Newsletter Archives - Friends of Ngong Road

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 Carole Patrikakos Leave a Comment

An Incredible Trip

My first trip to Nairobi was an exceptional experience in community and capacity building. The focus of my two weeks was spent on understanding the staff’s work, interacting with the students, and visiting board members. My biggest takeaway is the sense of community that welcomes the students and their families when they join the NRCF (Ngong Road Children’s Foundation) community. They are embraced with joy and high expectations.

The new Elimu Hub student center is busy! Lucy Iguri (in blue) and Victor Wambua have made creative and professional contributions to the library collection, including tagging the books per a system emulated from another library, and developing a Google Form for book tracking and checkout. Lucy developed guidelines to address how to curate and manage the collection. Pictured is a group of students who spied a new pile of books on Lucy’s desk and pressed her to enter them into the system so they could start reading!

Between one-to-one meetings, Saturday Program, lunches, and weekend activities, I was able to get to know the individual NRCF and KLL (Karibu Loo) staff members and have the privilege of hearing their stories. The most impressionable stories were those with the staff who are also program alumni.

Here are two NRCF alumni entrepreneurs: Patrick and Leonard!

Delivering loos with John and Martin, both NRCF beneficiaries.

Meeting former board member Edna with Callen and family. Visiting Kelvin’s son Taj.

At Saturday Program, I could see the layers of connectedness between Case Managers, students, and supportive people such as the Saturday Program cook and nurse. The children radiate delight at having games, activities, and books that they would not otherwise be able to access. The students in the red shirts are the choir.

Shanice is a newly sponsored student. She took a book home from Saturday program, and when she came with her mother to pick up her uniform, Alice said she read it to her sister all evening. Here she is coming back for more! Future librarian?!

Being immersed in the NRCF community solidified for me why I was compelled to join this organization. We provide equal opportunity to children who, due to economic disparities, would not otherwise believe that they would obtain a college education. Their beaming faces project a sense of security in a circle of supportive peers, mentors, and caregivers among whom they grow up.

September 14, 2022 By Sallyanne Atieno Leave a Comment

Graduation Stories

Francis

“Success is and will never be an activity, rather, it is a process”. These were the exact words spoken by Francis on his big day, his graduation day. Francis, our most recent graduate, joined the program in 2010 as a young boy, full of ambitions. He not only completed his studies but also graduated with a degree.

Francis joined Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in September 2017. He pursued a Bachelor of Science in Zoology, specializing in animal physiology, which entails studying how animals function and their life processes. He has always been a lover of animals. He completed his degree in December 2021 and graduated on the 28th of July 2022.

He was an intern at Bimeda Kenya, a leading global manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of animal health products and veterinary pharmaceuticals, as a sales representative for 3 months. Francis currently has two internship options, to either renew his internship contract with Bimeda or to join one of our employment initiatives, the Techmates program. He hopes to be able to put his skills and knowledge into action and add value to any place that he goes to.

Shaleen

Shaleen has always been a focused and hardworking girl since she joined the program in 2010. Her dedication and resilience finally paid off when she was able to wear a graduation gown, a dream she has always had. On her graduation day, she had lots of emotions, but most importantly, she was proud of herself for being consistent all through her studies.

Shaleen joined the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology in May 2018 after completing her high school studies in 2017. She pursued a degree in Bachelor of Commerce and specialized in accounting, an area that she really enjoyed as business studies were among her favorite subjects in high school. The program took 4 years to complete and on the 17th of December 2021, she finally graduated.

She is currently working as a temporary finance assistant at the Christian Health Association of Kenya (CHAK). When asked about her aspirations, Shaleen said that she hopes to complete the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) course, earn the accredited title, venture into the audit

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