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 24, 2021 By Steve Kotvis Leave a Comment

Vaccination Low. Economic Uncertainty High.

In the U.S. and Europe, COVID-19 vaccination rates are approaching 50 percent. Daily routines are beginning to return to some semblance of normal. Meanwhile, in Kenya, the vaccination rate hovers between 0.5 to 5 percent. Projections of reaching just 10 percent by the end of the year taint cause a real sense of uncertainty. Unprotected, the lingering threat of the Delta (India) variant is as real as the almost predictable electrical power brownouts that roll through Nairobi slums. 

Kelvin Thuku, Program Manager at Ngong Road Children’s Foundation, reports mixed reactions and impacts on schools’ reopening since May 1. Being back to school presents itself as a very new normal. All students are still required to wear masks and social distancing is a must. These conditions have affected personal interactions and school time is intensely focused on the classroom curriculum. There’s a lot of catching up to do after missing nine months of the 2020 school year. So extracurricular activities are highly curtailed. 

For primary school students, opening up schools was great, even with the restrictions. Young kids were getting bored at home all day during the shutdown. They are excited to spend their days at school with their friends and then return home at night. 

It’s another story for older students, especially those attending boarding school. Last year’s break made it more challenging for young adults to leave their homes and go back to boarding school life. Their families are struggling financially, and boarding school life restrictions are reminders of what their families back home are trying to manage. Many secondary students found casual labor to help support their family’s economic hardships created by the pandemic. They are worried for their families and concerned that they should be helping sustain their families’ well-being. For some, returning to the streets of the slum last year meant they were exposed to drugs and alcohol, which became a problem. 

Returning to the isolated and strict boarding school lifestyle was challenging. COVID-19’s impact is felt by NRCF students and nationally. Disciplinary problems and expulsions are on the rise. NRCF has already had two at-risk cases reach the organization’s Disciplinary Committee in just six weeks, including one expulsion, and two more are on the docket to be heard. It usually would see just two or three of these extreme cases in a school year.  

Beyond education, COVID-19’s impact has harshly impacted the local economy, confirmed in a recent NPR story. Gross Domestic Product economic figures show a sharp 5 percent decline during the pandemic versus a standard rate of 5 percent growth. The impact has especially hit the informal economy, where most NRCF families earn their incomes. An already vulnerable population is living in an ever more unstable economic environment. Likewise, several alumni and recent post-secondary graduates report that their employment contracts were terminated last year. Job prospects are weak and uncertain as employers are wary of adding staff after experiencing multiple national shutdowns and reopenings over the past year. 

Scare of a fourth wave of shutdowns in July looms. As long as the vast majority of the population is unvaccinated, the economy is at risk, and employers will try to do more with fewer employees. One fortunate alumnus remains employed as a barista. But with half of the staff cut at the company, he’s doing double shifts. NRCF alumni team members continue to do what they can to retain relationships with employers for potential job openings. But new graduates are admittedly unclear and uncertain about what the future holds.

NRCF is pleased to report that its students or immediate family members experienced no direct cases of COVID-19 despite these challenges. The organization continues to strictly adhere to and enforce government health and safety guidelines among its staff and students.  

For a complete audio version of an interview with Kelvin, on which this article is based, please visit the Illumini Podcast, Episode 18.

November 4, 2020 By Steve Kotvis Leave a Comment

The Sponsor/Student Portal Experience

Since its inception, Friends of Ngong Road has operated with the principle of establishing one-on-one relationships between sponsors and students. Up to this point, relationships were created largely by encouraging communications, namely exchanges of letters and materials sent through the mail or hand-carried between the U.S. and Kenya. This past year, the organization enhanced the ability for sponsors and students to become connected by establishing the Sponsor/Student Portal. 

While still a new tool for many to yet explore, the possibilities of how the Sponsor/Student Portal may be used still seem limitless. And especially in this time of Covid-19 imposed realities — where distance learning, social isolation, and many of us are learning to embrace technology to connect (who hasn’t joined a Zoom call?) — we thought it was a good idea to have a conversation with a sponsor and student who have pioneered its use. 

That led us to a Zoom conversation with FONR sponsor Jeri Pearcy who (along with her husband Jeff lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) sponsors their student Perpetual in Nairobi. 

Our conversation (available in its entirety here on Illumini Podcast) resulted in a wonderful conversation, starting with how they first met in 2008 and continuing with how they have shared letters through the mail over the years. Today, both Perpetual and Jeri are coping with the pandemic. A wonderful insight was revealed, learning that they both generally shared the same attitude about living amidst the new realities of living with Covid-19, regardless of how different their living conditions were. 

The conversation about the use of the Sponsor/Student Portal revealed how both Perpetual and Jeri were testing the waters with the technology, but at this point found it easy and convenient to use. They appreciated confirming the quickness of sending and receiving emails, but also are interested in sharing more photos, news articles, and school assignments. Jeri is a retired nurse practitioner and teacher, and Perpetual is focused on post-secondary education as a systems and business analyst.  

The discussion included ways both Jeri as a sponsor and Perpetual as a sponsored student have benefited from their connections thanks to Friends of Ngong Road.   The energy between the connection is hard to express in written form, but in conducting this Zoom session, the loving energy was virtually palatable. We hope you enjoy listening in!

April 14, 2020 By Steve Kotvis Leave a Comment

New COVID-19 Updates Page

Dear friends,

This week we are launching the “COVID-19 Updates” page on the Friends of Ngong Road website. So much is rapidly changing. Practically every moment we are trying to understand this pandemic from our own perspective and experiences and from the perspectives and experiences of others. We are adjusting to this new reality, and we are doing so together as a global community, with the realization that many of our human responses are shared.

We created “COVID-19 Updates” with the purpose of strengthening our connections. Our aim is to keep one another connected by providing updates on the well-being of our children and their families in Nairobi, as well as connecting fellow sponsors and supporters from around the globe. Here you will find timely and relevant updates on physical, emotional, nutritional, and financial issues. We will let you know what the organizations’ actions, plans, and priorities are, as well as ways you can help. And, as in all communities, it’s about supporting one another. 

For the past couple of weeks we’ve shared what our priorities are today; ensuring our children and their families are adequately nourished. We started by diverting resources and asking for help in supporting the Food from Friends campaign. 

We hope this page becomes the place where you can return for continued connection, read weekly updates, hear, watch and read personal stories coming from Nairobi, and discover ways you can help and be connected through the months ahead. Please visit www.ngongroad.org and click on the “COVID-19 Updates” button right in the middle of the home page. 

Having visited the program and children in Nairobi four times since 2012 as a photographer, videographer, and podcaster, I have learned that we each live what we believe to be our own “normal” lives and that some of those normals are as different as night and day. But, the lesson today’s pandemic may teach us all is we all are living a “new normal.” And wouldn’t it be wonderful if that included us being just a bit more connected, regardless of where we’re living?

Steve Kotvis
Volunteer

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Friends of Ngong Road
100 1st St S #581308
Minneapolis, MN 55458
(612) 568-4211 | info@ngongroad.org

EIN: 20-4690846

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