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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New Sponsor Portal Launched!

We are excited to announce the launch of the new Friends of Ngong Road Sponsor Portal: https://sandbox.ngongroad.org/sponsor/

Purpose: The new portal is designed to foster a deeper understanding of Friends of Ngong Road sponsors of the children they sponsor and to form a stronger relationship between sponsors and students. The portal includes a photo gallery, school marks, child assessments, renewal information, and a link to write the sponsored child.

Future Enhancements: As this is version 1.0, sponsors can expect to see updates and improvements in the coming months. In upcoming versions we plan to include:

  • Annual student assessments are delivered electronically instead of via post
  • Donation and sponsorship payment history (an easy way to check on giving history and print receipts for tax purposes)
  • Monthly giving subscription management (ability to update credit cards, pay for multiple children, etc.)
  • Photo library and tagging system (we have a wealth of amazing photographs–too many for our current system to handle–an upgrade is needed to make these photos available to sponsors)**
  • Communication tools and tracking (a history of all written communications between sponsors and children and the ability to correspond more efficiently that supports photo/video, etc.)**

**We are currently seeking funding for these projects. If you are interested in underwriting one of these enhancements, please contact Lacey Kraft at Lacey@ngongroad.org.

Sponsors: To log in for the first time you will need to create an account. Here’s how:

  1. Start by visiting ngongroad.org/sponsor/
  2. Click “New User” under the login
  3. Enter your email address (the one you use to communicate with Friends of Ngong Road).
  4. Check your email inbox. You will receive an email with a link that allows you to create a password. Click it.
  5. Enter your new password. You will use the same email address and the password you create to log in from now on. You can reset the password at any time by clicking the “Lost Password?” link below the login form.

See the brief video demonstrating this process here.

We welcome your feedback as we continue to make the portal and your sponsorship a positive experience for you and your student(s). Please use the feedback form link at the top of your portal homepage. Or, for assistance and comments, contact the Friends of Ngong Road technology and operations team at staff@ngongroad.org or 612-568-4211.

Thank you for helping to transform lives through education!

Andy Walz
Board Member, Technology
Friends of Ngong Road

PS – if you are not a sponsor but are interested in learning more about the new portal, please contact Development Director, Lacey Kraft, at lacey@ngongroad.org or 612-568-4211. She would be happy to give you a demonstration of the portal and explain what sponsorship entails.

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2017 Annual Gathering Recap

Annual Gathering Guests_2

This year’s Annual Gathering, themed “Ready, Willing & Able”, was held at Surly Brewery on Monday, November 13. It was a huge success thanks to the many who came to hear an update on the program, and the success of the students, and meet Maureen Mulievi, Ngong Road Children’s Foundation Program Director who was visiting from Nairobi.

Paula Meyer, Friends of Ngong Road Founder and President, highlighted the success of the first ten years of the organization that is proven through the organization’s own data. After post-secondary education, 91% of students find employment or internships, moving towards full-time work.

Kenya’s employment rate is around 60%, while first-time young adult workers face just 15% employment opportunity. Paula noted that this organization is “Ready” to continue transforming lives going forward.

Maureen Mulievi, Program Director in Kenya, then shared about her background growing up in rural Kenya in a large family. Her father was a teacher and farmer and believed in educating girls. At the time, the popular belief in the rural community was that educating a girl was a wasted investment as the girl would marry young and only enhance the new spouse’s family, not her own.

Rotary and Wilderness Inquiry

Finally, Evan and Meghan Feige, young professionals from the Twin Cities, talked about their experience launching a pilot life skills program in Kenya In January 2017. They plan to return to Kenya in January 2018 to launch a comprehensive life skills program for all secondary students and recent graduates with the support of Rotary International.

As always, the gathering was a reminder that the mission of transforming lives is only possible because of the committed and diverse community of people who care about providing access to education for children who otherwise would not have a chance.

If you did not get to attend the event, we invite you to listen to the Illumini Podcast produced by longtime volunteer, Steve Kotvis.

Steve has interviewed Paula and Maureen and intends to release a third interview with the Feiges. This will provide individuals who were unable to attend the Annual Gathering with a more comprehensive understanding of the discussions.

Listening is fun for anyone, whether they are new to or already familiar with the organization. Go ahead and check it out!

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First Annual Urgent Run

World Toilet Day/World Portable Sanitation Day was November 19, and to celebrate the occasion, the Portable Sanitation Association International (PSAI) put on a 5k Urgent Run fun run/walk in Minneapolis that benefitted Karibu Loo! In 2015, we established Karibu Loo as our portable sanitation business in Nairobi. Our mission was clear: to provide income to the non-profit, create job opportunities for graduates, and enhance sanitation in Kenya.

PSAI promotes global access to clean sanitation, aiding portable sanitation firms. It envisions a world with safe facilities for all.

Mike Switzer Urgent Run

On a cold November morning, participants held The Urgent Run at Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. Several Karibu Loo supporters, including Mike Switzer, the founding manager of Karibu Loo, showed up to test out their running skills in the portable sanitation competition.

Mike won the Urgent Run by breaking the finish line made appropriately of toilet paper. Mike was presented with a medal and Karibu Loo was presented with a check for just under $4,000.

PSAI has been a supportive partner, resource, and cheerleader as we continue working to make Karibu Loo a success in Kenya. In August 2018, PSAI members aimed to bolster support, meet Nairobi’s Karibu Loo, its staff, students, and Kenya’s wildlife.

Thank you, PSAI, for all of your support!

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Meyer Wins the “Friend of the Community” African Award

African Award

We are proud to announce that this year’s Mshale “Friend of the Community” African Award winner is our founder and president, Paula Meyer. Thank you to everyone who texted to vote and to the African Awards community! It is well deserved for the work Paula has done to give over 500 children the opportunity to transform their lives through education.

African Awards, were launched in 2008, and presented annually by Mshale newspaper. Founded in 1996 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mshale Newspaper prides itself as the voice of the African immigrant community in the Midwest and around the United States.

Award Nomination Narrative (Used to “Pitch” for the Award)
Paula Meyer is a leader people follow enthusiastically and unquestioningly while considering themselves lucky to be in her orbit. In 2007 Meyer founded Friends of Ngong Road (FONR) with the mission to provide education and support to children living in poverty in Kenya so they can transform their lives. Meyer retired early from her successful corporate career, dedicated the next chapter of her life’s work to helping children in Kenya, and has not looked back. Today over 500 Kenyan children have had the chance at an education they otherwise would not.

Meyer advocates for social justice and has impeccable integrity. She is extraordinarily compassionate with one of the most remarkable and infectious, big laughs. One of the first women to serve as finance chair of a major U.S. Senate campaign, Meyer earned her M.B.A. from Wharton Business School. She rose to senior positions at Ameriprise and now serves on corporate boards in the financial sector. She is a passionate advocate for Kenyan children and families, promoting humility, egalitarianism, and transforming lives through a program’s impact.

Meyer’s unique contribution is that she brings her business acumen to problem-solving, a determination to use metrics and evidence to guide decision-making, and a drive to work toward worthwhile and achievable goals. Under her leadership, educational milestones are monitored to best support student success toward employment:

  • 8th-grade exam: for the past eight years, Friends of Ngong Road students have outperformed their Kenyan peers, granting them admission to higher-quality high schools.
  • High school transition: Friends of Ngong Road students transition at rates higher than 92 percent versus 63 percent in Kenya at large.
  • High school graduation: more than 95 percent of Friends of Ngong Road students successfully graduate.
  • Employment: 91 percent of Friends of Ngong Road post-secondary graduates have jobs or internships that may lead to employment.

In 2017, a new alumni caseworker was hired to support Meyer’s immediate goal for 75% of graduates to be gainfully employed by 2018. Her exceptional integrity, vision, positivity, and charisma are the magic glue that has built FoNR and will continue to support the Kenyan community FoNR supports.

Meyer has helped teach people to fish rather than giving them fish, enabling them to be agents of transformation in their communities. The wrap-around services and deep emotional connections among board members, sponsors, caseworkers, graduates, and students creates extraordinary success. Winning this award would enable Meyer and FONR to not just sustain the work and help start bringing it to scale, but demonstrate to others that we have the collective capacity to solve the most intractable worldwide problems. The children of Kenya in the program radiate the most capacious hope. What a gift to the world in these troubled times.