Friends of Ngong Road is in a time of transition as we move from being a volunteer-run organization to one with a professional staff, supported by an engaged board of directors.  Since inception, we have been (and remain) deeply committed to keeping our costs low with a goal that the vast majority of your contributions can be sent to Kenya to support the children. While retaining that intent, we are beginning to build a small U.S. staff, focused on key activities required to run the organization.  I would like you to meet them:

Jil Bakko was our first part-time employee and is our Accountant.  She has faithfully and effectively shepherded the organization through our annual audits and required filings. She puts together monthly financial reports and reviews financial reports that come from Kenya.

Lacey Kraft joined the organization in February 2016 and works full-time as the Director of Development. Lacey is leveraging the successful fundraising efforts of the first ten years to establish a sustainable and efficient development program.

Michon Paggitt joined in March 2017 as a part-time Operations Associate.  Michon is an expert in SalesForce.com, our operating platform.  She processes donations, sends renewal reminders, and is working to clean up ten years of data.  We are excited about the many ways we know Michon can help us improve effectiveness.

Betsy Reveal will begin working for us in July as a part-time Chief Financial Officer.  Given the theft in 2016, we are working on many fronts to ensure our financial controls are much stronger than required in the U.S. so we can be assured of our financial security.  Betsy has extensive experience as a finance leader for both large international NGOs and cities all around the world.

One of our 2017 priorities is capacity-building to prepare to make this organization sustainable into the future.  With the addition of this wonderful team, we believe we have taken a big step in that direction.

Receive greetings from a chilly Nairobi and our students at NRCF.

May was a busy month at NRCF. The Primary (Grammar) and High School students who had closed school for the April holidays reported back to school on May 2nd and 3rd for the second term. We ensured that they had all the required school supplies and materials. This will enable them to settle in school and concentrate on their studies. School fees for the second term were paid in good time. All the 127 children in Primary school reported back in school in good health. Of 142 High School children reported back to school 146. One girl is on an exchange program and three students have decided to join trade schools.

In the post-secondary department, we primarily focused our efforts on the scholarship committee, which requires all incoming first-year post-secondary students to meet and present their chosen field of study and institutional plans before they submit their school applications.

A team of five people constitutes the committee: Maureen Mulievi, who is the NRCF Programme Director; Joy Obiya, holding the position of senior caseworker post-secondary; Emmanuel Mukasa, functioning as a caseworker alumni; Chris Adams, a volunteer at NRCF; and Jonah Some, the computer instructor from Belmont Computer College, who possesses extensive experience in the education sector.

31 out of 33  submitted their applications to the scholarship committee. Out of the 31, 29 students received approval to proceed with their plans and applications to schools. The scholarship committee asked two students to review their courses as their choices did not meet the minimum requirements. Among them, four students are expected to join university, while twenty students will enroll in colleges for certificate and diploma programs. Additionally, five students will be joining vocational training colleges.

The computer classes for the 2016 post-secondary class that commenced on January 9th ended on 31st March 2017. 31 out of 33 students graduating from secondary school in December 2016 completed the computer course, application writing and interview skills training, and school applications since.

We partnered with Africa Alliance Young Men Christian Association (AAYMCA) to conduct a five-day Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Trainers of Trainers (TOT) training. The objective of the training was to start a youth club at Ngong Road Children’s Foundation (NRCF) called ‘Sex Manenoz’. “Loosely translated, ‘Sex manenoz’ refers to sex issues.”

The objective of the club is to create a safe space for young people to discuss SRHR issues, gain accurate education, and reduce cases of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. They selected and trained fifteen postsecondary young adults (11 girls and 4 boys), aged 18-22, on SRHR.

The team aims to create a Sex Manenoz youth club at NRCF for open discussions on youth-related SRHR issues. The club should become operational before the end of June.

Thanks to the sponsors and donors for their continued support.

Maureen Mulievi,
Programme Director
Ngong Road Children’s Foundation

We held our bi-annual medical camp on a Saturday in April at the Dagoretti City Council Grounds, near our local office.

In one day 376 people received medical, dental, and eye care, along with preventative nutrition, sexual health, and hygiene care.

Of the 376 attendees, 223 were students of the program, 30 were guardians, 20 were staff members, and 103 others were relatives and neighbors of the children in the program.

Friends of Ngong Road provides ongoing healthcare when needed throughout the year to students. This medical camp is vital for detecting chronic issues, delivering preventive care, and ensuring early intervention for better health outcomes.

The clinic cared for students with diverse dental needs, extracting teeth for five individuals among them.

The clinic addressed bloated abdomens, ear issues, headaches, sprains, respiratory infections, and peptic ulcers, catering to diverse symptoms.

The medical camp is an important service we are fortunate to be able to offer our students and community. Our generous sponsors and donors make the medical camp possible, enabling kids to learn better when they are healthier.

This event is co-sponsored in Kenya with Ngong Road Health Centre, Nairobi Women’s Hospital, St. Joseph Catholic Health Centre, Sunrise Dental clinic, Sai Pharmaceuticals Company, Savant’s Bookshop, and volunteers from Kikuyu and Voi Rotary Clubs and Red Cross.

Thank you to the community of Friends of Ngong Road for making medical camp possible.

The class of 2016 graduated last December after completing their “big scary school career-end test” called the Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). The KCSE is a comprehensive exam testing students’ last four years of knowledge and is used to determine what caliber of post-secondary school to which a student may be admitted. Even if a student doesn’t typically experience test anxiety, he or she probably does for this one.

This year 31 students took the KCSE. Among test-takers, 15 achieved C- or above, 16 got D or D-, leaving one who didn’t pass the exam.

Although it may sound low to American ears, the Kenyan system based on the old British system does not have “grade creep” and a “C” is truly average. Furthermore, educators believed that the KCSE test posed greater difficulty compared to previous years, potentially causing grades to slightly deviate from students’ usual performance.

Since December, the class of 2016 has been busy at our local office completing a computer certificate course, soft skills training, and preparing their school applications.

This year, the program anticipates the enrollment of four students. Six are expected to receive additional government sponsorships for their education because of their test scores.

Some of the standouts from the class of 2016 include:

Rose achieved a government scholarship by attaining a remarkable composite grade on her KCSE.

She attended one of the most prestigious secondary schools in Kenya after scoring above average on her 8th-grade exam, the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education, a similar test structure to the KCSE but for 8th graders. Rose is finalizing her post-secondary plans. Steve and Judy Lewis sponsor Rose.

Francis excelled in KCSE, aiming for Jomo Kenyatta University to pursue veterinary studies after achieving an above-average grade. He learned about the field through Bimeda Veterinary Supply Company in Kenya, a close supporter, and friend of the organization. Andy and Heidi Walz sponsor Francis.

Timothy has been a strong leader in the class of 2016. At the leadership camp, he ignited a passion for leading. As class president, he nurtured and improved his leadership skills. In Kenya, the class president manages on-campus dorms, ensuring students complete tasks and chores, bearing substantial accountability.

Timothy’s KCSE grade was decent, not his ideal, yet he secured a government scholarship for environmental management studies. Francis and Maura Roby sponsor Timothy.

In September, once schools and programs have accepted students, sponsors of the Class of 2016 will receive finalized student plans.