Dear Friends of Ngong Road,

We would like to extend our appreciation to our sponsors, donors, volunteers, and well-wishers for their great support in 2017. The year ended well and we are glad to report that we have started 2018 on a high note. However, while every day is becoming better and better at NRCF (Ngong Road Children’s Foundation), we have a significant and growing need for sponsors. Currently, we have a list of over 200 children that are waiting to be sponsored. It breaks our hearts when needy parents and guardians come to our office every day asking whether their child has been successful in getting a sponsor yet.

My Personal Experience

I was brought up in a family where my Dad was a firm believer in education. His philosophy of life was, “Instead of giving my children the fish to eat, I want to empower them to learn how to fish themselves”. He was a crusader for education for all, especially for girls, so he sent us all to school. In my rural community, most families did not educate girls because they believed that the girls would get married and any investment made in their education would benefit the marital family, not the parental family.

My Dad supported the education of many children (both relatives and non-relatives) and from an early age instilled in us the virtue of helping others. This involved sharing our home to accommodate the needy and even sharing our parents with the many children who referred to them as Dad and Mum for the support they received. From the lessons I learned from my Dad, I currently support the education of five children (both relatives and non-relatives) from my hometown in Malava, Kakamega County. They are at different levels of school ranging from university, middle-level colleges, high schools, and primary schools.

Typical African Philosophy

In Africa, the extended family benefits from the affluence of their kinsmen. One African proverb summarizes this: “Shorter trees in a forest climb on taller ones in order to survive”. Among the groups who benefit are the sick, the poor, the disabled, women, and children. For a long time, Africans have shouldered problems afflicting their parents, siblings, friends, relatives, and even neighbors. This included bringing them up. The better off provided food, shelter, clothes, education, medical care, and a supportive community. Providing such support is a common practice for most Kenyans.

The Kenyan Rural vs Urban Divide

However, the situation in urban centers is different. Many urban Kenyans already support family members so it is difficult for them to support needy children in the city who may have lost their entire families. For the few local Kenyans who do provide support to city children, they cannot commit for long, because they may have other responsibilities like family members or elderly parents in the village who are depending on them for their livelihood.

Most families of our sponsored children left their rural areas with the hope of finding greener pastures in the city. Most of them find themselves scratching out an existence in slums. High rates of poverty and unemployment usually characterize slums.

Many commonly view them as breeding grounds for social problems like crime, drug addiction, alcoholism, a high prevalence of mental illness, and suicide. Slum dwellers also exhibit a high incidence of disease due to unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, and lack of basic health care.

Why do we continue to need overseas sponsors?

Most of our children at NRCF reside in this kind of environment. They do not have economically stable relatives who can support them. Their parents or guardians work in casual manual jobs that pay a dollar or less a day. With the little money they have, most of them prioritize providing a single meal daily for the family over education for their children. Despite subsidized education, additional costs like books, uniforms, and transport lead impoverished children to abandon school in Kenya.

With the unstable political environment in Kenya during the last six months, the economy is not doing well. The burden is on the taxpayer who has also to overcome the rising cost of living to survive. Typically, available funds after meeting existing responsibilities towards the extended family are even lower than before.

As part of the NRCF family, we want to make the world a better place than we found it by touching the souls of those who are disadvantaged by fate. By doing so, their lives can be transformed. In return, they may touch other souls when they succeed in life. We, therefore, appeal to potential sponsors to join our NRCF family to assist these deserving cases. Giving is not because someone has excess wealth but rather because of the heart of giving.

I extend heartfelt thanks to NRCF program’s sponsors, donors, volunteers, and stakeholders for their unwavering dedication and selflessness.

Maureen Mulievi
Programme Director
Ngong Road Children’s Foundation

Together we met the 2017 Truscott Family Match of $60,000 and more! Thank you to everyone who donated generously to provide important programming for students to transform their lives through education in Kenya. The Friends of Ngong Road Annual Appeal funds elements of our program that sponsorship does not. This includes nutrition support, healthcare, a Saturday program, caseworker support, the library, a computer lab, and more.

This year’s annual appeal success of over $132,000 raised could cover the cost of 5,280 meals for families who are particularly needy, 220 new computers for the computer lab, or the gap for 264 students who attend boarding school but their sponsors are only able to provide tuition support.

Thank you for helping to change lives. From the children, their families, and Friends of Ngong Road, “Asante Sana.” Thank you very much.

Dear Friends,

As Friends of Ngong Road begins our 12th year of operation, I would like to share a few thoughts with you about the progress the organization is making in leadership succession.  Our board of directors began thinking about this challenge several years ago and we continue on the path we devised.  Although I expect to lead Friends of Ngong Road for the next several years, it is prudent to lay plans.

• Staff and Board.  We are making progress in transitioning from a volunteer-run organization to one with a more traditional staff/board model.  Lacey Kraft completed her second year as Director of Development and we added a part-time Operations Associate and a part-time Chief Financial Officer.  Jil Bakko is our long-serving, faithful accountant and together these people are transitioning activities from volunteers to staff where appropriate.  
• Financial Model.  We are also making progress in creating a financial model that does not rely 100% on U.S. philanthropy.  The elements of a sustainable long-term financial structure include building a successful business in Kenya (Karibu Loo), a strong endowment fund, and a professional development program.  I believe that Karibu Loo will start to contribute to our charitable work in 2018 and with each year that passes our endowment grows and our development program matures.
• Leadership Succession.  We are continuing to involve more people in the organization and remain committed to an active and engaged corps of volunteers who can provide substantive leadership.  While we have not yet identified my successor, we are working on it.  I feel confident that the right person will emerge.

We have much to celebrate in Kenya:

• We had 38 students finish 8th grade in 2017. 12 of them (31.5%) have been selected to attend national high schools, our highest percentage to date.  This demonstrates the impact of more selective student selection processes that began in 2012.  Our experience has been that when students are successful in academics they don’t get into as much trouble during adolescence!
• We had 27 students finish high school in 2017.  25 of the 27 (96%) are enrolled in our post-secondary program.  They are currently taking computer classes, have completed a 2-week Life Skills training program, and will begin college applications soon.
• In December, we launched a new Sexual & Reproductive Health Program with strong support from Dr. Patty Kissinger from Tulane University.  Our objective is to ensure that students understand their sexuality and feel responsible to manage their own bodies, that they have access to contraception and that there are safe places for them to go to get help. We trained 20 Youth Peer Providers, 8 of whom are leading the education of all students in Class 7 and higher.   We believe this Youth Peer Provider model is the most robust available. We hope it results in fewer unplanned pregnancies among girls.
• We welcomed 31 new students to the program in 2017, giving them each hope for their future.  Our waiting list remains long with over 200 students and our goal for 2018 is to add 40.  If you or anyone you know would like to have a direct, positive impact on a child in Kenya, please follow this link to sign up: https://ngongroad.org/sponsor/

This work would not be possible without the hundreds of you who believe that education can transform lives and partner in this important work with us. Thank you!

Paula Meyer
President and Founder
Friends of Ngong Road