Friends of Ngong Road

We empower Nairobi children living in poverty to transform their lives through education and support, leading to employment.

Archives for March 2022

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Our Computers Are Crashing!


Computers and access to the internet are critical to a student’s success and future employment.  Technology rapidly evolves making older ones obsolete.   Our students have been using cheap and underpowered computers.  They are slow, limited in functionality, and incompatible with what students need today for school.  And yes, they periodically crash which is quite frustrating. 

New machines will give students the skills and experience to perform well in school and be better prepared as they eventually seek employment.  The new Elimu Hub (student center) will provide high-speed internet (powered by solar!) which, in combination with these gadgets, will transform the experience. 

Our goal is to raise $30,000 to buy new computers and fund programs that support the use and learning of technology.   

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Waiting Students

Fenny

Fenny, an ever-smiling young girl is a 5th-grade student who lives with her mother and two siblings. They live in a double room made of iron sheets and timber, sharing the bathroom and toilet with the neighbors as the house is not self-contained. Her mother is a hairdresser and works at a local hair salon but because she is the sole provider, the income that she gets is never enough to sustain the family.

Fenny’s mother says she is a very hardworking girl and that is evident in her academics as she scored a total of 602 marks out of 700 in her placement interview. She loves going to school and according to her, it is her favorite place to be. She loves reading different storybooks and she aspires to join the army after she is done with her studies. 

The thought of getting a sponsor in the program really excites Fenny as she wants to be able to pursue her educational dreams.  

Ryan 

Ryan is 12 years old. With his mother and sister, he lives in a two-room brick house. Their home isn’t self-contained, so they must share the bathroom and toilet with their neighbors. His mother is a community health worker who loves to empower women. She also works casual jobs such as housecleaning to support her family as a single mother. 

He is smart and hard-working.  After putting in a lot of effort, Ryan achieved 355 marks on a recent exam. English is his favorite subject, and he hopes to become a doctor one day so that he can help other people with health issues. Additionally, he enjoys participating in extracurricular activities. Whenever he has free time, he loves to play soccer with friends.

Ryan would be able to pursue his career and educational goals with the help of sponsorship. He is determined to make a difference in society and inspire other young children. 

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Brother and Sister Graduation Story

Emmanuel and Lorine are two remarkable siblings who have benefited from our programs. We feature their graduation stories in this article.

Emmanuel 

Emmanuel joined the program in 2010. Having to pay for his education as a child was a tremendous challenge for his family. Friends of Ngong Road gave Emmanuel a sponsor and enabled him to continue his academic career.

Emmanuel transferred to Jagiet Academy, recognizing it as superior to his previous institution. After completing his primary education, he attended Pumwani High School where he completed his secondary education and joined the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. His graduation was originally scheduled for November last year but was postponed to April this year because of the Covid pandemic. His graduation will be an inspiration.

Emmanuel holds a Certificate in Business Administration and a University Diploma in Business Information Technology. Emmanuel is currently interning at Ngong Road Children’s Foundation as a tech intern.

Lorine 

Lorine, sister to Emmanuel, was admitted to the program earlier than her brother. It was fortunate for both of them to have the same sponsor.


Lorines’ success story is inspiring and uplifting.  As a member of the Friends of Ngong Road family, Lorine started her academic journey at Jagiet Primary School. She later did her secondary studies at St Mary’s Thiago.


She holds a certificate in Business Administration, a University diploma in Business Administration, as well as a Bachelor of Commerce with a Finance concentration from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. Her graduation is an inspiration.


Lorine has made steady progress in her professional life. She participated in the Ngong Road Youth Peer Provider and Sexual and Reproductive Health Program, and she interned at Karibu Loo as an associate. Currently she works in the finance team at British East African Tobacco Company.

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TechMates

We consider students fully transformed once they are employed. To enhance their employability, we launched several employment programs, one of them being the TechMates program. TechMates is our new technical training program focused on IT and digital marketing.

Launched in September 2021

The program began in September 2021. Seven graduates have benefited from this program so far. Each year we aim to recruit at least two interns every six months. During that period, they undergo basic technical training in WordPress website programming and design. After the training, they develop their websites and work on website enhancement and digital marketing for Friends of Ngong Road( FoNR), Ngong Road Children’s Foundation (NRCF), and Karibu Loo as an implementation of the skills acquired during the training. This enhances their technical and interpersonal skills which are key in the professional world.

Techmates Structure

The program is generally divided into two paths that individuals can choose to take depending on preference and area of expertise. They include :

  1. Developer Path – Generally involves web development and software creation and management.
  2. Digital Marketing Path

Experience with clients

We also seek clients that require freelancing services and provide them with TechMates. Our current customers include

  •   Lido Nation a blockchain educational website whose focus is to help educate people about blockchain technologies. We provide we developments and content translation services for them.