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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Tabitha

Tabitha told Friends of Ngong Road President and Founder, Paula Meyer, that she “never thought she would graduate from Form 4.” She knew it was not affordable on her family’s little income. Fortunately, she managed to accomplish that!

Jamie and Nancy Letcher have been sponsoring Tabitha since she joined the program . She and her mother were living with two of her aunts while struggling to make it in the slums of Nairobi. Her mother occasionally washed clothes for other families and sold odds and ends to get enough income for one meal a day.

Tabitha excelled in her primary school environment often performing at the top of her class. With her high eighth-grade exam score, led to Nairobi’s Ngara Girls Secondary School acceptance . Despite coming from an extreme poverty background, she performed well and made friends with students from diverse backgrounds. Tabitha scored good results on her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam. She dreams of becoming a forensic scientist and will be applying to university in the fall.

Tabitha became the youth peer provider for the new sexual and reproductive health program before joining university. Fourteen students were trained through Planned Parenthood Global and eight selected to lead the training for their peers. While applying to post-secondary schools, she has attended our computer training course and Life Skills program led by Megan and Evan Feige of Minneapolis, MN. The program will expand later this year with a Rotary Global Grant with the South Metro Minneapolis Evenings Rotary club and the Kikuyu Rotary Club of Nairobi. She is a respected leader among her peers and an inspiration to her two younger brothers.

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Notes from Paula

I just returned from my 21st trip to Kenya as the organization nears the end of its 11th year of operations. The organization has made significant progress in strengthening financial controls, an objective that has been in place for several years and is now getting accomplished, and improving systems for the sponsored kids. The caliber of our new volunteer board of directors in Kenya and the quality of their deliberations impressed me greatly. We launched what I hope will be a dramatically more effective Sexual and Reproductive Health Program, focused first on training Youth Peer Providers who will educate our young people. There’s much to celebrate, but most especially the young men and women whom your generosity supports as they seek to create better lives for themselves.

Winnie is the eldest child in her family. She has been sponsored by Doug and Beth Ann Lennick since 2007.

Winnie is enrolled in a diploma program at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communications. There, she is studying video production and editing, interviewing skills, and related topics involved with television.

Currently, Winnie is in an internship at a local television station called Mother & Child, which does programming for mothers, families, and youth. She went with her team members to a Nairobi hospital where they interviewed doctors, patients, and nurses about a childhood disease. Her assignment was to edit the video as they put this program together. After her internship, Winnie will return to school until September 2018. She hopes to get a job in television production.

Emmanuel begins his final year of high school at Dagoretti High School in January. Pat and Kathy Halloran have sponsored him since 2009. Emmanuel, high school rugby captain, thrilled as we met before his team’s intensive two to three-week training trip to Kisumu.

The high school rugby team will play against other national high schools and if they win Kenya’s national cup the team will go on to Rwanda to play in the East Africa games, Sponsored by the government sports agency. When he was in school, he told me that he focused 90% on school and only 10% on rugby. Emmanuel does best in science subjects – chemistry and biology.

Etrose to my surprise attended the Ngong Road Children’s Foundation Alumni Gathering on December 2.

Etrose joined the program in 2007. Ted and Kathy Truscott sponsored her until 2016. For me, Etrose is a living profile of mistakes we made and lessons learned in the program’s first 11 years. Like most parents, we have not been perfect, yet Etrose has managed to make a better life for herself.

Etrose finished 8th grade. Today, we would have sent her directly to trade school where she would have graduated in two to three years with a job skill, like hairdressing or sewing.

Unfortunately, we sent Etrose to high school. She attended three different high schools and ultimately failed her final exams. Etrose then tried a course in food service, but again failed.  After informing her of her alumna status, Etrose admirably secured employment as a restaurant hostess, displaying commendable determination.

Etrose still lives with her mother but now she pays the rent and contributes to other monthly expenses. Etrose has a sweet personality and has always valued the role the organization has played in her life. She promised to stay in touch. Etrose is excelling with the gifts she has received.. What more can we ask for?

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George is Employed with Hope and a Future

A few weeks ago the Managing Director of Pentair in Kenya visited the local office in Kenya. Pentair has been a supporter of the program since 2016, and the manager was interested in learning more about how Pentair is helping to provide education for children in his own community. When guests tour the program and office the tour ends with a personal story from either a graduate of the program or a guardian of a current student. The tour’s final speaker was George , a graduate of the program who now works as a caseworker in the local office for primary-aged students. George shared his story in more detail than he has in the past. President and Founder, Paula Meyer, was also in attendance at the tour and said it almost made her cry.

George explained how his life has turned out thanks to the program versus how it could have turned out. He said that he sees his friends from before his acceptance in the program in his home area, and they are thieves or have fathered many children out of wedlock. He felt he would not have even been able to finish primary school if not for the program. George is still living in the slums and spends a large portion of his salary helping three of his cousins get an education, rather than spending it on a nicer apartment for himself. He works with hope and a future.

If you are ever in Nairobi or know anyone who will be, let us know! We’d love to show you around and introduce you to the students and staff.

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Wycliffe

Wycliffe joined the program. Through the support network, her mother learned about the Friends of Ngong Road. She applied almost immediately and was overjoyed to learn that her son, was accepted.

Wycliffe has always had a charming, outgoing personality and stuck close to the staff at Ngong Road Children’s Foundation and his sponsor, Tom Gleason. Among Friends of Ngong Road and Ngong Road Children’s Foundation. He found positive mentors to help him build resiliency and he learned how to recognize and build on his strengths.

Graduating high school, he faced a challenge in the business course that exceeded his expectations . With the trusted advice of caring adults around him, Wycliffe changed his path and took a barista course. Today He is an intern at Connect Coffee and earns a comfortable income of at least three times the normal slum wage.  This puts him on the first rung on his way up the ladder into the Kenyan middle class.  Wycliffe talks excitedly about becoming a manager and working his way into more responsibility at Connect Coffee.
Students who graduate from our program and add some post-secondary training are highly employable.  With the academic and leadership training they have received at Friends of Ngong Road and Ngong Road Children’s Foundation, they are able to escape the slums and move into the middle class.

Way to go Wycliffe!

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Plister: Her Mother’s Dream of Sending her to College is Coming True!

Plister, sponsored by Marti Morfitt, was one of the first students to join the program in 2007. She lived with her mother together with her five siblings. To support the family, her mother did odd jobs when she was well enough. Plister’s mother dreamed of sending her children to college, but she knew it would not be possible. She was struggling to make enough money to feed and shelter her children, let alone pay for regular school fees.

Plister age 9

Plister longed to go to school. She enjoyed spending time with friends, but her school friends advanced to new grades, while Plister remained behind.

Plister was accepted to the Friends of Ngong Road program along with two of her siblings, and life took a turn for the better for her and her family. Her mother said it was a huge relief that three of her children were being fed and educated through the program. It allowed her to provide food and clothing for her other children. It also allowed her to have hope that one day one of her children would make it to college and make a better life for their whole family. Today, Plister is on her way to making the dream possible.

Plister graduated in December 2016 from high school. Pursued a computer certificate course in post-secondary department, awaiting final grades release. Plister applied for a National Youth Service Cadet program, gaining entrepreneurial spirit and self-reliance principles. She received a six-month training program on technical, entrepreneurial, and paramilitary skills, making her more competitive in employment.

Plister is another example of a student using other skills gained through the program to make a way for herself. Our mission states that we provide children education and support “so they can transform their lives” in recognition of the fact that the program cannot do it for them.  Friends of Ngong Road can only provide tools and training. True transformation is up to the individual, and Plister is a great example of that.

Plister will return to the post-secondary program after completing her Cadet training. The future is bright for her and her family. The future is bright for many of the children in our program with an investment from people like Marti who care about kids. Great going, Plister and Marti!