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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A Young, Passionate Programmer-Lenox

Meet Lenox, an aspiring game developer. Lenox is in grade 6 in one of our focus schools. Before joining the program, he had no clear picture of what he wanted to become once he grew up. After getting a sponsor, he started attending our programs, one of them being Computer Training. Lenox fell in love with computers and he has barely missed a class since then. 

In early 2022 when the new students’ resource center (Elimu Hub) was constructed and the computer lab pimped with new powerful computers, Lenox was one of the proudest beneficiaries of the structure and he’s amongst the students that utilize the facility a lot.

Lenox has committed to all that gets taught to him during the computer classes and his best session is usually the programming ones where he gets to apply his critical and creative thinking skills. His programming skills are impressive especially when it comes to scratch programming.

Early January 2023 he was amongst five students that participated in a hackathon for scratch programming (Scratchathon) competition and he was voted one of the best students during the competition having led a team in developing a game using the scratch program and presenting it to the attendance on behalf of the team. He also got interviewed where he discussed his love for programming and his aspirations to become a web developer when he grows up.

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Class 8 candidates of 2022

In 2022, we had a total of 30 primary students (candidates) who sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations. This is an examination that marks the end of primary education and paves the way for students to pursue their secondary education. These particular students were among the second-last batch of learners in the country under the 8-4-4 system to sit for KCPE.

The examination usually takes a few days to complete and it took place between November 28th and December 1st 2022. The top student in the country scored 431 out of 500 while of our candidates, the top student in the organization was Louse who scored 398 out of 500 marks! The mean grade for the class was 322 out of 500 which is above average performance. 

These students will soon be joining form one possibly at the end of this month in different learning institutions. We would like to congratulate them and wish them all the best as they transition into their secondary education.

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Caroline: Her Graduation Story

Caroline has been able to show resilience all through her studies and has been able to complete her post-secondary education. She joined the program in 2012 as a young girl in grade 6 full of academic aspirations that she has been able to fulfill. 

Caroline studied a course in social work and community development. The course took 2 years to complete, she completed it in September 2022 and she graduated in December. She has also been able to gain relevant experience through attachments and internships. She was attached at the NRCF offices between September and October 2021 working with the primary department and an internship at the same place for 6 months between April and September 2022 working with the secondary department.

Caroline is currently working with ICEA Lions Group as a salesperson, a position she has been holding since October 2022. She aspires to further her studies as she continues to work as well as a volunteer during the Saturday programs. We wish her all the best!

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First Class Honors

This year has been incredible for us in terms of getting exceptional performances from our students and Sallyanne is one of those students who has made us extremely proud. Sallyanne has become  the first student ever since the organization started to get first class honors! This is the highest achievement ever made by a post-secondary student.

Sallyanne joined Kabarak University in May 2018 and was admitted to the Bachelor of Mass Communication. Her end-of-semester results showed that she was excelling in her studies. In September of 2021, she was attached at a local radio station where she worked for three months and December marked the end of her studies. 

In January 2022, Sallyanne was among the first students to join the TechMates program where she specialized in Digital Marketing. She has since been creating content for both the NRCF and FoNR websites as well as managing the content on both social media pages and she helps in training new Digital Marketing TechMates who join the program. Through the program, she joined Lido Nation, a Cardano staking pool, gaining valuable work experience and networking opportunities.

She works for Lido Nation as a content writer, a website translator, and a social media manager and she is also a trainer for mentees who would like to learn more about Blockchain. She experienced the greatest highlight of her time at Lido Nation when she became a co-proposer in a funded proposal.

Sallyanne graduated on the 16th of December 2022 making her a journalist by profession. She received an award during the annual AGM as the first student to get first-class honors. Her role model is Larry Madowo and she hopes to become an equally great journalist. She has set the pace for our post-secondary students and we hope that many will follow suit. Congratulations Sallyanne!  

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Alumni Employment Update

Alumni Gathering

NRCF Alumni Coordination Department has the goal of ensuring 75% alumni employment annually and has embarked on several activities to prepare for the year 2023. The department has hit the ground running and has made good progress. 

Emmanuel

The Alumni Department has developed strategies and policies for successful alumni engagement including the creation of robust networks with possible employers and partners to support the employment programs and activities.

The programs that are already in the implementation phases include Job Preparedness Skills training, Sales Academy training, Entrepreneurship Skills training, and a Techmate program. We will soon be adding an Apprenticeship program. In addition to these programs, plans are underway to increase alumni engagement through events and gatherings like the annual gathering, an alumni summer camp, and an alumni volunteer program.

Alumni collaborate and legally register as Ngong Road Alumni Youth Group this quarter. The group’s main objective is to raise funds for their business and offer each other psychosocial support.

The employment rate in this stands at 69% for all alumni, with 119 out of 173 having gainful employment as of November this year, according to the alumni annual survey done in July 2022, and unemployment follow-up done in October.