Friends of Ngong Road

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

Archives for April 2023

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2023 Post-Secondary Career Camp

We had to put our summer camp on hold since the start of COVID-19 in 2020. After things calmed down in 2022, we redesigned the camp to ensure that students have fun while also gaining educational value. Instead of having a general camp for the high school and post-secondary students, we introduced a career camp meant to educate students, especially new KCSE graduates preparing to join colleges and universities on career training and college and university applications. 

The camp took place at Naivasha West Beach Camp which is on the shores of Lake Naivasha from Friday, the 21st of April to Sunday, the 23rd. The camp theme was “WePower PS Career Camp” which translates to “We are Empowering the Post-Secondary students through this camp”. The students were able to demonstrate this through the discussions that they had with their paired buddies, who were selected Post-Secondary students in the different career fields that our high school graduates aspire to pursue, and external facilitators who we invited. This was to ensure that the high school graduates of 2022 can be able to fully understand the careers available, the placement process, and post-secondary life and move together as a team.

We had a total of 53 campers that included 26 high school graduates, and 15 buddies. We had a number of career development programs in store for the high school graduates which was the main purpose of the camp. Nelson, a guest speaker, from Generation Kenya facilitated a career discussion about selecting career choices based on interest and enthusiasm, as well as the effect that it makes. A representative from Zetech University also guided the graduates through courses, institutional selection, and placement. They were educated on how the Kenya University and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) handles placements. This is in regard to cluster points and subject combinations. 

We also had buddy group discussions that were facilitated by the selected buddies. The buddies were able to clearly explain how things work in higher learning institutions in specific relation to the courses they were taking. This enabled the graduates to have a better understanding of the various courses they had selected as their most preferred courses. The campers also enjoyed all sorts of activities ranging from summer Olympics, obstacle races, balloon relay, music and dance, swimming and team building activities. These activities were meant to be both fun and forge a teamwork spirit.   

The camp was successful and we would like to extend our gratitude to all donors and sponsors for the education support they accord our students. We would also love to thank the teams from Generation Kenya and Zetech University for honoring our invitation and sharing knowledge with the campers. 

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George’s Educational Journey

My name is George. I live with my parents, and I have two siblings. My mother is a tailor, and my father is a mechanic at a local shop in my neighborhood. Getting the opportunity to join Ngong Road Children’s Foundation was a lifelong dream for my educational success. When I joined the NRCF program, I moved to one of the program’s focus schools.

After I sat for my Kenya Certificate of Primary Education, I achieved above-average marks and then enrolled in a secondary school. Being a student there is truly enjoyable. I especially love attending practical lessons at the lab for Biology and Chemistry subjects, and I am also involved in extracurricular activities such as football and the debate club. I am working hard to earn good grades in my exams and gain admission to University once I complete my high school education.

Aspiring to join the University of Nairobi and pursue a course in Aeronautical Engineering. I have always had an interest in planes, and since my father is a mechanic, I developed an interest in working with different tools. He is my role model, and I hope to become even better at working with tools. I am grateful to the Ngong Road Children’s Foundation (NRCF) program for believing in me and taking me through my education, and I hope to achieve my educational dreams and make myself and them proud. 

To sponsor and transform a child’s life, visit https://ngongroad.org/sponsor/

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Coding partnership with DirectEd Development Foundation

Ngong road children’s foundation

The world has now fully digitalized, and computer literacy has become the norm. We have slowly moved from basic computer skills and ushered in the computer programming era. We want to make sure that as our students transition to higher education, they can be able to get this much-needed skill. 

In our quest to achieve the above, we recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding and forged a partnership with DirectEd Development Foundation. DirectEd is a UK-based charitable organization on a mission to deliver evidence-based, highly scalable, and cost-effective coding boot camps and scholarships to under-resourced high-potential students in Africa, through the use of blockchain technology and decentralized identifiers. They so far have partnered with different top learning institutions in Kenya and Ethiopia. Some of the institutions in Kenya include Kagumo high school, Mang’u high school, and Maryhill girls high school. We are excited to be part of this partnership.

In this partnership, DirectEd tutors will offer our 2022 high school graduates a three-part program. The program have repackaged existing material into a structure that suits low-resource hybrid-learning settings. The 1-week mobile-based coding course is the first program.

This particular programme is based on open-source material from Harvard’s CS50 introduction to Python. It is done remotely which means that the students will make use of their phones and we will allow those who do not have access to a smartphone to come to the Elimu Hub. They can make use of the resources available in the computer lab. The team from DirectEd will also help the students to set up the necessary infrastructure for the stipend disbursement.

The second programme which is the main programme is a 12-week computer-based hybrid programme. Here, students will learn full-stack web development in the MERN (MongoDB, Express, React, Node) framework. This programme will also feature some guest lecturers hosting workshops on key soft skills such as acing job interviews and entrepreneurship, with the students studying for at least 40 hours a week. Lastly, the graduate programme. This programme is for students who will have successfully completed the coding programme, and it has two paths. One, entry into a longer full-time coding bootcamp or two, a 6-months internship with specialization in a particular skill while getting real-work experience with DirectEd’s tech partner companies.

For all the 3 programs, our students need to have attained a specific threshold to move to the next. We will utilize ICT personnel to assist our students in maximizing their chances of advancing to the graduate program. Profound thankfulness to DirectEd Development Foundation for this life-changing partnership for our students. Grateful to the people at Lido Nation, particularly Stephanie King, for being a central part of connecting us with them. We are excited to see our students transform their lives.  

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Asumpta’s educational journey

My name is Asumpta. I live with my mother, and my younger brother. I got the opportunity to join Ngong Road Children’s Foundation, and my educational journey took a positive path.

I joined the NRCF program when I was in grade 3 after successfully passing my interview. I then joined one of the program’s focus schools. I sat for my Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and scored good grades to join high school. At the beginning of this year, I joined a girls high school, a county-level girls’ high school in Makueni County. 

So far, I have loved being a student at the school. I spend my free time in the computer lab doing my assignments or carrying out my personal studies and research. I also joined the journalism club because I would want to take a journalism course once I get into college. My role model in the journalism industry is Lulu Hassan, a Kenyan journalist and news anchor at Citizen TV. I also got the chance to interact with one of the program’s alumna, Sallyanne, who graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication. She really inspired me because she not only successfully completed the journalism program, but also graduated with first-class honors. She also gave me a few tips on how to prepare myself for the course.

I am grateful to the NRCF program for giving me the chance to pursue my academic ambitions and to my sponsor for always ensuring that everything I need in school is catered for. I want to one day be able to give back to the program by sponsoring a child to enable them to transform their lives as well.

To sponsor and transform a child’s life, visit https://ngongroad.org/sponsor/

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The success story of Nickson

My name is Nickson and I am a Ngong Road Children’s Foundation program alumni. The NRCF program initiative quickly spread in my neighborhood, and my mother heard of it. She immediately applied, and I was fortunate enough to get a slot.

Upon joining the program, I was admitted to one of their focus elementary schools. After completing my primary education, I attended Dr. Ribeiro Parklands Boys High School in When I was at Parklands High, I engaged myself in co-curricular activities that kept me active all through. I was not only participating in one sport but in three. I was playing rugby, which is my favorite sport, as well as football and handball. When I was in fourth grade, I knew that I wanted to take a course in hospitality when I joined college, as I had an interest in cooking and preparing different drinks.

I completed my high school education and enrolled at Zetech University to take a certificate course in food and beverage production. I loved the course, would often practice cooking at home. I graduated in December 2022 and became a certified chef.

Last year TechMates program piqued my interest in learning a new skill. I did an interview, which was successful, and was accepted as an intern for the March program. I took the digital marketing path, and I immediately started taking the courses outlined by the program for that path. 

After the internship, which lasts 3 months, I am aiming to transition into a digital marketing freelancer by June’s end. Once in a while, during the weekends, I work as a chef at the restaurant at Tangaza University in Bomas. I also work as a Karibu loo associate. As a Karibu loo associate, I maintain clean portable toilets and manage the handwash area.

Aiming to start a restaurant and utilize TechMates program skills for marketing and growth. I am extremely grateful to the program for not only taking me through my education but also for the opportunity to join the TechMates program and for making it possible for me to learn a new skill.