Michon Garrett, Author at Friends of Ngong Road

November 15, 2021 By Michon Garrett Leave a Comment

M-Pesa

Ever used Venmo, Apple Pay, Cash App, PayPal or Crypto?

The digital currency has become second nature to us in 2021, but have you ever wondered how it became so integrated with our lives? What steps and precursors were needed to get to where we are today?

In large part, one answer to these questions is M-Pesa. In late 2000, banks in developed countries worldwide were starting to expand into digital banking and exploring new mediums of financial technology. Kenya, on the other hand, encountered a reluctant central bank’s response to the new ways of the world. This provided an opportunity for a creative response from a population that is largely unbanked.

Enter: Telecommunications giant Vodafone and Safaricom, Kenya’s leading mobile network operator.

Thanks to a grant from the UK’s Dept. of International Development, a Pilot was launched in 2006, mostly as means for micro-lending. However, users quickly discovered a feature that allowed for peer-to-peer transactions. They had identified one of Kenya’s biggest needs almost completely by accident. Not only did Kenyans need a faster and easier way to transfer money, but they also needed a cheaper way to do it than bank transfers, which are largely unaffordable for such a poor population. The demand for this service reared its head in the first year of M-Pesa’s launch. Safaricom set a goal for 350,000 users on their micro-finance and loaning program, which grew to the tune of over 1.2 million users, most of which were largely utilizing the user-to-user transfer function.

Upon recognizing the need for their service, M-Pesa realized its need to provide easy ATM functions for its rapidly growing user base. Without the time or resources to open branches at such a large scale, Safaricom utilized what already exists in Kenya; small mom-and-pop stores and even smaller specialized commerce stands. These micro-businesses were weaponized as hosts for M-Pesa Kiosks across Kenya and allowed for its meteoric rise to a significant market share of Eastern Africa’s economy.

M-Pesa’s market penetration is nearly unmatched in any industry in the world, with over 96% of Kenyan households using the service. Today, Sub-Saharan Africa boasts over 150 million active mobile money users thanks to M-Pesa and other similar services, accounting for nearly half of the world’s active monthly mobile money users.

July 7, 2021 By Michon Garrett Leave a Comment

Over 20 students have lost their sponsors. Consider sponsoring an additional student. Meet Leon.

Over the past year, more than 20 students have lost their sponsors. This is due to a variety of reasons, including the economic impact of COVID 19. The students are continuing their education, but are in need of a new sponsor.

This is Leon’s story.

Leon is 16 years old and attending Karima High School, a boys-only boarding secondary school that is one of the best national schools. He has been in the program for eight years and his sponsor recently needed to discontinue support. His sponsor’s support helped him get to this level of education and gain leadership skills through the Life Skills program, summer camp, and the Saturday program. He was a student leader in the primary department and also a squad leader during the 2019 summer camp. Leon has become assertive and gained self-confidence through these leadership roles.

Leon lives with his grandmother and two aunts. The grandmother makes beaded items, sews sweaters, crotchets tablecloths for an income. She also works as a Community Health Volunteer.

Leon’s family lives in a two-roomed house in Ngando slums. The house is made of old rusty iron sheets. Unlike most families in the slum, Leon’s home has electricity so he can study comfortably during school breaks. They buy water for domestic use from a nearby vendor. Leon sleeps on a bed. The family uses charcoal or kerosene stove to cook their meals as they are the most affordable. They share a bathroom and pit latrine with their neighbors.

Leon is an intelligent, focused, and hardworking student. He performs well academically and is usually among the top-performing students in his class. He would like to become a pilot in the future. He is outgoing, confident, and self-driven.

Sponsors discontinue support for a variety of reasons. We have committed to supporting students who enter our program until they finish their education. So when they lose a sponsor it’s important for us to find a new sponsor. If you already sponsor a student, would you consider sponsoring another one whose sponsor left? We are fortunate that someone has stepped up to sponsor Leon. But there are many other waiting students like him who need your help to ensure they can continue their studies and achieve their dreams. Explore all the waiting students here.

March 18, 2021 By Michon Garrett Leave a Comment

Greetings from Kelvin

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 on the lost terms in 2020. The students are happy to be back in school and they are faring well. Case Managers have started monitoring and evaluating (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 in 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 the Virus. The good news is that the first dose of vaccine arrived on 2nd March and is targeted for 1M frontline workers including health care workers. The current restriction being enforced include; a dusk to dawn curfew, a ban on public and social gatherings, overnight vigil or events being prohibited, public vehicles carrying 60% capacity, a non-essential visit to schools being prohibited, and extracurricular activities such as inter-school sports being 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

March 18, 2021 By Michon Garrett 1 Comment

Notes from Paula – Spring 2021

Dear friends,

The pandemic is not over, yet somehow it feels like 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 by 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 their 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 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 student’s 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 operates 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 healthcare workers, the 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 African 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,