Programs update Archives - Page 11 of 12 - Ngong Road Children's Foundation

May 08 2023

Handover Ceremony for Computer Donations From Safaricom Foundation

Our mission at Ngong Road Children’s Foundation is to ensure that we transform the lives of our students. In order to achieve this, we ensure that we provide quality education and provide the necessary resources to smoothen this process. In our quest to get more computers for our Blockchain Lab and the Computer Lab, we applied for computer donations at Safaricom Foundation through the ‘Ndoto Zetu“ which translates to ‘Our Dreams“ initiative.

The Safaricom Foundation through the “Ndoto Zetu” initiative partners with different organizations and communities and support them in transforming lives by providing them with the needed resources and opportunities. They have worked with communities across all 47 counties in Kenya to provide solutions on Education, Health, Economic Empowerment, Water, Environmental Conservation, and Disaster Response, which are key sectors in empowering and providing relief for communities. We were honored when our application was considered and we received the computer donation.

On Thursday, the 3rd of May we had a handover ceremony for the computer donation. The event was held at the NRCF offices and we had representatives from the Safaricom Foundation and our programs manager, our employment programs officer and some of our TechMates were also in attendance. The event’s purpose was to acknowledge and appreciate the donation and celebrate the positive impact it would have on our students’ education.

NRCF thanks the Safaricom Foundation for its donations and for joining us at the handover ceremony. The computer contribution will allow TechMates and high school grads participating in the coding bootcamp to efficiently study and enhance their talents, which will undoubtedly help them get better prospects in the future. We have also been able to equip the computer lab at the Elimu Hub with extra computers for our children to utilize, and we feel that by working together, we will be able to build a brighter future for our students via the use of technology.

Apr 20 2023

Coding partnership with DirectEd Development Foundation

The world is now fully digitalized and computer literacy has become the norm. We have slowly moved from basic computer skills and ushered in the computer programming era. We want to make sure that as our students transition to higher education, they can be able to get this much-needed skill.

In our quest to achieve the above, we recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding and forged a partnership with DirectEd Development Foundation. DirectEd is a UK-based charitable organization on a mission to deliver evidence-based, highly scalable, and cost-effective coding boot camps and scholarships to under-resourced high-potential students in Africa, through the use of blockchain technology and decentralized identifiers. They so far have partnered with different top learning institutions in Kenya and Ethiopia. Some of the institutions in Kenya include Kagumo high school, Mang’u high school, and Maryhill girls high school. We are excited to be part of this partnership.

Through this partnership, our 2022 high school graduates will take part in a three-part programme that is repackaged from existing material into a structure that works for low-resource hybrid-learning settings and is offered by tutors from DirectEd. The first programme is the 1-week mobile-based coding course. This particular programme is based on open-source material from Harvard’s CS50 introduction to Python. It is done remotely which means that the students will make use of their phones and we will allow those who do not have access to a smartphone to come to the Elimu Hub and make use of the resources available in the computer lab. The team from DirectEd will also help the students to set up the necessary infrastructure for the stipend disbursement.

The second programme which is the main programme is a 12-week computer-based hybrid programme. Here, students will learn full-stack web development in the MERN (MongoDB, Express, React, Node) framework. This programme will also feature some guest lecturers hosting workshops on key soft skills such as acing job interviews and entrepreneurship, with the students studying for at least 40 hours a week. Lastly, the graduate programme. This programme is for students who will have successfully completed the coding programme, and it has two paths. One, entry into a longer full-time coding bootcamp or two, a 6-months internship with specialization in a particular skill while getting real-work experience with DirectEd’s tech partner companies.

For all the 3 programmes, our students need to have attained a specific threshold to move to the next. We will support our students through the help of our ICT personnel to ensure that we have as many students as possible moving up to the graduate programme. We would like to thank DirectEd Development Foundation for this life-changing partnership for our students and the people at Lido Nation, particularly Stephanie King, for being a central part of connecting us with them. We are excited to see our students transform their lives.

Apr 06 2023

Computer training program for our 2022 high school graduates

Computer literacy has evolved into an essential skill in the current digital age for a variety of tasks. However, to fully leverage the benefits of these packages, it is important to have the necessary training and skills. That is where the computer packages training comes in and that is why we offer this training package. Colleges and universities require some level of computer literacy and we want to ensure that as our high school graduates transition to higher learning institutions, they are well-equipped.

The training is being conducted by Belmont International College in the NRCF computer lab housed in the Elimu Hub. It started this month and is scheduled to take place for 3 months where the training begins at 8 am and ends in the afternoon. Some packages offered are Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, publisher, internet, and email. Once the training is done, the students will sit for 2 exams, one prepared by Belmont International College and the other from the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).

In addition, the NRCF program’s ICT department is holding a web development boot camp for these students. Our lab instructor conducts this training, which runs concurrently with the training for computer packages. This training covers basic HTML, CSS, and Javascript programs and a WordPress introduction. They are designed to help the students build their professional portfolios to advertise themselves, demonstrate their abilities, and learn how to build simple websites.

We also look forward to partnering with DirectEd and signing a Memorandum of Understanding. Directed is a UK-based charitable organization on a mission to deliver coding programs and scholarships to under-resourced high-potential students between high school and university in Africa. By signing this partnership, the students will additionally have a 1-week introductory coding course including a remote Python course.

As the students learn these skills, they will also get time to conduct their career research as they look forward to settling for their desired courses. We are confident that they will benefit from these programs and apply the skills they gain in their courses.

Mar 17 2023

Mid-term break

By Sallyanne Atieno

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the Kenyan education calendar for over a year. Normalcy in the school calendar has been restored since the beginning of this year. According to the revised school dates, mid-term break for all students began on March 16th and will end on March 19th, giving students a three-day break.

This means that both our primary and secondary students will be at home. We have a number of activities for the students to keep them engaged. First, both primary and secondary students will be writing letters to their sponsors. Students will visit the newly constructed Elimu Hub, where they will have access to a computer and can log in to their portals to update their sponsors on their school and family progress.

Second, we have our regular Saturday program schedule. We will have a variety of activities planned for them, including yoga and light exercises, rock paper scissors relays, brain teasers, puzzle and crossword puzzles, and trivia debates, and have lunch together among other things. The Saturday program will also allow the staff to interact with the students one on one. The Elimu Hub will also allow students to complete their assignments in the library. They can obtain educational reference materials as well as a quiet location to work on personal projects.

When the mid-term break ends, we will provide basic necessities as well as transportation funds to the primary and secondary boarding students. We hope that the students will make the most of their three-day midterm break.

Support our fill a trunk campaign for our high school and some primary students that are in boarding school.

Mar 09 2023

2022 Graduates Life skills and SRH Programs Update

By Sallyanne Atieno

The high school graduates of 2022 were taken through life skills and Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) trainings from the 20th of February to the 3rd. These are part of the programs developed by the organization to help the students to develop basic social skills as well as to promote their awareness in their personal and physical well-being.

We had 26 out of 28 students attend the programs, which represents a 94% turnout. The purpose of this training was to teach the students general and self-management skills, basic social skills and skills related to career development as they transition to higher learning institutions.

During the 9 day training period, the students were taken through various topics which included but not limited to; effective communication and listening skills, stress and conflict management, emotional intelligence, CV and cover letter writing, interview preparation and personal branding. At the end of the life skills training, the students were each given a career booklet from which they were to research and prepare to attend a mock job interview for their respective careers. They were required to dress professionally and have their CVs and cover letter ready for the job interview that was being conducted by their Case Managers. This was a great way for them to familiarize themselves with how job interviews are conducted and test their skills in CV and cover letter writing.

The Sexual Reproductive Health training on the other hand was conducted by the NRCF Youth Peer Providers (YPPs) that have been trained and certified by Planned Parenthood. The training was conducted by two YPPs and two staff members were present to oversee the session. The objective of this training was to create more awareness on sexual health matters as well as to make them understand and learn how to deal with the physiology of their bodies.

Some of the topics that were covered include; use of contraceptives, safe sex and consent, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), early pregnancy, abortion, and Gender Based Violence (GBV). During both trainings, the students were provided with tea and snacks during the break in between the sessions. Proper hygiene and sanitation protocols were also strictly observed.

Our special gratitude goes to both the US and Kenya teams for the support granted so far. We would also like to thank the Rotary clubs of Kikuyu and Minneapolis for the grant in ensuring the training is conducted. Last but not least, we appreciate the students for taking the time to attend these valuable training sessions.