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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Camp 2018

Camp 2018 was a success! Over 90% of the NRCF students attended grammar and senior camps. Together with the students, volunteers, and NRCF staff, every day was a fun, new adventure. Children were able to mingle with old friends and make new friends. They enjoyed nutritional meals and new experiences during field trips. The field trips to William Holden Animal Foundation and Ngare Ndare Forest Trust offered students great exposure to natural resources and the opportunity to learn about conservation. Students were also able to engage in fun sports activities, problem-solving games, crazy games, and the Olympics. There was a great show of team spirit and collaboration during camp!

The camp theme this year was “I am in charge!” One student wrote,“The doctor told her I had already done as much as what they were to do and that really encouraged my dream of becoming a surgeon when I grow up. Since that day I appointed myself in charge of any injuries in the house and treat them very well because the doctors’ saying really enabled me to know how good one feels after helping a patient become normal again.”

Because of you, NRCF students know that they are in charge of their future and their dreams. Thank you for taking charge to make a positive change in the lives of our students.

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Student Essays: “I Believe I Can!”

In Gavin’s essay titled “I Believe I Can,” Gavin describes going to a secondary boarding school and being judged by his peers for coming from the slums. With self-awareness and courage, he reached out to his school counselor for help. He writes, “I now view myself as someone born to succeed from a gloomy past…I can be anyone in society I believe I can.” At camp each year, students write essays about their lives connected to the camp theme. Students often share intimate, powerful parts of their lives. Gavin, John, Edmond, Tina, Tito, and Joyce invite you to read their full essays.

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Letter from Nairobi

August Camp Bells are Ringing

As you are probably aware, the students of the Ngong Road Children’s Foundation (NRCF) live mainly in the slums, where they live difficult lives and have limited exposure to good physical and social amenities. Because of this, the annual August Camp is truly the highlight of the year for our students. With gratitude for sponsors, donors, and dedicated volunteers, our thriving camps have flourished for a decade, improving annually.

August Camp has many educational, well-being, and social objectives, all set in a fun, learning environment. Camp strives to:

  • Provide unique, fun educational experiences.
  • Improve health and well-being.
  • Create a close-knit, supportive community, where students develop a strong sense of belonging and where they are exposed to and taught about good personal values.  
  • Develop leaders and teach leadership skills.
  • Provide a new view of the world to all who attend camp, both students and international volunteers alike.
  • Give students who live day-to-day lives in poverty and in difficult circumstances, the opportunity to just have fun and be kids in a safe environment.

The outcome is transformative, impacting students and volunteers from Kenya and abroad, altering lives through a profound experience. Our NRCF students are anxiously waiting for this year’s August Camp, which is scheduled for August 6th to 22nd. We’re crafting a dynamic program with indoor and outdoor activities to stimulate students both physically and mentally.

Run in an environment that encourages openness, the camp will include guest speakers who put emphasis on discipline. Hard work as cornerstones for success, as good classes to help students develop key personal and life skills to prepare them for their future careers. Help them grow up as responsible citizens.

I know our students are lucky to have both local and international sponsors and supporters who are touched by their plight and who generously sponsor their formal education. Camp goes beyond this and provides a means to develop the all-around person. As you can imagine, holding an off-site 17-day camp for our 377 students is costly. Against this background, in June we will be kindly inviting our enthusiastic supporters to make donations to ensure that every student gets the opportunity to attend this year’s camp.  

I sincerely thank all stakeholders for dedicating time and funds, vital to the success of our previous camps. Grateful! Be on the lookout to “Send a Kid to Camp” this June!

Maureen Mulievi
Program Director
Ngong Road Children’s Foundation

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Derrick said “I Can” at Camp

Thanks to you, Derrick found the courage to say “I can” at camp 2017.

Camp 2017 was held near Mt. Kenya, a serene, peaceful part of Kenya. Students rode buses for three and a half hours to the rented boarding school and were anxious to have fun with friends while exploring a new part of their country.

Derrick

Again this year we saw that camp is one of the most effective community-building parts of the Friends of Ngong Road program. Students, staff, board members, and volunteers were together in one, safe place. Students realized that they are not alone, but are part of the Ngong Road Children’s Foundation family.  They got to know their caseworker better. They learned about another culture from several Tulane students and other volunteers who traveled to camp to help conduct the program. They ate three healthy meals a day, learned about topics they do not get in school such as leadership and confidence building, and they had fun.

This year’s camp theme was “I Can.” In Derrick’s essay titled “I Believe I Can” that he wrote at camp, he says, “The most difficult problem that I have faced is standing in front of my peers and speaking to them…I came to realize that if I will not change it, it will affect me academically. How I came to overcome this challenge was during the NRCF Camp 2017. I was appointed to be a squad leader. I accepted the leadership but one thing that was in my mind was how will I speak to my peers and the other adults. But through the mentoring from different guests, (I gained) the courage and strategies to overcome this challenges…I really appreciate the 2017 NRCF Camp with the motto, “I Believe I Can,” that motivates most of us to (have the) courage and braveness to overcome challenges as (well) as we can.”

Because of you, Derrick and over 300 students discovered more about what they can do. The $10,000 match was met, and all students who were available to attend camp were given the opportunity to attend. Thank you for caring. Thank you for saying “I Can” send a kid to camp so that students can say “I can transform my life.” Thank you.

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Camp 2017 Update

Thanks to those who “sent a kid to camp” this year; Camp 2017 is in full swing! The four-day Leadership Camp is wrapping up today and Grammar Camp (students aged 10-13) begins tomorrow. Students prepare for camp near Mt. Kenya at Naromoru Girls Secondary School in Nyeri County, packing warm clothes. This is about a three-and-a-half hour drive from Nairobi where temperatures range 55-70 degrees Fahrenheit during August.

Late last week, nine U.S. volunteers safely arrived in Kenya and are actively creating a positive camp experience. They are teaching classes, play games, and building relationships with our students.

While camp is off to a great start, you may have heard about the recent elections in Kenya. The area where the camp is being held (and where students, staff, and volunteers are staying) has remained calm following the election. On August 15, camp director, Tom Gleason, wrote, “This is a lovely, remote, and secure area to hold camp. Despite the election, volunteers and kids for camp are unaffected. Isolation ensures security, leaving us untouched in this peaceful place.

The camps are running smoothly.”

Friends of Ngong Road President and Founder, Paula Meyer, wrote this about the organization’s decision to continue with camp 2017: “On August 8, Kenya held elections for positions of President, Members of Parliament and local offices. The following day a small group of people from both Kenya and the U.S. met by Skype to discuss the security situation after the elections with the goal of deciding whether or not to proceed with Camp 2017. Kenya held peaceful elections in 2013 but there was considerable post-election violence in 2007.

With just one day elapsed since the election, formal results were not yet published by the Kenya election board. We heard the perspectives of Rajpreet Bains, Ngong Road Children Foundation board chair, and Maureen Mulievi, program director. Rajpreet brought insights from a Kenyan security expert. The biggest risk the team perceived was that there would be isolated violence from supporters of the leading opposition candidate, Raila Odinga. At the time we spoke there had been a few violent episodes, however on balance the country was peaceful – especially in the area near the planned camp. On the basis of our understanding that this trend would continue, we made the decision to proceed with Camp 2017.”

We anticipate the area near camp will remain calm in the coming weeks. Energy will remain high at camp with fun, learning and memories abounding. Check back to our news page and social media for future updates on camp!

If the Gleason Camp Endowment Fund and its lasting impact on the camp’s future intrigue you, or if you hold inquiries about this year’s camp, kindly reach out to the Development Director, Lacey Kraft at lacey@ngongroad.org or 612-568-4211.