Greetings from Kenya!
Hope you are all keeping safe during these trying times. It’s been three months since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Kenya and now we have crossed the 7,000 mark with the peak projected to be in September. We are grateful that over the last three months, we had no positive cases reported among our staff, students or families. However, it was just a matter of time and this June we had our very first case of COVID-19 in one of our families. This is quite worrying given that the families are very vulnerable and many are living with preexisting conditions.
Most families are out of work and rely on us for food
The general impact of COVID-19 has been hard-hitting and 90% of our families no longer have stable incomes. The biggest challenge has been food and rent. The organization has continued supporting approximately 300 families with food aid every month thanks to donations from our supporters. The families have been very grateful for this support and it gives them hope of seeing tomorrow.
Primary and secondary schools closed until 2021
The authorities have extended the school closure with no hope of reopening until 2021. Our students continue to study from home which is challenging given the circumstances our families live in. We are glad to report at least 80% of them have been able to study from home despite the challenges posed. We have continued supporting students by printing out assignments and scheduling appointments for computer access. The program also started issuing students with literature books from our library. Over 200 literature books to students have been issued while observing safety measures.
Some high school graduates and post-secondary students continue their studies
The 2019 high school graduates were able to go through the scholarship process and come up with feasible career plans in hope of joining colleges and universities in September 2020. Most post-secondary institutions have opted to start online studies via Zoom and a number of our students are ongoing with such classes.
Our staff is focused on providing support
NRCF staff have continued to support the families and students through check-in calls done every month since April. In May the staff focused on updating sponsors while in June they continued with check-in calls with the families. Continuing to operate with a skeleton office, we encourage staff to work from home and keep safe.
We want to take this opportunity to appreciate all our supporters for their continued donations during this trying time. We are in this together and hope to overcome the crisis and continue with our mission of transforming lives.
Stay safe!
Kelvin Thuku
Programme Manager
Ngong Road Children’s Foundation
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