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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Letter from Nairobi

Hello Friends of Ngong Road,

The last quarter of this year has been a busy time for staff in Nairobi as they reflect on the year’s achievements as well as the following year’s plan. We note that there is much to celebrate, from moving to a new office to students resuming school after the 2020 COVID-19 school shutdown. It has been more than just surviving. It meant embracing resilience and dealing with the challenges posed by the pandemic. 

Compressed school calendar leads to unrest

The last quarter was the second term for students in primary and high school. This is due to the change in the school calendar and the introduction of a 4th term to make up for the lost year in 2020. This meant that students would stay longer in school with minimal school breaks. It also meant a high focus on academics and fewer extracurricular activities. However, this did not augur well with the students. During the second term, Kenya witnessed a high rate of student unrest characterized by strikes and arson in schools. More than 31 learning institutions were burnt down this term alone.  

Four of our partner schools were affected; Loise Nanyuki (2 students attending), Kiriathiani school (1 student), Karima boys (2 students), and Makwa boys (13 students). The students have since resumed school but had to pay a fee to rebuild the damaged dormitories. Due to the unrest, the government had to send all students for a midterm break in November as students attributed the unrest to the fact that there was no school break in the term. Our staff continued to guide and counsel students especially during school visits in order for them to remain focused on their studies. 

Kenya is still struggling with COVID-19

We conducted a second home assessment of our families where we learned that 86% of the households had someone working compared to 95% in July, while 14% had no one working compared to 5% in July 2021. 76% of the households had an income decrease compared to 57% in July, while 5% had an income increase compared to 10% in July. 

The country has made extensive efforts to bring down the positivity rate as well as increase vaccine uptake. As of November, 9% of the adult population had been vaccinated with a target of 10% by the end of the year.  At NRCF, all staff has been fully vaccinated.  

We look forward to another successful year with you, our supporters.

Best to all of you this holiday season,

Kelvin Thuku

Program Manager

Ngong Road Children Foundation

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Elimu Hub Update

We started the construction of the Elimu Hub in October with an expected completion date of December. However, we encountered some county government approval hiccups which have delayed the implementation of the project substantially. The approvals are driven by the Physical Planning Act which sets out requirements for development permits. This includes redoing the architectural drawings through a certified architect and applying for an administrative change to allow for the use of containers for the students’ resource center at our new location. The two processes will take up to 2 months to be completed. 

While the vendor has completed 70% of the work (purchasing and fabricating the containers with doors and windows), 30% of the work (joining the containers and installation of gypsum walls and floor) has to be done on-site after government approval. We also had to revise the number of containers down to six following the government requirements on space utilization. 

We are hopeful that Elimu Hub will be completed by the end of February 2022. 

Thank you once again for supporting us in making ELimu Hub a reality!

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Letter from Paula

Dear Friends,

In 2021, the Friends of Ngong Road Board of Directors concluded a strategic planning process that will guide our work for the next five years, from 2022-2026. We have made significant changes in our Mission and Vision to better reflect how the program is running today, and where we will need to focus our energy over the next five years.

UPDATED MISSION STATEMENT: recognizes the importance of employment in life transformation

“Empower Nairobi children living in poverty to transform their lives through education and support leading to employment.”

VISION: outlines our aspirations for the next five years

  1. Double our Impact in Kenya
    • Double the number of active students in the program from 375 to 750 
    • Increase the number of alumni from 125 to 325.
    • The program will then have affected 1000+ students.
  1. Improve employment outcomes
    • Enhance existing programs supportive of employment:  Life Skills Training (high school); computer skills training (high school graduates); guidance counseling (high school); and alumni program.  New initiatives will include TechMates internships; entrepreneurship training; and an expanded placement office.
    • Achieve the goal of 75% or more of graduates employed within six months of program completion
  1. Ensure organizational sustainability
    • Implement streamlined operations (technology, program, process)
    • Define and implement the post-founder operating model and organization structure
    • Ensure a sustainable financial infrastructure
  2. Define earned income strategy
    • Evaluate Karibu Loo Limited’s strategic future – grow, hold or divest
    • Consider other earned income opportunities

SHARED VALUES AND CULTURE: shape how we act

Our values:

  • Respect 
  • Teamwork 
  • Integrity 
  • Student-Focused 
  • Reach Higher

Our culture:

  • We have a purpose 
  • We care
  • We drive results
  • We learn together

An exciting and challenging five years lie ahead.  

Thank you for your continued support as we make progress against our vision objectives.  

Gratefully,

Paula R. Meyer

President

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M-Pesa

Ever used Venmo, Apple Pay, Cash App, PayPal or Crypto? 

By 2021, digital currency seamlessly integrated. Curious about its origins shaping deep-rooted connection in our lives? What steps and precursors did we need to take to reach where we are today? In large part, one answer to these questions is M-Pesa.

Around 2000, developed nations’ banks embraced digital expansion, exploring financial technology and new financial mediums for global transformation. Kenya, on the other hand, encountered a reluctant central bank’s response to the new ways of the world. A largely unbanked population found an opportunity to respond creatively due to this.

Enter: Telecommunications giant Vodafone and Safaricom, Kenya’s leading mobile network operator.

Thanks to a grant from the UK’s Dept. of International Development, the Pilot launched in 2006, primarily as a means for micro-lending.

However, users quickly discovered a feature that allowed for peer-to-peer transactions. They had identified one of Kenya’s biggest needs almost completely by accident. Kenyans required quicker, cheaper money transfers than costly bank options due to poverty, prompting a demand for improved solutions.

The demand for this service reared its head in the first year of M-Pesa’s launch. Safaricom set a goal for 350,000 users on their micro-finance and loaning program, which grew to the tune of over 1.2 million users. Most of which were largely utilizing the user-to-user transfer function.

M-Pesa identified service demand, aiming to offer accessible ATM features due to its expanding user community’s rapid growth. Without the time or resources to open branches at such a large scale, Safaricom utilized what already exists in Kenya; small mom-and-pop stores and even smaller specialized commerce stands. These micro-businesses were weaponized as hosts for M-Pesa Kiosks across Kenya and allowed for its meteoric rise to a significant market share of Eastern Africa’s economy. 

M-Pesa has achieved an almost unmatched market penetration in any industry worldwide. Over 96% of Kenyan households are utilizing the service. Today, Sub-Saharan Africa boasts over 150 million active mobile money users thanks to M-Pesa and other similar services, accounting for nearly half of the world’s active monthly mobile money users.