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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June 22, 2022 By Naomi Miezwa Leave a Comment

We Need More Sponsors!

So many waiting students, and not enough sponsors. 

Sponsors have an incredible impact on our students and are the foundation of our program.  Having a sponsor is a life-supporting opportunity for our students.  However, we don’t have enough sponsors! We now have over 200 students on the waiting list, each hoping for a sponsor.   

Build our sponsorship community.

Our goal is to double the number of students we support in the next 5 years. This means we need to find new sponsors to support our students. Our goal is to find 70 new sponsors this year.  Do you know someone who wants to change a child’s life?

We can use your help!

  • If you are a sponsor, share your experience with others and consider sponsoring an additional student.
  • If you are not a sponsor, become one – Become a sponsor
  • Host a gathering to raise awareness of the positive impact sponsors have by being a part of Friends of Ngong Road and to help us recruit new sponsors  

Reach out to Naomi at [email protected]  to discuss further.

June 22, 2022 By Naomi Miezwa Leave a Comment

Join us in Africa!

Friends of Ngong Road is planning a trip, especially for our sponsors, donors, friends, and families to Kenya in February/March 2023. Have you ever thought about traveling to Kenya to meet your student? Do you want to experience a life-changing trip with your family? Is it a dream of yours to go on a photo safari? Your dream can become a reality. 

The trip will be hosted by an experienced FoNR traveler, a sponsor, and a local Nairobi guide. The itinerary will include time with students, a visit to their homes, a school tour, and time at the Saturday Program.  You will also see our new student center, Elimu Hub.   It’s a wonderful opportunity to see some Kenya national parks, African wildlife, and the uniqueness that Nairobi has to offer. 

Contact Naomi at [email protected] if you are interested in learning more.  We will follow up with more details on the itinerary, timing, and costs. There will be an online information session to provide more details about the experience, answer any questions you may have, and meet fellow travelers.

December 16, 2021 By Naomi Miezwa Leave a Comment

Upgrades to the Sponsor Portal

Photos of Your Student

For a long time, we’ve struggled to efficiently share student photos. We were able to print and send portraits to sponsors, but we had no means of sharing the thousands of photos we have of students from school, camp, Saturday Program, and everyday life.

We are excited to have launched a new photo management system that allows students to tag themselves in photos, quickly linking them to you in the portal. This gives sponsors a more timely glimpse into the transformation of their student’s life. 

To see photos of your student, simply click the “photos” tab on your portal dashboard and click on a photo to enlarge it.  Use the arrows within the picture to scroll through additional pictures.  A picture is worth a thousand words!     

Communicating with Your Student

The portal is the best way to communicate with your student. The “inbox” tab allows you to easily send and receive messages. We’ve recently added video capabilities, allowing you and your student to use your phone or computer’s webcam to send short videos to each other. Students love to see videos of their sponsors. 

Students receive messages and videos through the portal much sooner than handwritten letters. If you’re thinking about your student one night, this makes it so simple to quickly message them saying “I’ve been thinking about you.”   

More Enhancements 

We will continue to make portal improvements to increase communication and provide useful information understanding.   We are going to add tips on communicating with your student, FAQs, program overviews, and more. We’re also planning educational programs where sponsors will be able to get together, learn more about Kenya, our programs, and network with each other. 

If you have ideas for new features, let us know.  If you haven’t been on the portal recently, log back on to see the changes and know that more is to come.

September 18, 2021 By Naomi Miezwa Leave a Comment

Changes to the Kenyan School System

Kenya was a British colony until it gained independence in 1963. After independence, many colonial influences persisted in the country, including the old British educational system (long abandoned in Britain). This system is test-based with key examinations that take place at the end of each academic term and then at the end of the equivalent of 8th grade and 12th grade. Students’ scores on these tests determine what secondary and post-secondary school they can attend and the type of job they can get. Teaching in Kenya has almost exclusively revolved around preparing students to take these exams as their entire future hinges on how they score.  The movie “A Small Act” portrays the terrible pressure students feel to succeed in this system.  

The advantage of a test-based system for Kenyan educators is that it is easy for the government to determine where students are able to continue their schooling. For example, if a student scores above 400, they go to a quality government school, or below 250 they go to a trade school. There are however many disadvantages to the test-based system. It rewards students who can memorize the material but it doesn’t encourage any analytical thinking skills. Students are taught not to question the teacher but only to learn what the teacher tells them must be learned. For students who are not good at memorizing, they are viewed as not bright and this reduces their access to a life with better opportunities. Many students are not successful in this system.

Kenyan educators clearly understand some of the downsides to the old British system and the country is now transitioning to a Competency-Based Curriculum. This new educational system will teach students more analytical, critical thinking, as well as practical skills.  There will be many challenges with such a large systemic change, they will be transitioning for the next decade at a minimum.  Few teachers in Kenya have experienced any other system, so to train teachers on how to teach in an entirely different way will be a monumental hill to climb. In addition, this will require the curriculum to be changed at every level and current high school and post-secondary placement processes will need to be redesigned. Our Case Managers in Kenya are staying up to date on the upcoming changes to anticipate needs, and to understand the organizational impact required to support students through the changes.

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Friends of Ngong Road
PO Box 581308
Minneapolis, MN 55458
(612) 568-4211 | [email protected]

 

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