Providing education and support to Nairobi children living in poverty whose families are affected by HIV/AIDS.
All proceeds of the Art Sale will go to support the mission of Friends of Ngong Road. Local art pick up will be available at the following locations:
Edina, MN on December 16
St. Ansgar, IA on December 17
Chicago, IL on December 27
If you have any questions about your art purchase or pick up, please email us at [email protected].
Thank you for your support!
Dear Friends,
By now you will have received an email from Amy Johnson updating you on the clean 2017 audit received by our sister organization in Kenya, Ngong Road Children Association. After discovering theft of resources in the 2015 audit, we have devoted considerable energy to reinvigorating financial controls and improving processes. I am very pleased Crowe Horwath has endorsed those efforts as having been effective by granting this clean audit.
I recently took an online course hosted by the Wharton School entitled “Corruption”. It has been proven that corruption can be significantly reduced by organizations through a combination of ethical leadership, active management/supervision and appropriate risk management processes. We will continue to discuss other best practices that would fit our circumstances and help us remain vigilant about this risk.
Friends of Ngong Road completed our last strategic planning process in 2015 and we are working throughout 2018 to tackle important strategic questions to revisit that process. Our expectation is to have a three-year strategic plan completed by the end of 2018 for 2019 – 2021. Here are just a few of the issues we are tackling:
I look forward to sending you an update on our 2019 -2021 strategic plan at the end of the year.
In the meantime, we are excited to welcome Judy Nyaga to Minneapolis on May 14 and 15 and Kelvin Thuku the first half of June. Judy is a board member in Kenya and Kelvin is the Program and Technology Coordinator. We will host gatherings and meetings during their time in the Twin Cities and hope you will have the opportunity to meet these people who do so much to support student success in Nairobi.
Thank you!
Paula Meyer
President and Founder
Friends of Ngong Road
We are excited to announce the launch of the new Friends of Ngong Road Sponsor Portal: https://ngongroad.org/sponsor/
Purpose: The new portal is designed to foster a deeper understanding for Friends of Ngong Road sponsors of the children they sponsor and to form a stronger relationship among sponsors and students. The portal includes a photo gallery, school marks, child assessments, renewal information and a link to write the sponsored child.
Future Enhancements: As this is version 1.0, sponsors can expect to see updates and improvements in the coming months. In upcoming versions we plan to include:
**We are currently seeking funding for these projects. If you are interested in underwriting one of these enhancements, please contact Lacey Kraft at [email protected].
Sponsors: To log in for the first time you will need to create an account. Here’s how:
See the brief video demonstrating this process here.
We welcome your feedback as we continue to make the portal and your sponsorship a positive experience for you and your student(s). Please use the feedback form link at the top of your portal homepage. Or, for assistance and comments, contact Friends of Ngong Road technology and operations team at [email protected] or 612-568-4211.
Thank you for helping to transform lives through education!
Andy Walz
Board Member, Technology
Friends of Ngong Road
PS – if you are not a sponsor but are interested in learning more about the new portal, please contact Development Director, Lacey Kraft, at [email protected] or 612-568-4211. She would be happy to give you a demonstration of the portal and explain what sponsorship entails.
Thanks to those who “sent a kid to camp” this year; Camp 2017 is in full swing! The four-day Leadership Camp is wrapping up today and Grammar Camp (students age 10-13) begins tomorrow. Students are packing their warmest clothes as they head to this year’s camp located near Mt. Kenya at Naromoru Girls Secondary School in Nyeri County, which is about a three and a half hour drive from Nairobi where temperatures range 55-70 degrees Fahrenheit during August.
Nine U.S. volunteers arrived safely in Kenya late last week and are actively involved in creating a positive camp experience. They are teaching classes, playing games and building relationships with our students.
While camp is off to a great start, you may have heard about the recent elections in Kenya. The area where camp is being held (and where students, staff and volunteers are staying) has remained calm following the election. On August 15, camp director, Tom Gleason, wrote, “This is a lovely, remote and secure area in which to hold camp. The volunteers and kids traveling to camp have been untouched by the election, and in this place we are quite isolated and secure as a result. The camps are running smoothly.”
Friends of Ngong Road President and Founder, Paula Meyer, wrote this about the organization’s decision to continue with camp 2017: “On August 8, Kenya held elections for positions of President, Members of Parliament and local offices. The following day a small group of people from both Kenya and the U.S. met by Skype to discuss the security situation after the elections with a goal of deciding whether or not to proceed with Camp 2017. Kenya held peaceful elections in 2013 but there was considerable post-election violence in 2007. With just one day having elapsed since the election, formal results were not yet published by the Kenya election board. We heard the perspectives of Rajpreet Bains, Ngong Road Children Foundation board chair and Maureen Mulievi, program director. Rajpreet brought insights from a Kenyan security expert. The biggest risk the team perceived was that there would be isolated violence from supporters of the leading opposition candidate, Raila Odinga. At the time we spoke there had been a few violent episodes, however on balance the country was peaceful – especially in the area near the planned camp. On the basis of our understanding that this trend would continue, we made the decision to proceed with Camp 2017.”
We anticipate the area near camp will remain calm in the coming weeks. Energy will remain high at camp with fun, learning and memories abounding. Check back to our news page and social media for future updates on camp!
If you are interested in helping to make camp possible for years to come through a gift to the Gleason Camp Endowment Fund, or you have questions about this year’s camp, please contact Development Director, Lacey Kraft at [email protected] or 612-568-4211.
Join Friends of Ngong Road’s Development Director, Lacey Kraft, and sponsor, JoAnne Zachow, for stories and photos from their March group trip to Kenya.
This gathering is perfect for anyone considering traveling to Kenya or interested in learning about the country and program. You will hear stories of the first time sponsors met the students they had been sponsoring and corresponding with for years, of home visits where they met HIV+ parents resiliently determined to give their children a better life, and about Maasai girls who ran away from their homes to avoid female genital mutilation and early marriage. Many memories and stories to be shared.
You will see close up photos of the big five animals, thanks to the wonderful guides with Wilderness Inquiry. A favorite series is of a water buffalo killed by lions that were scared off by hyenas only to have the lions return with a bigger pack. We have photos of a lion walking right up to one of the Wilderness Inquiry vans searching for shade – something the guides had never seen a lion do!
Appetizers and beverages provided. All are welcome. Please RSVP to Wilderness Inquiry.
Time: 4:00-5:30 p.m.
Date: Wednesday June 28, 2017
Place: Wilderness Inquiry, 808 14th Ave SE, Minneapolis
