Paula Meyer, Author at Friends of Ngong Road

March 23, 2020 By Paula Meyer Leave a Comment

Notes from Paula – March 2020

Dear friends,

Greetings from a world that has changed. We are all coping as we work to understand what COVID-19 will mean for people across the globe and what the downstream economic harm is likely to be. Like most people, I don’t yet understand the long-term implications however I have already deeply internalized an important lesson: We are all in this together! Viruses do not respect borders, income levels, or political preferences. We all have to pull together to overcome this threat beyond 2020.

In that spirit, Friends of Ngong Road board members Amy Johnson, Keith Kale, and I have been working long days for the past ten days to establish a Crisis Management process for Ngong Road Children’s Foundation (NRCF) and Karibu Loo (KLL) in Kenya and for Friends of Ngong Road (FoNR) in the United States. Teams meet daily in Kenya while the U.S. and global teams confer weekly. We have taken steps to reduce expenses in both organizations with the goal of weathering this storm.

There are several important staff changes you should know about…

Lacey Kraft joined Friends of Ngong Road as our first full-time paid employee in February 2016. Her assignment was to build upon the work volunteers did during Friends of Ngong Road’s first ten years and formalize the organization’s development program. Lacey tackled this assignment with great energy and made significant contributions during her four years with the organization. Sadly, she has decided to leave for another non-profit in the Twin Cities. We are sorry to see Lacey go and wish her all the best in the future.
We have made the difficult decision to eliminate the position of Program Director spanning both NRCF and KLL in Kenya. Maureen Mulievi is the current incumbent in that role and has served the organization well. We are sorry to say goodbye to Maureen and wish her the best in her future endeavors. In this environment, we believe the organization must streamline leadership so we are as effective and efficient as possible.
Kelvin Thuku will assume leadership of NRCF while Emmanuel Mukasa (business development) and Steve Muendo (operations) will co-lead Karibu Loo through the crisis. This move will spearhead the 2020 plans

In all cases, Kenyan staff members will report to Crisis Management teams comprised of people in both countries.

In Kenya, 2020, the immediate and significant need is for food aid. Families in our community faced great food insecurity before this crisis hit. Today, they are also told to stay home and work remotely – except when their work is casual labor such as cleaning homes, doing laundry, or construction, remote work is not possible. And these families don’t eat if they don’t work. We are increasing food aid and appreciate your support in helping us feed these children and their families. For $35/week we can provide enough basics so a family of four can eat at least one meal daily – with 255 families with children in our program, the unplanned-for cost could be as high as $9,000 per month.

If you would like to help us provide food aid in Kenya, please click here. We are all in this together, thank you!

March 17, 2020 By Paula Meyer Leave a Comment

The Impact of COVID-19

We are all feeling a bit overwhelmed by developments in the world over the past two weeks including the spread of COVID-19. This is a brief update on what is happening to our program in Kenya and also to our team in the U.S.
Our objectives are:

to keep our staff in both Kenya and the U.S. safe and healthy;
to comply with public health recommendations and mandates in both countries; and
to make decisions that enhance the likelihood the organizations will successfully weather this storm so we can continue to focus on our mission of educating students and transforming lives post-crisis.

It is important to note that the community we work with in Kenya is extremely vulnerable to the harm this situation will inflict on people. Most of the student’s parents and guardians have pre-existing health conditions; they all have limited income, usually earned by performing casual labor that has already evaporated; and in the slums, there is no such thing as “social distance”. You will note in our summary of the situation in Kenya that we have increased our budget for emergency food aid and believe it will be sorely needed in the coming weeks. If you would like to make a donation to support providing basic food packets to our families in Kenya, please click on the button below. A $40 gift can provide food packets that feed a family for a month.

Donate now to provide food support for families who are impacted.

In Kenya:

Several cases of COVID-19 have appeared in Kenya. The government of Kenya has taken aggressive action to prevent the virus from spreading in the country.
Kenyan public health officials have mandated no gatherings of large numbers of people, they have closed all schools effective this week and require that employees work from home.
We have formed a Crisis Management team for both Ngong Road Children’s Foundation and Karibu Loo Limited. The teams in Kenya meet daily and provide written updates to the U.S. Crisis Management Team, along with a global weekly touch-base meeting.
Ngong Road Children’s Foundation will operate with a skeleton staff and will communicate with students and families through text messages, updates to our website, and printed flyers. This is in regards to the measures in place to deal with COVID-19.
Caseworkers are available to students and families by telephone or by appointment in the office in case of emergencies.
Saturday Program, home visits, and school visits are suspended during this crisis.
We have cut staff hours, salaries, and other expenses in an effort to preserve options as the crisis unfolds while also ensuring our staff has enough income to cover their essential needs.
Karibu Loo business will also be curtailed as long as there are prohibitions on gatherings and social events as a move to curb COVID-19 spread. As with Ngong Road Children’s Foundation, we have reduced expenses to a minimum.
We have significantly increased our budget for food aid for families, as we expect this crisis to result in significant food insecurity for our population.

In the United States:

We have formed a Crisis Management Team consisting of Paula Meyer, Amy Johnson, and Keith Kale; we meet daily.
Our associates in the U.S. operate on a remote basis and will continue that practice. We have made no changes to staff compensation or hours, though changes made by daycare providers are affecting several of our team members.
Paula Meyer and other board members have increased the amount of time working on Friends of Ngong Road matters and we expect that to continue in the coming months as we work to navigate these unprecedented times. Our board of directors will meet this week and again in April to deliberate issues facing the organization.

We remain committed to our mission and will work to successfully navigate these challenging times. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to paula@ngongroad.org.Thank you, and stay healthy!

December 25, 2019 By Paula Meyer Leave a Comment

Notes from Paula

By Paula Meyer, Founder, and President

I just returned from a visit to Kenya on December 10. One of my favorite things to do in Kenya is spend time with alumni to learn about their lives since graduation. Here are the stories of several alumni and one about a student who will graduate from law school in 2020.

Margaret joined our program in 2008. In 2017, Margaret finished a program in Community Development. Ngong Road Children’s Foundation employed her as an intern for six months after which she got an entry-level job with the law firm Odero Osiemo Advocates. Margaret explained to me that she wanted to become a lawyer, but her grades were not high enough to be admitted to a law school program. She began at the firm as an office administrator and was soon promoted to assistant to one of the lawyers. The firm has now offered Margaret the opportunity to attend a six-month professional training program in 2020 to become a mediator. They will pay her fees and continue to employ her as she goes through this program. Margaret has built a new, better life for herself. Margaret was sponsored by Anne McCulloch.

Philip joined the program in 2007 and finished a training program to become a plumber in 2019. Philip was raised by his single mother who worked part-time as a community worker. While a student in our program, Philip’s teachers consistently noted that he was hardworking, punctual, and a good problem-solver. Today, Philip is not employed full-time with any single organization, but rather serves as a plumbing contractor. He has developed a wonderful, outgoing personality that will serve him well as he works to support his young family. Philip is now married; he and his wife had a son in 2019 whom they named Lennick – after Doug and Beth Ann Lennick, his sponsors for all those years.

Elizabeth was raised by her aunt and uncle. Her aunt was an elementary school teacher at the school where Elizabeth attended. Elizabeth was always near the top of her class and she graduated from high school in 2015. Since then, she has been enrolled at the University of Nairobi, studying law. She is on track to graduate in 2020 and hopes to land an internship at a law firm in Kenya. Elizabeth and her aunt attended the 2019 Annual General Meeting for Ngong Road Children’s Foundation in Kenya where we saw each other and she explained that she is really looking forward to getting a job. Needless to say, her aunt is very proud of Elizabeth.

Jackline was in our first high school graduating class in 2012 and was of the very first students in our program. After completing high school she took a one-year program in front-office skills. Upon completing that program, Jackline became the enthusiastic and always cheerful NRCF/Karibu Loo receptionist. In 2014, her pleasant and outgoing personality got her hired by Bimeda, a veterinary supply company, as a Customer Care Representative. Having been very happy and successful in that role, Jackline is now pursuing additional education, courtesy of Bimeda, and hopes to move into a sales position in the future. She lives with her mother, one sister, and a niece and has moved her family out of the slums into an apartment with running water and electricity, luxuries never before enjoyed by the family. Jackline was proudly sponsored by Keith and Kathleen Kale.

November 7, 2019 By Paula Meyer 1 Comment

Note from Paula

Children grow up one day at a time and while it is happening, it can feel so very slow. Friends of Ngong Road is finishing its thirteenth year of operations and because of that, we have a large number of students who are now completing their education and launching careers. In September and October 2019, twenty young people got new jobs. Here is a sampling…

Selina, Mary, Cynthia, Lydia, and Ann got jobs as beauticians or nail technicians
Stephen is working as a freelance computer technician
Brian is working in the family business as a meat supplier
Victor and Wycliffe are both working as entrepreneurs
Hellen is working in a health care clinic, registering patients
Margaret and Patrick are both working for Ngong Road Children’s Foundation
Clinton is working as a refrigerator technician and Shammah as a plumber
Vivian got a job in food service at Kenyatta National Hospital

One of the students my husband and I sponsored completed her education about four years ago and informed me over the weekend that she is finally going to officially get her diploma in December. Another that we sponsored will also get his diploma in December and is working as a civil engineer on a water project near Jomo Kenyatta Airport.

Students who finished high school several years ago continue to work to improve their situations. Alice, who finished high school in 2013 and then had a baby, has gotten a part-time job at Safari.com working at corporate-hosted events. Esther, who graduated in 2012, got a new job as a customer service representative for a VIP travel agency.

With each of these stories, we see themes familiar to our own lives. You finish your education, get a job, then perhaps a better job. Sometimes you get sidetracked for a while, but then there is a course correction and a new opportunity comes along.

These are now young adults living normal, productive, middle-class lives in Kenya. They have broken the cycle of poverty and broken free of the slums. This is our mission and in each person who gets a job, we say Mission Accomplished!

Thank you for being part of it, for being patient with students who get side-tracked, and for celebrating with us for each life transformed.

Paula Meyer
Founder and President

November 28, 2016 By Paula Meyer Leave a Comment

Notes from Paula- NRCF Changes

Talented people are the heart of any organization and until this year, Friends of Ngong Road relied almost entirely on the talents of volunteers to handle our work. By the end of 2015, our board concluded we have simply grown to the point that our all-volunteer model had run its course, so we have begun to add paid staff who help with some very important jobs.

Lacey Kraft began working as the Director of Development in January 2016 – our first full-time employee. Although her focus is on development, Lacey has contributed to many projects from updating the website to the newsletter to sponsor renewals. Lacey most recently served in a similar capacity for a domestic abuse shelter in Grand Forks, ND. During her undergraduate years at the University of Minnesota, she spent a semester studying in Kenya where she first became acquainted with Ngong Road Children’s Foundation. Lacey has brought great energy and expertise to the organization and we are thankful for her contributions.

We are also deeply grateful to Jil Bakko. Jil has worked part-time for several years on Friends of Ngong Road’s accounting and audit preparation. She reconciles our accounts, prepares for our annual audit, and ensures our U.S. financials are accurate.

In 2016 we made big changes at Ngong Road Children’s Foundation (NRCF) in Kenya. Our new board chair is Rajpreet Bains. Rajpreet is a human resources professional, having worked for several corporations both in London and Nairobi. She has her own Human Resources consultancy in Nairobi focused on organizational development. Rajpreet has helped fortify governance in Kenya, recruiting new board members, articulating priorities, and ensuring a much more active role for the board of directors of NRCF. Rajpreet and her colleagues are still filling out their board; when they have a full slate we will provide a profile of each of them.

Finally, our new Program Director in Kenya named Maureen Mulievi joined NRCF in August. Maureen has brought a level of professionalism and experience in non-profit organization leadership that we have all appreciated. Before joining NRCF, Maureen was program director for a Planned Parenthood Global project that worked with women in several counties near Nairobi. She is in her mid-30s with two small children; her husband is a high school teacher.

Our organizations have already begun to benefit from the expertise and contributions of the people introduced here, both in the U.S. and Kenya.

Thanks for your ongoing support.

Paula_Signature
Paula Meyer
President, Friends of Ngong Road