Greetings Friends,
I hope you are all keeping safe during these trying times. At NRCF here in Nairobi we are keeping safe and continue to support our families and students through the Food From Friends program and regular follow-up calls by case managers. The 2020 school calendar year has been confirmed to be a lost academic year with schools expected to resume in 2021. This means our students will continue staying home for a longer period than anticipated.
For primary students, the schools have a program to keep students engaged during this period; they will receive assessments every month which they are required to submit to the school for marking. The case managers will be following up with students to ensure they are able to study from home. For high school students, the schools will continue sending assignments to students to keep them engaged. Finally, for post-secondary, the government has directed that the educational institution can have phased resumption in September while observing safety measures. The priority is to give final-year students the ability to resume physically and for all other students, institutions are encouraged to adopt online learning. NRCF is working on strategies to support students for online learning when they resume through a computer loaner program and computer lab access scheduling.
In addition to education, NRCF is planning to restart special programs in August with the approval of local authorities and if the ban on gathering is lifted to help keep students engaged during this period. The sexual reproductive health program will start in August where youth peer providers will start facilitating small group sessions to help students make informed choices and stay safe from teenage pregnancies. Life skill sessions will start in September to acquaint students with the necessary skills needed to survive such a difficult time.
The Food From Friends program has been running smoothly; we continue to serve approximately 300 families every month with over 500 packages of food. We plan to continue with food issuance through the end of the year.
Thank you for your continued support and commitment to supporting the students through the crisis with the hope of getting to an end of the crisis and refocusing on the mission of transforming their lives.
Regards
Kelvin Thuku
Programme Manager
Ngong Road Children’s Foundation
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