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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Notes from Paula

As we begin 2019, I believe that Friends of Ngong Road and our sister organization in Nairobi are turning a corner in three ways:  

  1. The program is delivering results in young lives transformed by education and employment;
  2. Ngong Road Children’s Foundation in Nairobi is a dramatically more mature, effective organization than it has ever been; and
  3. Friends of Ngong Road are poised to move to the next level.

We began working with the first group of children in Nairobi’s Dagoretti slums in late 2006 – twelve years ago.  That first group of sixty children is now young adults. Among the early classes of students who have successfully navigated the entire program, including Primary, Secondary, and Post-Secondary schooling. 93% today have jobs or are in internships we believe will lead to employment.  In the 2012 NRCF Plan, we dramatically strengthened our criteria for admission to the program.

We expect as these later classes of students complete their education, more and more will be eligible for government scholarships in post-secondary colleges and universities. And, we have built programs designed to bolster success through Sexual & Reproductive Health training and Life Skills training.  We are optimistic that the formula we have created will continue to work. Explore the jobs our graduates have secured through the information provided on the poster below.

In 2016, the Kenyan Executive Director’s embezzlement roiled the organization in Nairobi. We have successfully remade our Kenyan operations by outsourcing financial management to a professional firm, recruiting a very competent Kenyan board of directors to provide local oversight, and strengthening Friends of Ngong Road’s role in financial oversight and control.  Our leaders in Kenya, including the board and the new Program Director, are creating a professional, well-run Kenyan organization.

Finally, Friends of Ngong Road completed a strategic plan that includes the replacement of my volunteer-President role with that of a new, paid Executive Director and the transition of our joint organizations to one that can support even more children in the future.  More than 550 children have been affected by this program, and while a few have moved away or gotten derailed, many have become young adults with bright futures.

We have much work to do in order to continue delivering on our mission. Above all, I am most deeply appreciative of you – our sponsors, donors and supporters who have made this work possible.

In gratitude,

Paula Meyer
Founder and President

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IRA Charitable Contribution

Are you over 70 ½? Consider using your individual retirement account (IRA) to make a gift to Friends of Ngong Road. The Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) provision allows individuals of at least 70 ½ years of age to distribute funds from an individual retirement account (IRA) to a qualifying charity without the transfer qualifying as income.

Several of our donors have used this provision to contribute to Friends of Ngong Road in a tax-advantaged way. Consult your financial advisor or the financial institution that holds your IRA to learn if this is appropriate for you and to find out what special processing is required to make a QCD.

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Help us meet the match by December 31

This holiday season, we give thanks to the 93 percent of our post-secondary graduates who have secured a job or internship following graduation. Here are photos and job titles of some students who are starting to transform their lives. They graduated from our post-secondary program and have since gained experience in a job or internship.


We are so proud of these students! But there is more work to do. Just over $40,000 of our $65,000 Ted and Kathy Truscott Annual Appeal Match has been met. Help us meet our match so we can continue providing this exceptional program for students.

George, a program graduate and now a caseworker for the program say he “sees peers from his childhood in the slums without work. Many are wrapped up in drugs or have unplanned pregnancies at a young age.” But George has a job and a bright future. Your support has meant the world to him.

Help us meet the Annual Appeal Match today by donating at www.ngongroad.org/donate or by sending a check to P.O. Box 581308, Minneapolis, MN 55458. Donating your gift in honor of a loved one can make for a meaningful holiday gift.

If you have already given to the Annual Appeal Match, we thank you! Together we can keep making a difference for kids in Kenya.

Happy holidays to you and yours,

Lacey Signature

Lacey Kraft
Development Director

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Notes from Paula

Joy and George from Kenya Visiting U.S. in late October

We are delighted to welcome two Ngong Road Children’s Foundation case workers, Joy and George to the U.S. in late October.  

  • Joy serves as head of the Post-Secondary and Alumni Department.  Her team helps recent high school graduates find a post-secondary program that matches their academic performance and interests; when they have finished their studies her team helps them find jobs. The program now has 83 students in post-secondary programs and 33 alumni.
  • George is a caseworker with our primary-aged students and our first visitor who is a graduate of the program.  George joined the program in 2007, finished high school in 2013 and then completed a 2-year diploma in Community Development.  When he graduated, Ngong Road Children’s Foundation had a caseworker opening and George got the job.

Employment Results.  We have had 30 students complete post-secondary programs, and 28 of the 30, or 93%, secured a job or internship following graduation.  Many more will graduate in the coming months. We hope that with the support of our alumni caseworker, local board, and new life skills program that they will get jobs soon.  We already have some wonderful stories:

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Sponsor Spotlight: Lori Harris

Lori Harris

Lori Harris always wanted to sponsor a child, but she was skeptical. She served in law enforcement for over twenty years and had seen and heard too many stories of the funds not getting to the children and programs with big executive salaries. Then her pastor, who knew about the program through her colleague at the seminary, invited founder and president, Paula Meyer, to speak at their church.

She was impressed by the transparency that Paula Meyer and the Friends of Ngong Road program offered. She appreciated the sustainable model they worked to create. Lori had never heard of a program where you could go to the country and meet the students, see their schools, hear the stories of their guardians, and really make a difference. She decided to become a sponsor.

Lori’s connection with Friends of Ngong Road and her students deepened when she traveled to Kenya with Meyer and other sponsors in 2012. Lori says, “My experience on that trip cemented my belief, trust, and passion for the program, which grew exponentially as I was able to see firsthand where my money went. I was able to see the passion and dedication in the teachers and the enthusiasm of the children and sincere appreciation for the program to give them a brighter future.”

Lori feels blessed to have had the chance to learn about kids on the other side of the globe. She enjoys reading their letters and cherishes the memory of meeting her students and their families.

Lori sponsored Fredrick who graduated with his certificate in construction and plant mechanics at the Kenya Institute of Highway and Building Technology in 2017. He is working in construction in northern Kenya and has been an Associate with Karibu Loo. Lori also sponsors Esther in Form 1 (freshman in high school) and John in Class 4 (grade 4).

If you are interested in traveling to Kenya with Friends of Ngong Road, please contact Lacey Kraft at lacey@ngongroad.org or 612-568-4211.