Victor Wambua, Author at Friends of Ngong Road

March 23, 2023 By Victor Wambua Leave a Comment

National Exams Results

The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) is the final exam that Kenyan high school students take before graduating. The exam is crucial because it determines if a student will attend a four-year university, a two-to three-year college, or a trade school.

The KCSE national exam was a little different in 2022 for a couple of reasons. One reason is the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted learning in Kenya, particularly in 2020 and 2021. Many students were absent from class due to lockdowns, school closures, and quarantine measures. The government attempted to mitigate the pandemic’s impact by offering online classes and broadcasting studies on radios and televisions. The other reason for the difference is the introduction of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), which is being phased in gradually and will fully replace the current system in 2027.

The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) administered the 2022 KCSE over three weeks in November 2022. The exams assessed students’ understanding and mastery of a variety of subjects, including Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, History, and Geography.

The KNEC officially released the KCSE results for the 2022 cohort in late January 2023. The exam was taken by 881,416 people in total, 28 of our students among them. We once again had a student, Boaz, receive a grade of A-, which is one of the highest grades a student can receive. Six of our students will be pursuing degree programs at various universities, 12 will be pursuing diploma programs at various colleges, and the rest will be able to pursue a certification program of their choice.

One intriguing aspect of this cohort is that five of our students are already interested in pursuing computer-related courses. All interested students will participate in a three-month Web Development Boot Camp, which may entice even more students to enroll in STEM-related courses. As they wait to enroll in their various post-secondary institutions, the students will participate in other programs such as Life Skills training, career counseling, volunteer work, and other special programs.

December 7, 2022 By Victor Wambua Leave a Comment

Karibu Loo Digital Marketing

In an effort to help Karibu Loo Ltd (the for-profit company created by Friends of Ngong Road to provide employment for our graduates and create a revenue source to support our mission) gain more visibility and boost traffic to our refreshed website, we have been running two digital marketing campaigns. The website refresh and ad campaigns are executed by members and graduates of the TechMates training program on our campus in Nairobi.

Google Ads are the cornerstone of our marketing

In March 2021, Karibu Loo launched a Google Ads campaign. The Google Ads program enables users to create online ads that reach targeted audiences interested in the offered products and services.

After a “start-up” period, the campaign was a success, driving a significant increase in call volume and resulting in stronger business performance.

Year-to-date, we have received over one million impressions, garnered over nineteen thousand clicks, and achieved 282 conversions (conversions are artificially depressed because customers are able to call us directly without being measured by Google). Using these metrics, the Google Ads program is Karibu Loo’s most successful digital marketing campaign.

Facebook Ads are proving to be very successful

Karibu Loo began testing Facebook ads in 2021 on its Facebook page. Ads ran featuring our loos and various offers and headlines (see the three examples below). For very low expenditure ($8.00 – $10.00 USD weekly) we received very satisfactory weekly impressions (between 2000 and 8000), high click-through rates, and several direct contacts. This led us to believe that a full Facebook ads campaign had merit.

They launched the full Facebook campaign after Kenya’s August 2022 general election. Since its inception, the campaign has contributed significantly to Karibu Loo’s brand visibility. Our own U.S.-based creative genius volunteers, Steve Kotvis and Paul Schupanitz, created the campaign, focusing on our program graduates who work full- or part-time as “Associates” for Karibu Loo.

With the tagline ‘Use our loos and educate too’ and a photo of Associates/program graduates (see the three examples below). The campaign fueled Karibu Loo’s Facebook growth, gathering 70k users, securing 2k likes, and strengthening community engagement. Most of these ads are reaching 20,000 – 35.000 viewers weekly and generate between 100 and 500 “likes” each. The more people who “like” our page, the easier it is for others to discover our brand.

The TechMate assigned to Karibu Loo (Tabitha) presents the results of both campaigns at our weekly Karibu Loo staff meetings. She, along with other TechMates, refreshed the Karibu Loo website, improved our SEO (Search Engine Optimization) status, and continually refine our Google Ads and keyword usage.

Karibu Loo is very proud of these successful campaigns.

September 14, 2022 By Victor Wambua Leave a Comment

Elimu Hub is being well-utilized

The new Elimu hub student center includes a computer laboratory and library to provide learning activities and resources for our students.

Primary students take weekly computer classes

There are many benefits of introducing computers to children at an early age. It prepares them for future usage in many professional fields that require these skills. It increases their self-esteem, builds self-confidence, and boosts their problem-solving skills. Students from Nelson Mandela (near the campus) are able to attend during the school week while other students receive intensive exposure on the weekends.

Creative classes on Saturday i.e. Canvas & Coding

As part of the Saturday Program, we are introducing creative computer classes where primary students are taught to use creative tools such as Canvas to create decorative posts for sponsors and to learn basic coding skills.

Internet – Web surfing and student/sponsor communication portal

The students are taught how to use the internet to do school research within their level and how to access and log in to their portals to write/reply to sponsor messages and access their photos and other resources in the portal.

Secondary students attend advanced courses

WordPress training

Secondary students are required to attend computer classes during their holiday including a WordPress course. At the end of the training, they are required to build their online portfolios/websites. The training acts as preparation for the training course with Belmont College after high school.

Internet – Web surfing, NRCF Communication portal, and Google mail

The students are taught how to use the internet to do school research and learn to use the Google Suite tools such as Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Sheets. They are taught to access and log in to their student/sponsor portal to send sponsor messages and access their photos and other resources.

Post-secondary students attend formal courses and do research

High school grads computer training– The two-month training program by Belmont International College will be conducted in our computer lab, which is now equipped with new and fast desktops (thank you to all that helped to fund these needed computers).

Research space for students

The computer lab is open to all students and alumni of the program to conduct research or do assignments. Students use the computers in the lab to access the communication portal to send and receive emails to and from their sponsors.

Library is a place for discovery

School textbooks & revision materials.

The library, with the help of the new Kenyan curriculum project leader, is in the process of identifying school textbooks for all school levels that align with the new curriculum.

Storybooks/novels

Currently, the library has various genres that students borrow and read within our premises. This activity continues in the new library with a plan of adding more.

Library support

The librarian ensures each student borrows a book at least once every school term. A report is issued each year indicating how many books each student has read. Each student completes a questionnaire upon returning the book to encourage the student to read their story books.

Art and Design

Art and design stimulate creativity and imagination, providing visual and sensory experiences and a special way of understanding and responding to issues. Through learning about the roles and functions of art, students can explore the impact it has had on contemporary life.

The students will have access to materials that they cannot access from home and are limited at school. They will be able to:

Showcase their artwork to sponsors. For example; drawing, cardmaking, flower making using different materials, etc
Record first-hand experiences or their imaginative ideas to use in their work.
Develop creativity and imagination through a range of complex activities
Increase their critical awareness and boost their confidence and have fun.

Reading and study space

Most of our students’ homes are not conducive to studying. The library space is utilized by students during holidays and weekends for reading, studying, and assignments. Students also come for assistance with their assignments from TechMates interns.

Students will have read-aloud and around sessions, where they will be able to share lessons, terms, and group book reading. Book club sessions, “Little Gurus”, for grades 5 and 6 students will resume.

September 14, 2022 By Victor Wambua 1 Comment

Notes From Paula

Dear friends,

I had the pleasure of visiting Nairobi from June 23 – 30 for the first time since February 2020. This was my 26th trip to Kenya and I left with three major impressions related to our work through Ngong Road Children’s Foundation (NRCF).

Leadership is everything. I believe that organizations grow and thrive when they are well-led. We have been working toward developing effective leadership in Kenya that is both a reflection of Kenyan culture yet also responsive to American leadership norms. Kelvin Thuku (Programme Manager for NRCF) and his leadership team are doing an excellent job of leading the organization and it shows. Our staff is long-tenured and mature. It is clear that they have built a culture where team members bring their best ideas to work and feel comfortable tackling challenging problems.

I observed the team discuss issues in our post-secondary program; they were clear on the problems to be solved and very vocal about solutions. I visited the Saturday Program and saw a well-organized, orderly program for 150 elementary-age students. We had many programs running concurrently while I was in Kenya – computer training for recent high school graduates, parent meetings for post-secondary students, Life Skills training, etc. – and it all worked smoothly.

Get educated and get a job. We have done well in helping students get educated, yet we know we have room for improvement in supporting alumni on their employment journey. We conducted our 2nd Alumni Survey in late June and learned that 51% of graduates had a job at the time of the survey, 80% had one or more jobs in the past 12 months and 72% of alumni are supporting other family members. These results are modestly improved from 2021. While I was there, our new Employment Services Manager (Martha Otieno) began her job. She brings strong skills and background in workforce development and good understanding of the employment market in Nairobi. I expect she will have a positive impact on employment among our alumni.

Even if a student’s path leaves the main road, they find a way. I spent time with many alumni while in Nairobi, including at least 10 whose education journey was less than we hoped for. In every case, I found young adults who have grown, are more mature, and are piecing a life together. Some are back in the slums, but they have one or more businesses or are employed. If there are children, they are in school. Some are working in the gig economy and earning a living by doing several things like contract workers in our economy. Some are looking for a better job or getting more education or trying to move out of contract employment to more permanent jobs. Most of them are building on the education they earned; they are determined and succeeding.

Sometimes the road taken is not straight. We have 183 alumni from this program whose lives are better than they would have been without education. In most cases, alumni are building a life and by the time they get into their 20s, they understand the incredible gift they have been given. Thank you to each and every one of you who have helped these students in their journey.

Warmly,

Paula