Camp 2018 was a success! Over 90% of the NRCA students attended grammar and senior camp. Together with the students, volunteers, and NRCA staff, everyday was a fun, new adventure. Children were able to mingle with old friends and make new friends. They enjoyed nutritional meals and new experiences during field trips. The field trips to William Holden Animal Foundation and Ngare Ndare Forest Trust offered students great exposure to natural resources and the opportunity to learn about conservation. Students were also able to engage in fun sports activities, problem solving games, crazy games and Olympics. There was a great show of team spirit and collaboration during camp!

The camp theme this year was “I am in charge!” One student wrote,“The doctor told her I had already done as much as what they were to do and that really encouraged my dream of becoming a surgeon when I grow up. Since that day I appointed myself in charge of any injuries in the house and treat them very well because the doctors’ saying really enabled me to know how good one feels after helping a patient become normal again.”

Because of you, NRCA students know that they are in charge of their future and their dreams. Thank you for taking charge to make a positive change in the lives of our students.

In Gavin’s essay titled “I Believe I Can,” Gavin describes going to a secondary boarding school and being judged by his peers for coming from the slums. With self awareness and courage, he reached out to his school counselor for help. He writes, “I now view myself as someone born to succeed from a gloomy past…I can be anyone in the society I believe I can.” At camp each year, students write essays about their lives connected to the camp theme. Students often share intimate, powerful parts of their lives. Gavin, John, Edmond, Tina, Tito, and Joyce invite you to read their full essays.

Thanks to you, Derrick found the courage to say “I can” at camp 2017.

Camp 2017 was held near Mt. Kenya, a serene, peaceful part of Kenya. Students rode buses for three and a half hours to the rented boarding school and were anxious to have fun with friends while exploring a new part of their country.

Again this year we saw that camp is one of the most effective community-building parts of the Friends of Ngong Road program. Students, staff, board members, and volunteers were together in one, safe place. Students realized that they are not alone, but are part of the Ngong Road Children Association family.  They got to know their caseworker better. They learned about another culture from several Tulane students and other volunteers who traveled to camp to help conduct the program. They ate three healthy meals a day, learned about topics they do not get in school such as leadership and confidence building, and they had fun.

This year’s camp theme was “I Can.” In Derrick Lihanda’s essay titled “I Believe I Can” that he wrote at camp, he says, “The most difficult problem that I have faced is standing in front of my peers and speaking to them…I came to realize that if I will not change it, it will affect me academically. How I came to overcome this challenge was during the NRCA Camp 2017. I was appointed to be a squad leader. I accepted the leadership but one thing that was in my mind was how will I speak to my peers and the other adults. But through the mentoring from different guests, (I gained) the courage and strategies to overcome this challenges…I really appreciate the 2017 NRCA Camp with the motto, “I Believe I Can,” that motivates most of us to (have the) courage and braveness to overcome challenges as (well) as we can.”

Because of you, Derrick and over 300 students discovered more about what they can do. The $10,000 match was met, and all students who were available to attend camp were given the opportunity to attend. Thank you for caring. Thank you for saying “I Can” send a kid to camp so that students can say “I can transform my life.” Thank you.

Thanks to those who “sent a kid to camp” this year; Camp 2017 is in full swing! The four-day Leadership Camp is wrapping up today and Grammar Camp (students age 10-13) begins tomorrow. Students are packing their warmest clothes as they head to this year’s camp located near Mt. Kenya at Naromoru Girls Secondary School in Nyeri County, which is about a three and a half hour drive from Nairobi where temperatures range 55-70 degrees Fahrenheit during August.

Nine U.S. volunteers arrived safely in Kenya late last week and are actively involved in creating a positive camp experience. They are teaching classes, playing games and building relationships with our students.

While camp is off to a great start, you may have heard about the recent elections in Kenya. The area where camp is being held (and where students, staff and volunteers are staying) has remained calm following the election. On August 15, camp director, Tom Gleason, wrote, “This is a lovely, remote and secure area in which to hold camp. The volunteers and kids traveling to camp have been untouched by the election, and in this place we are quite isolated and secure as a result. The camps are running smoothly.”

Friends of Ngong Road President and Founder, Paula Meyer, wrote this about the organization’s decision to continue with camp 2017: “On August 8, Kenya held elections for positions of President, Members of Parliament and local offices. The following day a small group of people from both Kenya and the U.S. met by Skype to discuss the security situation after the elections with a goal of deciding whether or not to proceed with Camp 2017. Kenya held peaceful elections in 2013 but there was considerable post-election violence in 2007. With just one day having elapsed since the election, formal results were not yet published by the Kenya election board. We heard the perspectives of Rajpreet Bains, Ngong Road Children Foundation board chair and Maureen Mulievi, program director. Rajpreet brought insights from a Kenyan security expert. The biggest risk the team perceived was that there would be isolated violence from supporters of the leading opposition candidate, Raila Odinga. At the time we spoke there had been a few violent episodes, however on balance the country was peaceful – especially in the area near the planned camp. On the basis of our understanding that this trend would continue, we made the decision to proceed with Camp 2017.”

We anticipate the area near camp will remain calm in the coming weeks. Energy will remain high at camp with fun, learning and memories abounding. Check back to our news page and social media for future updates on camp!

If you are interested in helping to make camp possible for years to come through a gift to the Gleason Camp Endowment Fund, or you have questions about this year’s camp, please contact Development Director, Lacey Kraft at lacey@ngongroad.org or 612-568-4211.