Friends of Ngong Road

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

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Grammar Camp 2016 – Building a Community

Grammar Camp for kids ages 10 to 14 was the first camp on the calendar this summer.  It was held at a boarding school on the outskirts of Naivasha, Kenya. First camping experience was memorable, with memorable riding to campsite indicating great fun and enjoyment. Twenty student- and staff leaders and one hundred and twenty ecstatic campers rode three brightly painted buses with loud whistles, music, blowing horns, and more. The energy was contagious, and it was clear that the culture of camp is based around “fun!”

Daily Chores Start the Fun!
Each day at Grammar Camp began with cleaning the dorms, group songs and chants, and a reminder of our goal for the day: to have fun! The kids’ home lives are filled with cleaning, collecting water, walking to school, learning, studying, and more home chores necessary to make the home or boarding school function.

At camp, while still learning and taking care of environment, the kids are not only laughing, running, and singing but also literally jumping for joy due to the ample space they have to express themselves!

Camp is a unique experience to see the true spirit and beauty of the kids in our program.

Visitors from Tulane Helped Out
This year, two professors and three students from the Newcomb College Institute of Tulane University joined us at camp. They led sessions about gender roles, emotional intelligence, and leadership, and participated in crazy games. They built relationships with our students and were a listening ear for many.

lake-naivasha-safari

Mini Safari Made Special
Students had the opportunity to go to Lake Naivasha safari hike and boat ride, observing giraffes, zebras, hippos and more. While sitting by the lake some of the boys gave me a Swahili vocabulary quiz, and I witnessed how this group of kids has truly become a family.; The shared difficult experiences and opportunities through the program create an important bond among the kids.

I had heard about camp is important for community building and for the success of the overall program. I have now seen it first-hand, and it is so true! Camp is a valuable time for our community of kids and caseworkers to continue to grow. Thank you to everyone who made Camp 2016 possible through your gifts to camp.

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FONR Camp Experience – Kenney and Updates

First, a big thank you to all of you who provided economic support for the 2015 Friends of Ngong Road Camp.  As a result of your support Camp 2015 offered more opportunities, more experiences, more learning, and more fun than ever before.  2016 will be another great experience!  Read on to see how you can become a part of it.

Tulane University Partnership Approved!

New this year at the camp were classes and activities taught by Sally J. Kenney, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Newcomb College Institute (NCI) of Tulane University in New Orleans.  The mission of the Institute is to educate undergraduate women about leadership in the 21st century.  Kenney, who sponsors three children with Friends of Ngong Road and has been to Kenya twice, was eager to engage her students globally and curious as to whether younger students in the developing world would find value in NCI’s gender and leadership model.

In 2015, Kenney and NCI’s Senior Program Coordinator, Mailliron Hodge, taught leadership and gender sessions at Leadership Camp, Senior Camp, and Grammar Camp.  They brought with them a wonderful film on Wangari Mathai.

Both the boys and the girls enjoyed the activities and the lessons resonated.  Kenney and Hodge were inundated with campers who wanted to know more about how to learn and enjoyed participating in all of the activities.

Because Kenya is still on the State Department’s Watch List, we all anxiously awaited the outcome of the request to approve a credit course at Tulane for 2016.  Happily, Tulane approved.  Twenty students are enrolled in the preparatory course, taught by Gwen Thompkins, former East African correspondent for NPR.

Kenney and Hodge hope to bring at least five student volunteers to camp.  We hope that Tulane students will broaden the camp curriculum, teach study skills, and mentor our students.  Kenney reported that participating in camp was the most rewarding teaching experience of her life, but she felt saddened to realize that, at age 56, she can no longer truly jump rope.

Camp 2015 Report:

This year, 297 students and 32 volunteers, many of whom were NRCF post-secondary students, actively participated in the camp.

Ali Kildahl

Leadership Camp: 

Forty Ngong Road Children’s Foundation students were accepted as counselors for this year’s camp.  They displayed remarkable leadership
skills as they worked their way through the three-day curriculum including teaching the principles of effective leadership.

This interactive learning experience is focused upon a deepened understanding of good leadership characteristics, practicing leadership skills, understanding the responsibilities and tasks of being a camp counselor, and introducing the idea of using and working with emotional leadership.

The counselors also developed solutions to camp issues (such as cellphone use) and implemented them during Camp 2015.  The interactive learning sessions were favorites. A volunteer in the NRCF Post-Secondary program expressed their fourth opportunity to participate in Leadership Camp.  I have learned a lot at each of them, but this year was the best yet, I learned so much!”

Malliron Hodge

Grammar Camp:

112 campers attended Grammar Camp 2015, which took place outside of Nairobi at the St. Francis Xavier School, just like the Leadership and Senior camps.

 It was the first time we have held Grammar Camp in a rural area, and the kids loved the fresh air, especially the boat ride on Lake Naivasha.    They also enjoyed the many “crazy games” and relays at camp.  However, my favorite activity in both Grammar and Senior Camp was the making of tie-dye T-shirts.  This complicated art project was the brainchild of Margaret Pfeffer who attended her fifth camp as Art Director.  Her amazing talents resulted in over 300 camper-dyed T-shirts with nary a mishap!

Kids Camp:

Seventeen of our youngest students attended Kids Camp this year.  We conducted this one-day excursion at a wonderful amusement park in Nairobi.  The kids loved the games and especially the rides!

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Letter From Nairobi – 2015 camps

Dear Friends, This has been a busy time here in Nairobi at Ngong Road Children’s Foundation and camps are near.

Impact of Karibu Loo and employment on our students

Karibu Loo has been a great platform for job opportunities for our students. Getting entry-level jobs here in Kenya can take quite some time and is usually necessary before one gets a permanent job. The work experience has also helped our students to become productive and responsible citizens in our country.

[Read more…]