Friends of Ngong Road

Providing education and support to Nairobi children living in poverty whose families are affected by HIV/AIDS.

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The Saturday Program

Each Saturday we host a child development program with the help of our Case Managers. The program consists of fun activities surrounding a wholesome fresh lunch prepared and served by our cooks. A nurse is on hand to distribute multivitamins and deworming pills regularly and meets with individual children who are ill, referring them to clinics or prescribing treatment as appropriate. The nurse also gives health talks to different age groups. The Saturday Program Coordinator organizes activities geared towards cognitive development, and social and physical development. We invite volunteers to support running the activities as well as bring in new ideas. The activities rotate between the following themes;

  • Cognitive activities include book reading and puzzle games
  • Olympic athletics which is all about running (which Kenyans are famous for)
  • Clubs and talent search including drama, music, and Taekwondo
  • Ball games such as soccer and Katie (dodgeball)
  • Crazy Olympics. This includes crazy games such as banana foot pass relay, balloon relay, three-legged relay, and sack relay.

In 2020, we put the Saturday Program on hold due to  COVID-19. This dealt a big blow to our students as the Saturday Program is a good opportunity for kids to build memories, friendship, sportsmanship, and enjoy a “sumptuous” meal together. We resumed the program in May of 2021 but, despite all the hype, the attendance was very low as most parents and guardians were very cautious of releasing their children due to COVID-19 fears. It was equally challenging for the program coordinators to try to organize activities with less contact and ensure kids observed the Ministry of Health guidelines such as wearing masks. However, as time passed more students have attended the program and in this last quarter of the year, we have reached over 90% attendance. During the holiday break, we also had a very high attendance of high school students which means we will need a bigger and better field next year. 

The August Camp was also canceled due to Covid-19 and with the change of the school calendar, the Saturday Program has now become the new “mini-camp”. The Saturday Program has defined the true meaning of the NRCF family as the staff and students come together to share joy and happiness with each other and forget about the hustle and bustle of the slums and city. It is also during the Saturday Program that the Case Managers get to do further follow-up on the child’s wellbeing.

Saturday Program

Two and a half minute video about our program produced by KMSP TV in 2011 featuring our Saturday Program:

The Saturday Program is held in a field near our campus which is large enough to accommodate games and various activities.

Boy_Reading_Picture_Book
  • Early each Saturday morning, our cooks arrive to prepare food for the children.  Through the combination of school lunches and the Saturday Program the children are assured at least one meal six days a week.
  • Before the official start many children go to the library and check out books to read to themselves or out loud to an appreciative audience.
  • Our Saturday Program coordinator (one of the case managers on a rotating basis) organizes activities including games and music.  The case managers coordinate writing letters to sponsors, reading time in the library and scheduling time in the computer lab.
  • A nurse is on hand to meet with individual children suffering from ailments, referring them to clinics or prescribing treatment as appropriate.  Multivitamins and de-worming pills are distributed on a regular basis.
  • Case managers take roll call every week and connect with each child to ensure they are getting the attention and support they need.

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Saturday Development Program

Each Saturday we host a child development program with the help of our Case Managers. The program consists of fun activities surrounding a wholesome fresh lunch prepared and served by our cooks. A nurse is on hand to distribute multivitamins and deworming pills regularly and meets with individual children who are ill, referring them to clinics or prescribing treatment as appropriate. The nurse also gives health talks to different age groups.  The Saturday Program Coordinator organizes activities geared towards cognitive development and social and physical development. We invite volunteers to support running the activities as well as bring in new ideas. The activities rotate between the following themes;

  • Cognitive activities include a book reading and puzzle games
  • Olympic athletics which is all about running (which Kenyans are famous for)
  • Clubs and talent search including drama, music, and Taekwondo
  • Ball games such as  soccer and Katie (dodgeball)
  • Crazy Olympics. This includes crazy games such as the banana foot pass relay, balloon relay, three-legged relay, and sack relay.

In 2020, we put the  Saturday program on hold due to  COVID-19. This dealt a big blow to our students as the Saturday program is a good opportunity for kids to build memories, friendship, and sportsmanship, and enjoy a “sumptuous” meal together. We resumed the program in May of 2021 but, despite all the hype, the attendance was very low as most parents and guardians were very cautious about releasing their children due to COVID-19 fears. It was equally challenging for the program coordinators to try to organize activities with less contact and ensure kids observed the Ministry of Health guidelines such as wearing masks. However, as time passed more students attended the program and in this last quarter of the year, we reached over 90% attendance. During the holiday break, we also had a very high attendance of high school students which means we will need a bigger and better field next year. 

The August summer camp was also canceled due to Covid-19 and with the change in the school calendar, the Saturday program has now become the new “mini-camp”. The Saturday program has defined the true meaning of the NRCF family as the staff and students come together to share joy and happiness with each other and forget about the hustle and bustle of the slums and city. It is also during the Saturday program that the Case Managers get to do further follow-up on the child’s wellbeing.

Techmates Program

We consider students fully transformed once they are employed. To enhance their employability, we launched several employment programs, one of them being the TechMates program. TechMates is our new technical training program focused on IT and digital marketing.

Launched in September 2021

The program was started in September 2021. Seven graduates have benefited from this program so far. Each year we aim to recruit at least two interns every six months. During that period, they undergo basic technical training in WordPress website programming and design. After the training, they develop their websites and work on website enhancement and digital marketing for Friends of Ngong Road( FoNR), Ngong Road Children’s Foundation (NRCF), and Karibu Loo as an implementation of the skills acquired during the training. This enhances their technical and interpersonal skills which are key in the professional world.

Assisting NRCF and interacting with FoNR

The TechMates also assist in the day-to-day operations of Ngong Road Children’s Foundation as they master more skills. They assist with teaching some of the younger kids computer basics, running the Saturday Program, as well as troubleshooting technical issues for NRCF staff. Every week they get to meet with two US FoNR board members (Andy Walz and Keith Kale) where they present their weekly accomplishments. The meetings enhance their communication and presentation skills.

Experience with clients

We also seek clients that require freelancing services and provide them with TechMates. Currently,  Lido Nation, referred to TechMates by one of our U.S staff (Michon Garrett), has provided several opportunities to TechMates. Three of the TechMates are working on translating the Lido Nation website into Swahili while two are being trained as web developers and blockchain experts. We are optimistic that the relationship with Lido Nation will benefit more of our students in the near future. 

We welcome anyone that can offer training, funding, and or mentorship to our students to increase their employability.

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Kelvin Thuku – new role as Program Manager

We are very pleased to announce that Kelvin Thuku has been promoted to the position of Program Manager for Ngong Road Children’s Foundation (NRCF). Kelvin joined the organization in April 2013 as an ICT Coordinator. He trained in Information Technology where he specialized in computer hardware repair and maintenance, software development and maintenance, and database management among other skills. Kelvin is also a Technical Trainer having pursued Technical Education at Kenya Technical Trainers College.

Kelvin was raised by a single mother in the Kangemi slum in Nairobi. After high school, he was supported by an uncle for his college education. This taught him the value of educational support and he worked hard so as not to let his uncle down. His biggest academic achievement was when he was named the best student at Kenya Technical Trainers College.

He enjoys serving the children in various ways such as teaching computer knowledge and usage and organizing fun activities for the children during the Saturday Child Development program, and Summer camp. Kelvin aspires to inspire children by offering mentorship and support since he has gone through a similar journey. He feels that the organization is giving hope to children just as he was given hope by his uncle. Kelvin believes that the biggest gift you can give to your kids is education because knowledge is power. He feels this is being realized in NRCF. Kelvin sees that education has opened employment opportunities to vulnerable students in the program. And, he delights in being a part of the NRCF mission and seeing it come to life.