1. Eric joined the program in 2007 and is sponsored by Keith and Kathleen Kale. Since a young age, Eric has been a focused, dedicated student and has wanted to make his family proud. However, to get to where he is today hasn’t been easy.

Eric was raised by his mother. His father died when he was young. To make ends meet, Eric’s mother found occasional work near the slums such as working in a salon and making beadwork. With the work, Eric’s mother was able to rent a small two-roomed home in the slums. The home’s walls were made of iron sheets and had no electricity or running water. Eric’s mother was not able to provide many material goods for her family, but she instilled a powerful appreciation of education in her children. Eric knew from a young age that his involvement in the Friends of Ngong Road Program, through which he gained access to education, was his vehicle to a transformed life for himself and his family too.

Eric attended G.S.U Primary School, one of our past partner primary schools, St. Joseph’s High School, and just a few months ago graduated from Kenyatta University with a Degree.

Throughout his post-secondary career, Eric was a standout employee at Digital Divide Data, a company Friends of Ngong Road has partnered with in Nairobi to provide supplemental income and employment experience to some of our students. Eric’s role at Digital Divide Data was to transcribe handwritten articles to an electronic format for clients such as museums and libraries. In return, Digital Divide Data helped pay for some of Eric’s university tuition.

Upon graduation, Eric was promoted again at Digital Divide Data and is now a full-time Project Manager managing a team of people and interacting with clients. He is looking for a new apartment out of the slums. He has made it into the Kenyan middle class.

Sponsors Keith and Kathleen Kale said, “We are very proud of Eric and his accomplishments. By keeping steadily on track he was able to work his way through university and get his degree. He worked so hard and so many hours, it is inspiring. Congratulations to this fine young man.”

Elisha was born in the rural area near the coast of Kenya where life was tough but his family close. When he was 10, his father died from AIDS. Soon after, his mother learned she too was HIV positive. She became very ill and unable to work. Elisha loved his mother deeply and remembers her instilling in him the importance of hard work and education. As she weakened she could no longer provide the basic needs of Elisha and his 13 year old brother.

Elisha moved in with his uncle’s family in Nairobi, while his brother moved to a city six hours from Nairobi with a different uncle. In Nairobi, Elisha’s uncle earned income as a driver, an unpredictable career he now depended on to support his own four children plus Elisha. Food was scarce, school fees scarcer.

In 2008, caseworkers from the newly launched Friends of Ngong Road/Ngong Road Children’s Foundation program visited Elisha’s school. It happened to be on a rare day that he was there with paid-up fees. His teachers advocated for his acceptance into the program and shared his story. Elisha was accepted, absolutely thrived in school, found friends in the program with similar backgrounds, and benefited greatly from the ongoing support of a caseworker. Elisha said he no longer “felt odd. I just fit in.”

When Elisha’s mother died a few years later, he was not left alone to deal with the tragedy. Instead he had the continuing support of FoNR/NRCF. Today, Elisha is studying to be a civil engineer. He dreams of making Nairobi a better place that can compete globally. He is on the way to transforming his life, his family’s lives, and the whole of Kenya.