2019 July Archives - Friends of Ngong Road

July 18, 2019 By Lacey Kraft Leave a Comment

Meet the Ngong Road Children’s Foundation Board of Directors

The board of our sister organization in Kenya, Ngong Road Children’s Foundation (NRCF), has dramatically strengthened its support and involvement over the last few years. The board in Kenya meets every other month to provide oversight and governance to the program and plays a direct role in helping graduates secure jobs by deploying their personal and professional networks. They additionally give of their time and energy by volunteering at camp, the Life Skills Program and other special events. The Ngong Road Children’s Foundation Board of Directors includes:

Patrick Kyalo. Patrick joined the NRCF board in April 2019. Patrick holds a Bachelors of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Nairobi, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Resources Management from the Kenya Institute of Management, and certificates in public relations, counselling and project management. He is currently undertaking a Masters of Science in Human Resources Management at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology.

Patrick has experience managing human resource programs and strengthening organization systems in Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan. He is currently working at Christian Health Association of Kenya. He has previously worked with Amref Health Africa (Kenya), OXFAM Great Britain (Kenya, South Sudan, and DRC), and Intrahealth International through the USAID Capacity Kenya Project (Kenya).

Patrick’s main focus as an NRCF board member is human capital development and management and NGO capacity support. He provides advisory and policy guidance on human resources and institutional compliance matters. He is also interested in talent development and management, partnerships with potential training institutions and employment services for graduates.

Patrick is motivated to volunteer for NRCF as he is inspired by the vision and mission of NRCF and because he wants to give back to the society through making the children and other stakeholders feel worthy, loved and dignified. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is in the service of others.’’

Robert Murimi. Robert joined the NRCF board in 2016 and was elected to be the board chair in January 2019. He holds a Masters of Business Administration in Marketing and Strategic Management from the United States International University – San Diego Campus (California, U.S.), and a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration (Marketing Option) from the United States International University – Nairobi Campus (Nairobi, Kenya).

Robert is currently working as Chief Trainer/Lead Consultant at Impact Change Ltd. and has been there since 2009. He previously worked as an Associate Consultant (Business and Marketing) at Consultants for Effective Training Ltd., Marketing Director at Alfagen Furnishers Ltd., Marketing and Operations Manager at Art Ltd., and Area Manager (Eastern Division) at Gestetner Ltd.

In his service to NRCF as board chair, Robert focuses on program implementation, policy development, and leads the board to ensure strategic plans are successfully implemented and objectives achieved. Robert is also actively involved in alumni development, youth leadership and mentorship, and supports students in grades 8 and 12 who are taking their final exams by helping them learn goal setting and studying techniques.

Robert is motivated by the desire to touch peoples’ lives positively, especially the young ones. He is excited when their lives are transformed through programs with which he is involved.

Catherine Naliaka. Catherine joined the NRCF board in April 2019. Catherine holds a Bachelors in Education, a Masters of Science in Maternal and Child Health, a Masters of Arts in Child Development, a Diploma in Human Resources, a Diploma in Counseling, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Project Planning and Management. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Child and Youth Development.

Catherine brings extensive experience in program development and NGO management having worked with Compassion International, Kenya since January 2000 where she has served in many roles. Currently, she serves in the Global Compassion International Office in Survival and Early Childhood.

Prior to joining Compassion, Catherine was a Lecturer at Kenya Polytechnic University College and worked as a Research Fellow for the University of Nairobi on a number of research projects.

In her role on the NRCF board, Catherine supports child management and compliance issues. She is also involved in NGO capacity support by ensuring NRCF’s objectives continue to be met in a manner that safeguards the interests of the children.

Catherine is married to James Ondeng’ and they are parents to Immanuel, 23 years-old. She and her husband serve in their local church, and she loves to serve as a part-time nanny in an HIV/AIDS children’s orphan home. She is passionate about supporting less fortunate children who come from families affected by HIV/AIDs, and that motivates her to work with NRCF.

Judy Nyaga. Judy joined the NRCF board in 2018. She has 18 years of legal and corporate governance experience in the banking industry and is currently the Regional Head for Subsidiary Governance in Africa & Middle East for Standard Chartered Bank. In this role, Judy is responsible for driving high standards of corporate governance across Standard Chartered Bank’s subsidiaries in the Africa & Middle East regions.

Judy holds an Honors Degree in Law from the University of Nairobi and a Post-Graduate Degree in International Commercial Law from the University of Nottingham. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Strathmore Business School in Nairobi. Judy is a Certified Public Secretary and has passed the examinations required for registration as a Certified Public Accountant. Judy is also a 2015 Eisenhower Fellow.

As an NRCF board member, Judy supports the board in providing guidance and challenge to the NRCF management team to ensure objectives continue to be met. Judy’s background in law and corporate governance enables her to provide insights to the board in its oversight of legal and governance risks.

Additionally, Judy created a book club with some of the NRCF upper-primary school girls. The book club was set-up to enable the girls to learn life lessons through storybooks, to improve their oratory skills, and to build their confidence in speaking before an audience of their peers.

NRCF’s vision of supporting the education of underprivileged children impacted by HIV/AIDs resonates greatly with Judy because she knows the difference a good education has made in her own life. Serving on the board and mentoring girls through the book club enables Judy in a small way to contribute to the education and wellbeing of vulnerable children.

Anupa Sanghrajka. Anupa joined the NRCF board in 2018. She is a chartered accountant by profession and holds a Bachelors of Science (Honors) in Management. Currently, she is working in a family business based in Nairobi dealing with building products and interiors and property development. Previously, Anupa worked for KPMG in London in the Financial Audit and Advisory Department.

Anupa’s main responsibilities as an NRCF board member are to ensure the financial controls and processes are in line with best practice. She participates in monthly financial review meetings to understand the financials and provide support where required.

Being born and brought up in Kenya, Anupa has always wanted to be involved in organizations that make an impact on the less fortunate. She believes that education is a tool to ensure a sustainable long-term impression, and this is what really attracted her to NRCF. Anupa’s aim is also to transfer the business skills learned in the corporate world to NRCF.

Aruna Varsani. Aruna joined the NRCF board in April 2019. She is currently the Director of Montessori Plus Center Kindergarten and College in Nairobi and has been a part of Amref Health Africa and the Nairobi Cooking Club.

Aruna is trained in Early Childhood Teaching and Care from Gems School of Management and Montessori Plus Center.

On the NRCF board, Aruna focuses on of education programming part of the organization. She provides policy guidelines and recommendations on how to maximize the education opportunity NRCF is offering the sponsored children. Aruna also helps review project reports and policies.

Aruna is motivated to volunteer for NRCF as it is and has always been her pleasure to work for and help the needy ones. Seeing people deprived of facilities and resources due to poverty really motivated her to help care for others. Her interest is mainly on children’s education. Her goal is to see that all children are given equal rights in education and have a future whereby they can sustain themselves.

July 1, 2019 By Michon Garrett Leave a Comment

Notes from Paula – July 2019

Dear Friends,

I get to hear stories regularly about how lives are changed because of your support and the work of Friends of Ngong Road. It is one of the greatest honors of my life to hear young people share how their lives are transformed.

Eric Badi became one of our first university graduates this spring. Eric’s father died from AIDS and his mother made a few dollars a day as a hairdresser in the slums. Eric graduated from Kenyatta University with a Degree in Business Commerce while working part-time. Eric has overcome more than most of us can imagine. He is one of the most hard-working, determined people I have ever met. Eric continues to work in his current position while seeking a better job that takes advantage of his newly-earned degree.

To support growth of our program, we are using 2019 to pilot our new Ambassador Program. Eight volunteers have been agreed to be our first Ambassadors: Janis Heaney, Nicole Hillman, Sam Jensen, Alli Kildahl, Margaret Pfeffer, Barbara Scharf, Judy Skoglund, and Leah Switzer. These generous volunteers have all had a good experience with the program and have agreed to use their personal and professional networks to bring new people to Friends of Ngong Road. Each Ambassador commits to recruiting 2 new sponsors and raising $2,000 annually for two years. We are working hard to support their efforts. If you are interested in learning more about what it means to be an Ambassador, please contact Lacey at [email protected]

We are a few weeks away from sending nearly 350 students to summer camp, students’ favorite time of the year. I am delighted to report that the Camp Appeal has met the match this year! Sincere thanks to Colin and Wendy Lundgren for making this match possible again.

This fall we will welcome Kelvin Thuku, the assistant program director from our sister organization in Kenya, for the Annual Gathering on September 30 at Surly in Minneapolis.

In Kenya, the board of directors of our sister organization, Ngong Road Children’s Foundation, has dramatically strengthened its support and involvement with the program, giving U.S. supporters encouragement that Kenyans are committed to helping Kenyans succeed and gain meaningful employment. Friends of Ngong Road is investing in the capacity of the staff in Kenya with the hope that by building more effective leaders we will build our capacity to invest in more young Kenyans in the future.

We know raising children anywhere in the world takes a village. Thank you to each of you for being a part of our village.

President and Founder

June 28, 2019 By Michon Garrett Leave a Comment

A reflection on Camp – By: Alli Kildahl

Teaching social studies in Minnesota does not necessarily prepare you for everything NRCF camp has to offer. Last August I traveled to camp for the 5th time to help out. More and more this means that I again become humbled by everything I still don’t know about Swahili and Kenyan culture, so I get to look to the best guides available: our amazing Kenyan staff and students.

LEADERSHIP CAMP

I often lead a simulation activity with students who are learning about government in my Civics classes in Minnesota. I tell them we all live in a place called Sheeptown together; impenetrable and scary Mountains of Death surround us, but we have everything we need in our town: sheep, grass, trees, fresh water, and each other. One morning, we wake up to find that one of the students is missing a sheep (we start with 20) – and in its place is a spot of blood on the grass and a few tufts of fur snagged on the trees. Wolves.

Students then have to talk out their plan. My only purpose is to advance the story for them based on their choose-your-own-adventure discussion. The punchline is that however they decide to deal with the wolves, they usually wind up creating a governmental structure of some kind without realizing it – and thus they (hopefully) learn the purpose of government. I claim no credit for this lesson. I filched it from another teacher and the kids always do all the work. But at Leadership Camp, Sheeptown was a whole new ball game.

First, it became immediately apparent that our NRCF student leaders are experts on the natural world. They sat in a circle facing each other and threw out ideas almost faster than I could process them. We’re talking great ideas: protect the sheep with a fence or a hut; hunt the wolves; set traps for the wolves; dig a moat around Sheeptown; set watches at night; and so on. Everyone listened and seemed to feel heard. Students got enthusiastic about the ideas of others, then added thoughts of their own. They obviously regard each other with a great deal of respect.

When the story advances, they learn that their first few attempts don’t work; the wolves are still a threat. This forces them to be smarter about how they spend their scant assets. Our student leaders are experts at learning quickly and managing limited resources. The conversation sped up as lines of influence emerged among them. Certain students pulled ahead as clear authority figures, proposing new plans and taking input from their peers. These leaders made difficult decisions, but only advanced an idea when everyone was on board. Justifications were explained, argued, and agreed upon. The governmental structure they had pieced together gained cohesion. The wolves receded as their problem-solving ability grew and they regained control of Sheeptown.

I have never seen students do as well in this activity as I did that day in Nanyuki. The wolves of the real world don’t stand a chance against our NRCF student leaders.

SENIORS CAMP

Walking across a bouncy bridge suspended dozens of feet above the forest floor is not the way I envisioned spending each day of Seniors Camp, but I got used to it quickly enough. The fact that the see-through walkway looked like it was made of paper clips hooked together seemed to be a strong deterrent to many of our students. Who was to say this thing would hold together when each of them stepped out with one foot, then the other, placing all their weight upon it along with the handful of their peers in front of them? Their anxiety was palpable. This felt life-threatening to some of the kids.

One might expect some students to give up. Remain on the ground, or make it up the first set of stairs only to turn around and crawl right back down to safety. Or perhaps some cajoling from the staff: Come on. It’s not so bad. You’ll be fine. And then a panic attack halfway through with some kind of emergency rescue.

None of these things happened. One by one, over the 4 days of our field trip to Ngare Ndare Forest Park, students took deep breaths, strengthened their resolve, and decided this fear would not defeat them. Backs straight and knuckles white, they stepped out onto the bridge, holding the guiding wiring as tightly as possible. We heard no complaints or verbal expressions of fear from any students, only words of encouragement and support. The treetop path is 450 meters long, and step by step they made their way.

Each time someone reached the end, they cheered and joined the rest, seeming giddy that they had completed such a task. It wasn’t fearlessness they all demonstrated, exactly – it was bravery. Who could be better than our NRCF students at facing down their fears to overcome a new challenge?

CRAZY GAMES

I’m an obsessive distance runner – I try to tackle 3-4 miles almost every day. During our crazy games days at camp, I participate in the adult demos for running events, thinking that surely I can at least compete with the Kenyan staff. I knew I wouldn’t win.

As we crouched at the starting line last August, campers cheering for us, I thought maybe this would be the year all my running would finally give me a good sprint. I had never run faster than any Kenyan in my life, but I allowed myself to consider the possibility this time. Who knows?

Kelvin blew his whistle and our caseworkers shot ahead of my best sprint like they had rocket boosters. I didn’t have a chance from the beginning, of course. I did my best and finally reached the finish line to find the Kenyan staff already chatting with each other, postures relaxed, ready to high-five me. I laughed at myself.

Just like in running, the NRCF caseworkers are miles ahead in terms of how much more they know about the students in our program. Assumptions I make about students turn out to be wrong more often than not. It makes sense – Callen and Norah and the rest have had leagues more time to get to know these kids than I have.

More than that, the caseworkers are empathetic and talented. Tunda and Mary anticipate student needs and respond with diligence and love. Our students know that if they need a little extra food, Mama Kamau will usually dish something up. If they need adult support, Joy and Saidi will listen and respond in kind. If they need encouragement (which they almost never seem to need at all), George is there to offer it, his success story resonating quietly in the background.

Together they make an unstoppable team. It’s incredible to work alongside these amazing humans. They’ve put in countless hours to make sure each student in NRCF is successful, and the students are keenly aware of that. A child’s caseworker may be the only reliable adult relationship in their life (aside from their sponsor, of course) – so when Tunda does home visits and works at the Saturday program all year long, then comes to camp ready for more, her students truly feel loved and supported in a way they may not have without her.

The bus ride back to Nairobi is always full of loud music and happy chatter, but also a sense of sadness that camp is over. The goodbyes are difficult for all of us as we remember that we can’t always spend each day together. But inherently comforting is the knowledge that the caseworkers are the heart and soul of NRCF. They serve kids with great care. The students deserve nothing less.