Children grow up one day at a time and while it is happening, it can feel so very slow. Friends of Ngong Road is finishing its thirteenth year of operations and because of that, we have a large number of students who are now completing their education and launching careers. In September and October 2019, twenty young people got new jobs. Here is a samplingā¦
- Selina, Mary, Cynthia, Lydia, and Ann got jobs as beauticians or nail technicians
- Stephen is working as a freelance computer technician
- Brian is working in the family business as a meat supplier
- Victor and Wycliffe are both working as entrepreneurs
- Hellen is working in a health care clinic, registering patients
- Margaret and Patrick are both working for Ngong Road Childrenās Foundation
- Clinton is working as a refrigerator technician and Shammah as a plumber
- Vivian got a job in food service at Kenyatta National Hospital
One of the students my husband and I sponsored completed her education about four years ago and informed me over the weekend that she is finally going to officially get her diploma in December. Another that we sponsored will also get his diploma in December and is working as a civil engineer on a water project near Jomo Kenyatta Airport.
Students who finished high school several years ago continue to work to improve their situations. Alice, who finished high school in 2013 and then had a baby, has gotten a part-time job at Safari.com working at corporate-hosted events. Esther, who graduated in 2012, got a new job as a customer service representative for a VIP travel agency.
With each of these stories, we see themes familiar to our own lives. You finish your education, get a job, then perhaps a better job. Sometimes you get sidetracked for a while, but then there is a course correction and a new opportunity comes along.
These are now young adults living normal, productive, middle-class lives in Kenya. They have broken the cycle of poverty and broken free of the slums. This is our mission and in each person who gets a job, we say Mission Accomplished!
Thank you for being part of it, for being patient with students who get side-tracked, and for celebrating with us for each life transformed.
Paula Meyer
Founder and President
Betsy and Roland Hayes says
Thank you Paula, the staff, and the board of Friends of Ngong Road. We sponsors are grateful to you, and the other leaders who make all of this possible. We are very privileged to support the children as they grow into young adults.
We wish them all the best as they complete their education and launch fulfilling careers and lives.