News - Page 35 of 92 - Friends of Ngong Road

April 4, 2023 By Sallyanne Atieno Leave a Comment

The Aspiring “A” Student

My name is Michael, I consider myself to be a highly ambitious student. I reside in Nairobi with my mother and four siblings. I was attending a local school, St. Joseph of Tarpes, before joining the program.

Immediately I enrolled in one of the program’s focus schools, where I took my Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and achieved above-average performance. I was the top performer in my school and one of the top five performers in the NRCF program.

This achievement earned me a spot at top performing high school in Siaya County, an extra-county-level boarding boys’ high school. They have dubbed the institution “the gentlemen’s school.”

This is because of its reputation for producing moral and visionary leaders like Prof. John Lonyangapuo, the governor of West Pokot County, and the late Tom Mboya, a freedom warrior, among others. In January 2020, I began at the school. In my final year of high school, I have diligently worked to maintain a high grade point average.. I’ve been the school captain since I was in my third year. I am the president of various clubs, including mathematics, science and engineering, and modern dance.

Aiming to get an “A” on my final high school exams. I want to be the top student in the program as well as among the top students in my school. I’d want to attend the University of Nairobi and study chemical engineering, which would allow me to create and construct chemical manufacturing processes, or human pathology, which is the study of the causes and consequences of diseases or injuries on the human body.

Delighted to be a part of the program! I would like to express my gratitude to my sponsor for supporting me through this educational experience. I want to be a successful alumnus who gives back to the program so that other students may benefit from the same high-quality education I have received.

March 30, 2023 By Sallyanne Atieno Leave a Comment

Food Aid Support Program

In March 2020, food aid support was enabled for parents affected by job loss due to COVID-19. In addition, most people had to stay at home due to the enforced restrictions. The majority of the food assistance at the time came from different partners and donors. The entire undertaking was referred to as “food from friends.”

Three years after the epidemic, the economy has not fully recovered, leaving most parents unemployed or struggling to support their families. As a result, NRCF is continuing to provide food assistance to these parents as well as any other program parents who are struggling to put a meal on the table due to other factors like illness or other hardships.

COVID-19 loosened in 2022, we ceased food aid support for parents, but tracked those still needing it. This was done per department. Case managers identified multiple parents in their caseload requiring food assistance and provided fixed packages to distribute monthly from allocated food to each parent.

This will be the norm in 2023 too as we continue to support struggling parents. The food aid program has so far helped more than 130 parents in the first quarter of 2023. Our aim is to be able to assist all NRCF parents who are having a hard time feeding their families.

We call upon well-wishers to help us continue offering this support to our parents.

March 28, 2023 By Sallyanne Atieno Leave a Comment

The Inspiring Story of Clare

My name is Clare. My name means “shining or bright,” and I was told that it was given to me by my mother because she knew I would be a bright girl in school and she also wanted me to have a bright future. I have four other siblings with whom I share my home, but growing up was not easy.

My grandmother, who has raised me along with my siblings, learned of a sponsorship opportunity at Ngong Road Children’s Foundation and requested assistance there right away. After passing my interview, I was given the opportunity to join the program and started attending one of the program’s focus primary schools for my elementary education, where I sat for my Kenya Certificate of Primary Education. While I was in grades 6 and 7, I was appointed as the class prefect for the corresponding classes, and I thoroughly enjoyed expressing my leadership abilities.

I later enrolled at I later enrolled at a girls’ high school, a national-level girls’ high school in Tharaka Nithi county. I was overjoyed when I entered the school since it is one of the few institutions in the country that consistently achieves high marks in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) tests, and I knew it would keep me on my toes academically. My favorite subjects have been mathematics, English, and biology, and I’ve done well in my overall academic performance. Apart from academics, I am a member of the school’s football team, debate club, and the Young Catholic Society’s organizing secretary (YCS).

I am now in my senior year of high school and am hopeful that I will graduate with honors and be able to pursue a bachelor’s degree program in aeronautical engineering at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). After finishing my bachelor’s degree, I hope to continue my education and pursue a master’s degree at Oxford University in England.

I work hard not just to create opportunities for myself, but also to express my appreciation to my sponsor and the NRCF program for believing in me and guiding me through my schooling to where I am today. NRCF is actually impacting young people’s lives, and I am pleased to be a part of this life-changing program.

March 23, 2023 By Victor Wambua Leave a Comment

National Exams Results

The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) is the final exam that Kenyan high school students take before graduating. The exam is crucial because it determines if a student will attend a four-year university, a two-to three-year college, or a trade school.

The KCSE national exam was a little different in 2022 for a couple of reasons. One reason is the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted learning in Kenya, particularly in 2020 and 2021. Many students were absent from class due to lockdowns, school closures, and quarantine measures. The government attempted to mitigate the pandemic’s impact by offering online classes and broadcasting studies on radios and televisions. The other reason for the difference is the introduction of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), which is being phased in gradually and will fully replace the current system in 2027.

The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) administered the 2022 KCSE over three weeks in November 2022. The exams assessed students’ understanding and mastery of a variety of subjects, including Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, History, and Geography.

The KNEC officially released the KCSE results for the 2022 cohort in late January 2023. The exam was taken by 881,416 people in total, 28 of our students among them. We once again had a student, Boaz, receive a grade of A-, which is one of the highest grades a student can receive. Six of our students will be pursuing degree programs at various universities, 12 will be pursuing diploma programs at various colleges, and the rest will be able to pursue a certification program of their choice.

One intriguing aspect of this cohort is that five of our students are already interested in pursuing computer-related courses. All interested students will participate in a three-month Web Development Boot Camp, which may entice even more students to enroll in STEM-related courses. As they wait to enroll in their various post-secondary institutions, the students will participate in other programs such as Life Skills training, career counseling, volunteer work, and other special programs.

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