Programs Archives - Friends of Ngong Road

April 25, 2025 By Bellinda Githu Leave a Comment

A Holiday Well Spent: Engaging Activities for NRCF Students

During this April school holiday, our students participated in a calendar full of engaging events. Holidays are meant for rest and spending time with family and friends. However, without structure or guidance, many students may engage in unsafe activities during their leisure time, such as drug and substance abuse. Some may even become victims of exploitation, including child abuse or sexual abuse.

A structured holiday program for growth and safety

This is why at NRCF, we are committed to providing our students with structure and guidance. This support helps them make the most of their leisure time through constructive activities. This April holiday, our programs have engaged both our primary and secondary school students. We implemented several initiatives focused on their well-being and development, including:

Library and study group sessions: Students spent their time on African Literature, fostering cultural understanding and appreciation. Meanwhile, our dynamic study group sessions saw students actively engaging in revision, strengthening their grasp of school subjects through peer learning.

Coding bootcamp: The coding bootcamp at the Elimu hub focused on essential STEM education to support Kenya’s growing tech sector. We aim to empower students to be future innovators. Key areas included website development, coding foundations, problem-solving, and practical project-based learning. Each student completed a project, such as a portfolio website, personal blog, interactive quiz app, or online resume, to showcase their skills.

Mental Health & Drug Substance Abuse: These sessions equipped students with essential skills to navigate adolescence. The sessions help students recognize emotions, develop coping strategies, and build self-esteem. Additionally, they learn about the risks of drug abuse. By fostering open conversations and providing support, NRCF creates a safe environment for students to prioritize mental well-being and make healthy choices for a brighter future.

Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH): In this holistic health program, our students learned more about the anatomy and physiology of their bodies. This empowers them to remain free from unintended pregnancies, abortion, and sexually transmitted diseases.

This April holiday highlighted how much NRCF cares about helping students grow in various ways. By combining learning, tech skills, and essential life lessons in a safe and supportive environment, we ensured that the holiday was both beneficial and secure for students. Our aim is holistic development, equipping students with educational, technological, and vital life skills for a brighter future. Join us in transforming lives!

April 15, 2025 By Bellinda Githu Leave a Comment

Empowering alumni through the Small Business Management Training

The Ngong Road Children Foundation is conducting a three-month small business management training program that started on March 22, 2025. Empowerment can turn talents into meaningful opportunities. This training program is dedicated to 24 unemployed alumni with various craft skills. By providing them with the necessary tools and support, we aim to help these individuals transform their skills into sustainable livelihoods.

The 10-week training is being conducted at our Elimu hub and facilitated by the Upcoming African Youth Organisation. It is led by experienced trainer Felix Orwaka. This collaboration ensures that our alumni receive high-quality, practical instruction.
The small business management training program provides the alumni with a thorough understanding of essential business principles, strategies, and practices. Key modules covered include:

Understanding entrepreneurship, business management essentials, and business startups
Business scaling and fundraising
Financial literacy
Business Strategy Development, developing effective business plans, and executing those plans successfully.

Upon completion of this valuable training, the trainees will be required to pitch their business proposals and request a startup toolkit from the organization to support their ventures and increase their chances of success.

In addition to providing the necessary resources, NRCF will conduct assessments of the small businesses to ensure that owners are generating enough income to sustain their livelihoods and improve their quality of life. This exciting initiative aims to enhance the performance of their businesses, leading to higher productivity and growth.

Our goal as an organization is to transform the lives of our alumni, helping them to improve their situation by creating these employment opportunities.

March 19, 2025 By Bellinda Githu Leave a Comment

NRCF Founder And Sponsors Visit Kenya

Our Founder and President, Paula Meyer, recently visited us in Kenya, accompanied by a group of generous sponsors. Their trip focused on engaging with the children we support, observing the impact of our programs in Kenya, and discussing our plans for the exciting future of NRCF.

Paula engaged with our dedicated staff and leadership team to discuss the foundation’s five-year plan to support 1,000 children by the year 2030 and reviewed strategies for sustainable growth. They discussed various strategies to amplify our impact and extend our support to help more children in need.

The sponsors met with current students and alumni who shared their success stories and expressed gratitude for the transformative support of the NRCF and our impact in Kenya. They created lasting memories by sharing lunch and shopping trips with their sponsored students. They also joined our Saturday Child Development Program where they laughed, played games, and built connections with the children. Additionally, they visited the homes of some beneficiaries to meet their families.

During the trip, Paula and the sponsors got to experience the beauty of Kenya. They visited the Giraffe Center to interact with the gentle giants Elephant Orphanage to see baby elephants and the historic home of Karen Blixen. They also enjoyed thrilling safaris in national parks like Amboseli, Samburu, and Maasai Mara, hoping to see amazing wildlife.

Join us in transforming lives today!

January 17, 2025 By Sallyanne Atieno Leave a Comment

DirectEd’s introduction to python: Coding bootcamp

The DirectEd Development Foundation, in collaboration with the Ngong Road Children’s Foundation, is working to provide free training in software development to promising but under-resourced students in Africa. This initiative bridges the gap between high school and university, offering students an opportunity to explore the fascinating world of Python programming. The one-week introductory course is vital for students aspiring to join the main boot camp, ensuring they gain foundational knowledge through comprehensive lessons and a final exam.

Thirteen students from the Ngong Road Children’s Foundation registered for this rigorous course, competing alongside peers from esteemed institutions such as Alliance High School, Maryhill Girls High School, and Mang’u High School. Resource links, primarily hosted on Notion, were shared with the participants to facilitate their learning journey.

The program officially commenced on January 6, 2025, with an inaugural Zoom session. During this session, students received guidance on accessing course materials through platforms like Notion and Piazza and successfully installed Python on their desktop computers. The schedule included daily check-ins via Zoom, which served as a platform for tracking attendance, sharing updates, and conducting computer science workshops. Students accessed modules, videos, and feedback forms through Notion and submitted assignments via Tally forms.

Over the week, participants tackled eight modules comprising 44 exercises. These modules spanned topics such as Python setup, user input and conditional statements, data structures, functions, exceptions, libraries, unit testing, and object-oriented programming. The course also featured workshops, including a session on effective learning and time management led by Simon, the CEO of DirectEd Development Foundation, and another on online financial safety.

The course ended in an examination on January 13, 2025, which tested students through multiple-choice questions and programming tasks. Of the 13 registered students, 10 undertook the exam. The gender balance among participants was evenly distributed, with boys and girls each making up 50% of the cohort.

The week concluded with a virtual closing ceremony where students signed up for the DirectEd developer portal to access additional resources and complete surveys about their experience. DirectEd plans to run two more introductory courses before the main boot camp, which is set to begin in late April 2025. Successful candidates will be notified in early April, paving the way for their deeper engagement in software development training.

This initiative marks a significant step in empowering under-resourced students with valuable software development skills. By equipping them with foundational knowledge and fostering a competitive yet supportive learning environment, the program not only opens doors to future educational and professional opportunities but also inspires students to envision and pursue a brighter future in the tech industry.

Join us in transforming the lives of underprivileged students.

September 13, 2024 By Sallyanne Atieno Leave a Comment

Coding bootcamp created more “Techies”

This year we have had multiple coding bootcamps for our students, including the recent high school graduates bootcamp. We saw our high school graduates develop and become technology enthusiasts, with several of them enrolling in technology-related courses at various universities and colleges.

The students were first taken through an intensive three-month computer certification program to familiarize them with the ins and outs of computer hardware and software, such as Microsoft Office and the Internet. This certificate is usually key, as students with such knowledge possess the upper hand in college. The students were also introduced to programming, where they acquired the basics of coding and built various personal projects like portfolios.

We partnered with an organization called DiredEd which offers coding bootcamps to recent high school graduates. They seek paid internships for the students that complete the bootcamp successfully. Four of our students, Michael, Kevin, Sheila, and John, successfully completed the bootcamp focusing on building Artificial Intelligence models that address real-life problems. This is a growing skill as the world embraces AI in day-to-day work.

Three of the four, Michael, Sheila, and Kevin joined the DirectEd Trainee Program, which offers mentorship from experienced professionals and networking opportunities. They will also get paid internships, and gain experience while in college.

Michael stood out during the entire bootcamp, consistently displaying exceptional dedication and enthusiasm. He took the lead in group projects and played a significant role in various bootcamp projects, showcasing technical skills and collaborative spirit, leading to his project being awarded the Best Project in Generative AI in the DirectEd bootcamp. A social media platform that enforces community guidelines through AI, earned him top honors.

All these would not have been possible without your generous donations. The funds raised from our Summer Appeal have been crucial in ensuring that our students have the resources they need to thrive in the tech world. Your contributions have helped us create the next generation of tech talent, empowering students like Michael to achieve their dreams. Thank you for helping “create techies.”

See some of Michael’s projects: