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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What Students Will Be Doing This August!

August usually means that our students are out of school for the month, but because of COVID-19, the education calendar changed and required our students to be in school to make up for the lost class time. Instead of a month, they only have a one-week break. Unfortunately, there will be no August Camp for our students this year since they will be in school during the weeks that are normally on holiday. Nonetheless, we have various activities in store for them that will not only keep them busy but which are fun and enjoyable.

The Saturday Program will continue weekly and include all students during the one-week holiday break for older students. We strive to engage with our students and provide an opportunity to bring them together. This is an important part of our overall program as it enables us to interact with our students and learn more about their school and general life progress. We spend every Saturday with primary students and provide a wide range of fun activities and importantly, lunch. Activities are planned to enhance their cognitive skills and provide a way for them to interact with each other. Our roster includes racing, various clubs and societies, taekwondo, gymnastics, book reading, and much more. During the holiday week this year, we will have special activities for older students.

Time to write to sponsors. As a special activity, we will have all students visit the new computer lab in the Elimu Hub to send emails to their sponsors. All students come to the office, log in to their portals and write letters to their sponsors. The letters are an opportunity to update sponsors on their progress, especially in school, and tell them more about what is happening in their lives. We encourage them to include any changes that might have taken place since the last time they wrote.  Remember, for many students, these are the first personal letters they write, and it takes a while to get the hang of it! Letter writing is very important as it is the best way students keep in touch with their sponsors.

Concentrated computer classes will be held. We will be having computer classes for the primary students.  They will come for classes on selected weekdays and on Saturdays before the Saturday Program starts. Classes ensure that students are computer literate as this is fast becoming a necessary skill in learning. Our computer/IT lab assistant will take them through the classes in the computer lab in our newly constructed Elimu Hub.

Life Skills Training and Sexual Reproductive Health sessions are scheduled during the one-week break for older students. The Life Skills classes will enable them to gain the relevant social skills that are needed for interpersonal relations. The SRH classes are meant to educate them on major topics around sexual and reproductive health for them to make informed decisions on the same. 

We are optimistic that our students will enjoy and learn from all the activities scheduled for this summer. 

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Elimu Hub is open!

Elimu Hub opened on May 18. 

The Ngong Road Children’s Foundation site, which is close to Nairobi’s administrative building, is home to Elimu Hub, which is the hub for educational activities, resources, and community. In Swahili, the word “Elimu” means education.

It is enclosed by a secure wall that gives students a sense of security and protection in a volatile and occasionally violent environment. Our updated computer lab and larger library are located at Elimu Hub.
The library is an important resource center for our students as most of them are in school. Besides the books we have acquired through the years, Braeburn School donated more books that will be beneficial to our students. With this gift, we now have more books for our growing community. All this will help us to ensure that our students achieve their academic goals.

The computer lab will be helpful for our students as a tool in their education. Primary-age students from Nelson Mandela Academy take computer classes at the computer lab during the week.  Students from other primary schools take classes on Saturdays before they attend the Saturday Program.  Recent High School graduates will take their Computer classes at the computer lab taught by Belmont College. Course graduates receive a certificate, making them marketable in the job market.

We have never before had a purpose-built structure. The new Elimu Hub, constructed using six 20-foot shipping containers, is a fun and practical structure that benefits both personnel and pupils. Its completion was eagerly awaited, ensuring a positive impact on the community.

Our launch ceremony had representatives from the organizations who made Elimu Hub possible. Representatives from the Rotary Club of Kikuyu, Braeburn School, and Container 254 attended. Rotary Club of South Minneapolis Evenings and Friends of Ngong Road recognized, despite not present. The event consisted of performances from our students who presented poems and dances. We even had a taekwondo performance. 

Kelvin Thuku, our program manager, appreciated the growth of Elimu Hub, from the idea to the implementation stage and finally its unveiling. He regards it as one of the biggest achievements of the organization. He also expressed his gratitude to the collaborators for their assistance with the project’s construction and completion.

The president of the Rotary Club of Kikuyu, Ann Ichung’wa, officially launched the Elimu Hub making it ready for use by our students.

We extend our utmost gratitude to our partner organizations and all of you that contributed to our Elimu Hub campaign This project would never have happened without your support. Thank you for helping us in the process of transforming the lives of our students.   

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Parents/Guardian Involvement

Parents/guardians play an important role in the transformation of a student. It is our policy that each student has a supportive parent/guardian during the child’s enrollment in the organization.

During the student selection period, the parent/guardian must fulfill several requirements. In general, they have to ensure that they provide basic needs for the children. They sign a contract agreeing to play their part in the child’s life and to support the organization in any way possible for the child’s success. The parent/guardian refreshes the contract at each level of the student’s education.

Every week, the organization holds a Saturday Program where we meet with the students and engage them in group activities. The parents/guardians must ensure that the students attend and participate. The parents/guardians also provide the organization with periodic assessment information to assess the child’s progress both at home and at school. This is a way of providing feedback to the organization on how to best support the student.

“We host an Annual General Meeting, and we expect the parents/guardians to attend.” They receive updates on the program, review their commitment to their child’s education, and are asked for their support in identifying prospective students for the program. They usually hold it at the end of the year and distribute Christmas packages of food aid to their families.

We highly appreciate all our parents/guardians for their continued effort in helping us achieve our students’ success. Their involvement contributes to the success of the students through the web of supportive adults in their lives – parents/guardians, case managers, teachers, and sponsors.

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Meet our new Case Manager: Wence

“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet” – this quote would best describe Wenceslaus right from childhood.He lived with his grandmother, the sole breadwinner, and had a difficult childhood, because his grandmother struggled to provide for himself and the family. Wence joined the Ngong Road program in 2009 and his case manager described him as being “polite, well-disciplined, and impressive”.

His leadership skills evident in high school, including dorm and hockey team captainships at Parklands High School. He took major steps even as a young person to become a visionary leader.He pioneered the Youth Peer Providers (YPP) program, a crucial component of students’ Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) training.

Wence is loved by especially the youngest students in the program and takes pride in being a major contributor and facilitator of the Saturday programs. At Kabete National Polytechnic College, he studied social work and community development while volunteering as a facilitator for the Saturday program. He would interact with the kids and created a strong bond, not yet knowing that he would soon get the chance to work with the kids as their case manager.

Wence’s love and commitment to work during his internship led to his hiring as a case manager in the primary department in 2022. He enjoys working as a case manager to express gratitude for the organization that transformed his life and provided him with education. Wence hopes to accomplish a lot for the organization and for himself as he maneuvers through and explores his career.

Thanks to Friends of Ngong Road and Ngong Road Children’s Foundation for transforming this young man’s life through education.

Welcome, Wence!

Friends of Ngong Road 2020 Kenya Visit – day 3 – Saturday Program – Introduction to Ultimate

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Upgrades to the Sponsor Portal

Photos of Your Student

For a long time, we’ve struggled to efficiently share student photos. We were able to print and send portraits to sponsors, but we had no means of sharing the thousands of photos we have of students from school, camp, Saturday Program, and everyday life.

We are excited to have launched a new photo management system that allows students to tag themselves in photos, quickly linking them to you in the portal. This gives sponsors a more timely glimpse into the transformation of their student’s life. 

To see photos of your student, simply click the “photos” tab on your portal dashboard and click on a photo to enlarge it.  Use the arrows within the picture to scroll through additional pictures.  A picture is worth a thousand words!     

Communicating with Your Student

The portal is the best way to communicate with your student. The “inbox” tab allows you to easily send and receive messages. We’ve recently added video capabilities. This allows you and your student to use your phone or computer’s webcam to send short videos to each other. Students love to see videos of their sponsors. 

Students receive messages and videos through the portal much sooner than handwritten letters. Easily connect with your student anytime, sending a thoughtful “I’ve been thinking about you” message, simplifying your communication.

More Enhancements 

We will continue to make portal improvements to increase communication and provide useful information understanding.   We are going to add tips on communicating with your student, FAQs, program overviews, and more. We’re also planning educational programs where sponsors will be able to get together, learn more about Kenya, our programs, and network with each other. 

If you have ideas for new features, let us know.  If you haven’t been on the portal recently, log back on to see the changes and know that more is to come.