Archives for March 2021

With the easing of COVID restrictions the business has continued to improve. Now that larger gatherings are permitted the event-based business serving weddings, funerals, church services and house parties has resumed. Clients such as the YMCA have begun hosting events and training courses. We even had one marathon event.  

Construction sites are also becoming more active as the economy revives. Our client list continues to expand to include various types of construction projects, such as new embassy buildings, highways and office buildings.  

All of our core staff remain with the business. Through the leadership of Steve Muendo, his loyal crew are keeping up as the business grows.

Hello Friends of Ngong Road,

It’s back to school for our students
This year started on a good note with the primary and secondary students reporting back to school in January after 9 months of staying at home. We supported students to safely go back to school by providing school supplies including face masks and hand sanitizers. Post-secondary students also resumed school for in-person learning after a term of online learning. 

It is a unique year for students in Kenya due to the four terms instead of the usual three terms. This means students will be in school for longer in order to catch up the lost terms in 2020. The students are happy to be back in school and they are faring on well. Case Managers have started monitoring and evaluation (school visits) and the student progress is good. Schools will be closing by the 19th of March as the candidates (Class 8 and Form 4) sit for their national examinations. This is also a change from the norm where usually students sit for national exams in November. This year they  will transition to the next grade level July instead of January.

COVID In Kenya
We have experienced a low COVID positivity rate since the beginning of the year. However, the ministry of health is warning of a possible third wave in March with the new variant of Virus. The good news is that the first dose of vaccine arrived on 2^nd March and is targeted for 1M frontline workers including health care workers.  The current restriction being enforced include; dusk to dawn curfew, ban on public and social gatherings, overnight vigil or events are prohibited, public vehicles carry 60% capacity, non-essential visit to schools are prohibited, extracurricular activities such as inter school sports are prohibited. These measures will be reviewed on 12^th March by the president. We are glad that only one of our students has been infected by the virus so far (without serious illness) and we continue to sensitize them to stay safe and observe ministry guidelines

Students continue to succeed
NRCF continues its transformation mission of ensuring alumni get jobs and break the poverty cycle. Our most recent alumni to get a job is Christine who recently got employed as a sales representative at Umash Funeral Parlor. It is definitely a tough working environment for her but it is an opportunity for her to gain some experience as well as transform her life. Also, our first female law graduate, Elizabeth, secured an internship with R. W. Mbanya Advocates where she will be able to gain experience in her field of study. 

Looking ahead
We have plans in place to engage students during the upcoming April long holiday break. Plans are underway for Life Skills, SRH and mental health awareness workshops. We remain committed to the mission of transforming lives and are grateful to all donors and sponsors who support the mission.

Kelvin Thuku

Program Manager

Ngong Road Children’s Foundation

Dear friends,

The pandemic is not over, yet somehow it feels we are turning the corner in the US. In Kenya, the effect of COVID-19 was more severe economically and educationally than in public health.  Through February, Kenya reported a total of 1,866 deaths from COVID-19.  This is about ⅓ the deaths reported in Minnesota despite the fact that Kenya has about 43 million people vs Minnesota’s 5.64 million.  

Our team in Kenya believes that economic life is returning to normal in Nairobi, though there is still a ban on large gatherings and the curfew has been extended 60 days.  We stopped providing families food packets through our Food from Friends program in January with no reports of undue suffering.  It will take time for the economy to recover ground, but things seem to be coming back steadily. 

Ngong Road Children’s Foundation staff, working with our schools have done our best to keep students engaged without in-person education, but nonetheless students lost ground.  There are numerous reports in the country of “indiscipline” among high school students with lower test scores and challenges as students return to the structure of regular education.

The Kenyan government decided last fall that all schools would reopen for in-person education in January 2021. Normally, the academic year is the calendar year and children attend school for three terms. The intention is to squeeze in a fourth school term in 2021 and and again in 2022 to make up for the two lost terms in 2020. This has important implications for our program:

• For two years, school fees will be about 25% higher. School fees are our biggest annual expense.
• We will not hold camp in 2021 or 2022. This is the students’ favorite activity of the year and will be sorely missed until August 2023 when we hope to resume camp.
• Life Skills training is scheduled for the April breaks.  This training is an essential part of our high school program and has contributed significantly to student success.

Other changes being handled by our team:

• Case Managers continue family visits/check-ins by phone and are beginning in-person visits at many schools.  
• Large gatherings such as the Saturday Program are still prohibited.
• Students are now issued masks as part of their school uniform.
• Our staff operate in a hybrid fashion, taking turns coming into the office and working remotely due to social distancing requirements.

Kenya has received 1 million doses of vaccines to be administered to health care workers, elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions such as HIV.  Experts believe receiving adequate vaccine supplies for the entire adult population will be the biggest challenge to eradicating COVID in Kenya.  President Uhuru Kenyatta spoke to the nation on March 12 about the implications of a ‘third wave’ of COVID in Kenya, extending restrictions on large gatherings, the curfew and other limitations.  This COVID wave in Kenya seems to be predominantly the South Africa variant of the virus.

Nevertheless, Kenyans persist.  Students are back in school and families are working hard to regain ground lost in 2020.  We are doing all we can to support their efforts with your help.  Thank you as we all work together to support our students’ dreams to transform their lives through education.

Sincerely,

Worldwide, this school year is like no other. For Ngong Road students, like Michelle, it’s even more exceptional. After being out of school for much of 2020, the 2021 school year sprung into action in January. This year will have four semesters compared to a typical three-semester year. 

Michelle and her fellow classmates will go non-stop until December… with no summer break. 

Please support the “2021: Spring Forward – No Summer Break Ahead” campaign and make a big difference for our students. We are seeking to raise $15,000, which has been matched by anonymous gifts to fill these additional needs. That means any gift you give will be doubled, and all amounts are appreciated. We are getting close to reaching our goal! Help us meet the match. 

The extra semester this year results in additional expenses such as transportation, supplies, and school fees. A gift of $75 covers the cost of giving 10 students soap, shoe shine kit, lotion, sanitary napkins, and toilet paper for a term; $350 covers the cost of transporting 20 kids back and forth to school for one term; and $1,200 covers the cost of providing breakfast and lunch for 70 primary students for one term.

Friends of Ngong Road students, families, and communities continue to be challenged by extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, overcrowded living, limited access to quality healthcare and nutrition, and now this global pandemic. 

Thanks to your support, you are helping children spring forward in 2021, making it possible for our students to continue to focus on school and transform their lives.