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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Our students are back in school!

The Kenyan president has lifted the lockdown, allowing students to go back to school last week. Lockdown measures implemented in March have led to a decline in COVID-19 cases in Kenya in recent weeks. Fortunately, there was no impact to the school schedule as there had been a planned break for all students during this time to support students.

Kenya has had difficulty acquiring vaccines since they had been getting them from India. As you may know, India’s situation has become extremely dire and India has stopped exporting vaccines since they need them domestically. The Kenya government has placed an order for 30 million Johnson & Johnson doses to be delivered within a year to help the country of 53 million to reach herd immunity.

Recently, Kenya confirmed 15 cases of India’s COVID-19 variant. Kenya and India have a very close and direct relationship so Kenyans are at increased risk of contracting the Indian variant.

Students will finish the 2020 school year at the end of this term, have a very short week-long break, transition to the next grade level, and start their next “school year” in July.

Our students are very happy to be back in school. If you are a sponsor, reach out with a message of encouragement.

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Our students are now in lockdown.

Dear friends,

We learned late Friday afternoon that due to a significant escalation in the rate of COVID infections, especially in Nairobi, the President of Kenya has announced containment measures including a lockdown. Nairobi county and four adjacent counties have been declared to be a “red zone” and movement into and out of this area has been prohibited as of midnight on Friday.

Included among the measures being announced are: the reimposition of the dusk-to-dawn curfew, absolutely no gatherings of groups of people for any reason, all in-person education being suspended and all public and private sector employees encouraged to work from home. In other words, Nairobi is on lockdown. News reports from Kenya indicate that the South African variant, which is apparently more contagious, is the primary source of the recent surge in infections.  We have also heard reports that all ICU beds in Nairobi are full. Our team in Kenya had an emergency meeting via Zoom on Saturday to discuss key implications (see Q&A below).

We will keep you updated on the rapidly evolving situation in Kenya. Please be aware that if you are expecting a response to recent correspondence, this situation may slow our ability to get students to write emails in Kenya. This situation highlights the challenges faced as our world copes with this truly global pandemic. 
Here are the key implications of this lockdown to students:

Q:  Will students remain in school for in-person education?
A:  No. The children have been in school since January 2 but have now been sent home. The only exception is that students who have just finished high school and are sitting for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) will complete their exams in April. Students who are attending a boarding school outside of the five counties have been given two days to proceed to their homes. We are supporting that with bus fares and by making contact with their schools.

Q.  We had many extra activities scheduled for students during their brief April holidays: Life Skills training, Sexual & Reproductive Health training, and Drug & Substance Awareness training. Will those training programs happen? 
A:  No. All of those special training programs will have to be rolled out sometime in the future. However, the case managers will use a bulk SMS process to both disseminate information on Sexual & Reproductive Health to students and to sensitize parents/guardians to emerging issues affecting students now home from school (e.g. substance abuse, teen pregnancy, etc.)

Q:  Are students in post-secondary programs affected by this lockdown?
A: Yes. All in-person instruction has been suspended. Our staff will follow up with every institution to understand their plans. When possible, we will loan post-secondary students a laptop if online education is proceeding.

Q:  How will the students get enough food to eat?
A:  We had planned a school holiday lunch program and will seek county government approval to proceed by offering a packed lunch to students. If that fails, we will have to develop an alternative plan. We have a food aid budget to provide food packets for 27 needy families per month in 2021. This program may have to be expanded depending on how long this lockdown continues.

Q:  How will you keep in touch with students and their families?
A:  As we did during the 2020 lockdowns, our case managers will contact all students by phone and will get an update on their situation from parents or guardians. The case managers will encourage closer scrutiny of students in an effort to keep them on track while they are home.  

Q:  How will the Ngong Road Children’s Foundation staff operate?
A:  The staff will continue its work-from-home rotation and will continue to follow guidelines related to mask-wearing, social distancing, and cleaning. The staff are being encouraged to get a vaccine and have been provided with a letter to show they are frontline workers. Vaccine availability in Kenya is limited, but some members of our team have already been vaccinated.

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Karibu Loo Corner – Spring 2021

With the easing of COVID restrictions, the business has continued to improve. Now that larger gatherings are permitted the event-based business serving weddings, funerals, church services, and house parties has resumed. Clients such as the YMCA have begun hosting events and training courses. We even had one marathon event.  

Construction sites are also becoming more active as the economy revives. Our client list continues to expand to include various types of construction projects, such as new embassy buildings, highways, and office buildings.  

All of our core staff remain with the business. Through the leadership of Steve Muendo, his loyal crew is keeping up as the business grows.

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2021 Spring Appeal

Worldwide, this school year is like no other. For Ngong Road students, like Michelle, it’s even more exceptional. After being out of school for much of 2020, the 2021 school year sprung into action in January. This year will have four semesters compared to a typical three-semester year. 

Michelle and her fellow classmates will go non-stop until December… with no summer break. 


Please support the “2021: Spring Forward – No Summer Break Ahead” campaign and make a big difference for our students. We are seeking to raise $15,000, which has been matched by anonymous gifts to fill these additional needs. That means any gift you give will be doubled, and all amounts are appreciated. We are getting close to reaching our goal! Help us meet the match. 

The extra semester this year results in additional expenses such as transportation, supplies, and school fees. A gift of $75 covers the cost of giving 10 students soap, shoe shine kit, lotion, sanitary napkins, and toilet paper for a term; $350 covers the cost of transporting 20 kids back and forth to school for one term; and $1,200 covers the cost of providing breakfast and lunch for 70 primary students for one term.

Friends of Ngong Road students, families, and communities continue to be challenged by extreme poverty, overcrowded living, limited access to quality healthcare and nutrition, and now this global pandemic. 

Thanks to your support, you are helping children spring forward in 2021, making it possible for our students to continue to focus on school and transform their lives.

Donate Now

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Asaph-His Story

Asaph is the eldest of two children in his family. Asaph joined the Ngong Road Children’s Foundation program in 2008. He successfully finished high school and joined St. Paul’s University, where he got a two-year degree in business management.

Karibu Loo hired Asaph as an administrative and marketing assistant for two years. While there,  Asaph was offered a higher salary by Patiala Distillers where he was in charge of inventory control for 16 months. He obviously impressed his employers since he was promoted at the end of that assignment. He became the Sales Supervisor in the Mount Kenya region for a year. Recently he was promoted yet again to be an Assistant Key Account Manager in the Nairobi headquarters of Patiala Distillers.  

Asaph’s mother is still alive. He is her sole source of support and both are so grateful that he is able to do so. Asaph demonstrates the grit, determination, and focus one would expect to see in a young man who has moved so quickly upward in his career.