As we reflect on the last year, we are so grateful to you. Your generous donations, hours of volunteering, trips to Kenya, letters to your students, and care for kids in Kenya have fueled the mission of transforming lives through education to employment. Cheers to you!

Here are some highlights of what we did, together:

Annual Appeal Goal Hit! 

Ted and Kathy Truscott’s $70,000 Annual Appeal match goal was hit on December 30! This year’s Annual Appeal match goal was the largest ever and allowed important programming not covered by sponsorship fees to be accessed by all of our students. Such programs include nutrition, healthcare, camp, caseworker support, sexual and reproductive health, life skills, our library and computer lab, and more. Sincere thanks to everyone who helped us meet the match.

Class 8 Exam Results Are In and Are Great.

At the end of each calendar year, which is the end of the school year in Kenya, students in Class 8 (Grade 8) and Form 4 (Seniors) complete their final exams to determine their next educational step. Lincoln (pictured here) scored the best of our Class 8 students . 100 percent of our Class 8 students are expected to join a secondary school, and six scored high enough to be admitted to national schools, the best in the country. 

We Are Proud of Our First University Graduates, Eric, and Victor.

Our first university graduates were Eric and Victor . Eric and Victor both graduated from Kenyatta University with Degrees in Procurement and Computer Mathematics respectively. Victor is a self-employed entrepreneur and currently runs a small gaming business while he is looking for work in his field.

Eric’s promotion at Digital Divide Data has elevated him to the position of a full-time Project Manager. In this role, he manages a team of individuals and interacts directly with clients.

He is looking for a new apartment out of the slums. We are proud of Victor, Eric, and all of our graduates.

The Life Skills Program is Making a Big Difference for our Students.
The Life Skills Program is led by our local caseworkers with the support of Rotary International and Friends of Ngong Road board member, Meghan Feige. Topics such as goal setting, peer pressure, well-being, problem-solving, resume writing, interview skills, and more are taught. Graduation rates of our high school students have increased since starting the Life Skills Program, and the hands-on sessions have become a highlight for our students. Life Skills is already having a direct impact on student self-confidence and self-awareness. We anticipate the program having impacts on employment success and will continue monitoring and evaluating the program.

The Sexual and Reproductive Health Program Matters for Student Success.
Our Sexual and Reproductive Health Program was started in 2017 and is led by our Youth Peer Providers, who are our secondary and post-secondary students trained by Planned Parenthood. The program has received immense support from Tulane University’s Newcomb Institute and the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. So far:

• We have trained 300 out of 335 students.
• 96% of participants agreed more training sessions would be helpful.
• 26% of participants have accessed free medical care at our partner clinic.
• Unplanned pregnancies among our students have significantly dropped.

Karibu Loo Won an All-Kenya Service Award as Business Continues to Improve.

In September, the Karibu Loo team applied for and won the Kenyan hospitality industry’s MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) Award for the “Best Sanitation Provider in Kenya”. The team presented the award at a dinner event, which all the managers proudly attended.

Shown at left, from left:  Steven Muendo, Operations Manager; Emmanuel Mukasa, Business Development Director; Maureen Mulievi, General Manager; and Norman Ruguroa, Administrative/Marketing Associate.

To read more about Karibu Loo: https://sandbox.ngongroad.org/2019/11/12/karibu-loo-business-update/

By Paula Meyer, Founder, and President

I just returned from a visit to Kenya on December 10. One of my favorite things to do in Kenya is spend time with alumni to learn about their lives since graduation. Here are the stories of several alumni and one about a student who will graduate from law school in 2020.

Margaret joined our program in 2008. In 2017, Margaret finished a program in Community Development. Ngong Road Children’s Foundation employed her as an intern for six months after which she got an entry-level job with the law firm Odero Osiemo Advocates. Margaret explained to me that she wanted to become a lawyer, but her grades were not high enough to be admitted to a law school program. She began at the firm as an office administrator and was soon promoted to assistant to one of the lawyers. The firm has now offered Margaret the opportunity to attend a six-month professional training program in 2020 to become a mediator. They will pay her fees and continue to employ her as she goes through this program. Margaret has built a new, better life for herself. Margaret was sponsored by Anne McCulloch.

Philip joined the program in 2007 and finished a training program to become a plumber in 2019. Philip was raised by his single mother who worked part-time as a community worker. While a student in our program, Philip’s teachers consistently noted that he was hardworking, punctual, and a good problem-solver. Today, Philip is not employed full-time with any single organization, but rather serves as a plumbing contractor. He has developed a wonderful, outgoing personality that will serve him well as he works to support his young family. Philip is now married; he and his wife had a son in 2019 whom they named Lennick – after Doug and Beth Ann Lennick, his sponsors for all those years.

Elizabeth was raised by her aunt and uncle. Her aunt was an elementary school teacher at the school where Elizabeth attended. Elizabeth was always near the top of her class and she graduated from high school in 2015. Since then, she has been enrolled at the University of Nairobi, studying law. She is on track to graduate in 2020 and hopes to land an internship at a law firm in Kenya. Elizabeth and her aunt attended the 2019 Annual General Meeting for Ngong Road Children’s Foundation in Kenya where we saw each other and she explained that she is really looking forward to getting a job. Needless to say, her aunt is very proud of Elizabeth.

Jackline was in our first high school graduating class in 2012 and was of the very first students in our program. After completing high school she took a one-year program in front-office skills. Upon completing that program, Jackline became the enthusiastic and always cheerful NRCF/Karibu Loo receptionist. In 2014, her pleasant and outgoing personality got her hired by Bimeda, a veterinary supply company, as a Customer Care Representative. Having been very happy and successful in that role, Jackline is now pursuing additional education, courtesy of Bimeda, and hopes to move into a sales position in the future. She lives with her mother, one sister, and a niece and has moved her family out of the slums into an apartment with running water and electricity, luxuries never before enjoyed by the family. Jackline was proudly sponsored by Keith and Kathleen Kale.

Karibu Loo Business Continues to Stabilize and Grow
October was the fourth profitable month in a row for Karibu Loo. The business seems to have found its footing and is now a growing young business in a pioneering area.

Winner of the “Best Sanitation Provider in Kenya” Award
In September the team applied for and won the Kenyan hospitality industry’s MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) Award for the “Best Sanitation Provider in Kenya”. The team presented the award at a dinner event, which all the managers proudly attended. Since winning the prize, the marketing staff has blasted the news out as an email to all current and prospective clients and featured it on the website and on Facebook. It is a source of pride for the whole organization.

Social Media Marketing Fueling Success
While our Business Development Manager remains focused on institutional sales (especially schools and construction companies), a growing part of the business comes from our emphasis on social media marketing. Maureen Mulievi, our Executive Director, hired a Google expert who has significantly increased our online presence and effectiveness. Our phone started ringing so much that we have had to go to a new phone system to keep up with the calls from individual customers and businesses. That combined with our MICE Award has helped both institutional and event-driven sales.

Our Staff has become a Marketing Tool!
One of the key differentiators for Karibu Loo is that we hire only our program graduates for fieldwork. Our Senior Associates accompany every delivery and set up the units at the events or construction sites. To amplify our presence, we bought Karibu Loo branded overalls for the four young men who drive our trucks and deliver our units. Our customers gave us immediate positive feedback on having our workers in their new bright-red branded overalls. Associates have always worn red t-shirts with the Karibu Loo logo, but when the weather is bad the kids put on rain gear, which immediately covers up the logo. We are buying raincoats for the Associates to wear and gain exposure for the brand at the same time.