Friends of Ngong Road

We empower Nairobi children living in poverty to transform their lives through education and support, leading to employment.

By Leave a Comment

Dan’s Visit to Nairobi

Traveling to Kenya for the first time is an experience that is hard to capture in words. As Paula often says, “we have to get you to Kenya,” and now I fully understand why. The week was remarkable in every way—equal parts energizing, humbling, and inspiring. I return to the U.S. with deep gratitude for what our community of Friends of Ngong Road has built and for the extraordinary team at the Ngong Road Children’s Foundation (NRCF), whose professionalism, energy, and commitment to our mission left me so confident in our future.

One of the highlights was attending Saturday Program, where nearly 150 kids gathered for “crazy games.” I joined a relay race involving balloons and, despite being the self-proclaimed “slow American,” my team pulled off the win. These moments of laughter and connection reminded me that our mission is not only about education and opportunity but also about joy, resilience, and community.

In every classroom I visited, every story I heard, and every handshake I received, I saw the tangible impact of your support. This video captures just a fraction of that journey, but I hope it conveys the same sense of awe, gratitude, and possibility that I carried home.

By Leave a Comment

Best Innovator at Sustainability Youth Summit

RoseAnn joined Ngong Road Children’s Foundation (NRCF)in 2007 as one of the beneficiaries for the education program from primary school, through Secondary School to  University. She pursued a Bachelor’s  Degree in Geospatial Information Science with IT, a course that girls have always shied from. She has had various working experiences with Kenya National Highways Authority, Digireg  Kenya as a data operator, and an Intern with the ICT Authority, where she worked on e-waste management projects.

Roseann was recently honored as the  Best individual innovator. for her pioneering project, Turning Trash into Credits:, during a youth sustainability summit at Karatina University on May 23rd.  She was privileged to showcase this initiative to the Principal Secretary – State Department for Energy, alongside stakeholders from the private and development sector, and students from secondary and tertiary institutions.

Roseann is tackling Kenya’s growing e-waste crisis by merging technology with sustainability and social inclusion. Her initiative, currently in its pilot phase, in partnership with the ICT Authority, the National Environment Management Authority, and the WEEE Centre, uses a digital platform to incentivize responsible e-waste disposal by awarding carbon credits to participating companies/individuals. The project not only aligns with Kenya’s National Climate Action Plan but also supports SDGs 3, 5, 12, and 13, empowering informal recyclers, especially women, and promoting environmental health.

She has already trained over 200 informal recyclers in slum areas and diverted 15 tons of e-waste.

We are inspired by Roseann’s leadership and commitment to driving sustainable impact and are proud to see NRCF alumni leading Kenya towards a greener future.

By Leave a Comment

Sponsor portal improvements 

The sponsor portal is the online platform to connect with your sponsored students. On the portal, you can exchange e-letters, video messages, and photos. You can also easily access your student’s school marks, and more resources on how to connect with your student. 

We’ve recognized different areas of the portal that can be made more user-friendly and efficient. One challenge that sponsors with multiple students have faced when accessing the portal. Issues such as slow launch times and frequent timeouts have been particularly problematic for sponsors with several students. These performance issues highlighted the need for an improved portal that provides a faster and more efficient user experience.

Portal Home Page

In response to these challenges, we have implemented significant improvements to enhance portal performance. The upgraded portal now features a home page where sponsors will see a list of all their students, organized by school year. Sponsors can easily click on the student they wish to correspond with, and the portal will load only that student’s data. This significantly reduces load times, ensuring a smoother and quicker experience. 

You will notice all student profiles look different, by first showing correspondence, photos and finally school marks. You can click on the down arrows to immediately bring you to the section you want. The student assessments have been removed from the portal for student privacy, in accordance with a new Kenyan privacy law. 

Student Profile

These optimizations mark a crucial step in our ongoing efforts to improve portal usability for both sponsors and students. In the future, you will continue to see improvements and changes to the portal in accordance with the new Kenyan privacy law. You will continue to be updated as changes are made. If you have any questions about the portal, or issues using it, please contact Naomi, the Donor Relations Associate at naomi@ngongroad.org. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to make the portal better for everyone.

By Leave a Comment

Friends Make It Happen!

Friends of Ngong Road has grown via a network of friends and colleagues who are committed to our mission of supporting life transformation via education and support, leading to employment.

We have a new fundraising method that will enable our supporters to reach their friends and families to ask for their support of our programs and student sponsorship goals. 

With this tool, you can have your own profile on our website that  describes why you are committed to our mission and the students in our program. You can set a goal to recruit  sponsors for new students or funds for a specific initiative.

We invite you to check out the profiles and consider participating. This personal approach gives your friends and contacts a direct way to engage with Friends of Ngong Road. With your help, we can reach our student sponsorship goals and grow our network of supporters.

Be our Friend:

Being a Friend is easy to do! Click here to get started or email naomi@ngongroad.org for more information.

By Leave a Comment

Our students need school supplies!

Please donate today. We have raised $11,000, and have a long way to go to reach our $50,000 goal. Our students started a new school year, and need school supplies. 

Boarding school is the norm for secondary students and some primary students in Kenya. We have over 100 students in our program who attend boarding school. 

These students are allowed a trunk with all of their personal belongings and school supplies. They need their trunks filled three times a year with basic items not covered through sponsorships such as:

  • Towels and bedding
  • Feminine hygiene products
  • Washtub and laundry soap
  • Complete toiletries, including shampoo, soap, and toothpaste.
  • Toilet paper
  • Pencils, pens, etc.

Helping our students fill their trunks is a tangible way to show support. Your donation helps our students have the tools they need to succeed and the confidence that comes from having the same supplies as their peers.

DONATE