the Mall of America.  And he tried lots of new foods. He also had many opportunities for professional development working with our U.S. staff and board members and by meeting with other professional groups like the South Metro Minneapolis Evenings Rotary club and individuals like Paul Walker of Gallup to gain insight and experience.

A Great Experience
For Kelvin, the trip from Nairobi to Minnesota was a long one, but quite fulfilling since it was his first time in the US and his first trip out of Africa.

Kelvin is grateful to the organization for giving him the chance to travel to the US and get all the exposure and interaction. He is also grateful to all the sponsors and donors who spent time with him and for allowing him to share his perspectives of the program.