Annual Gathering Meeting (AGM) 2020

Due to COVID-19, this year’s AGM has been totally different in almost everything compared to the previous years. Observing the MoH guidelines we were able to hold the meeting in three parts each lasting for almost two hours. The gatherings were held at Lutheran church. Various departmental heads and the organization program manager gave brief talks concerning their departments and the organization as a general.

Primary department

The primary department continues to recruit more students into the program. Interviews have been ongoing. Since the introduction of the new CBC curriculum class/grade 4 students and below are taking CBC based exams while class/grade five and six.

Secondary department

Transport changes: Students whose schools are within or in the outskirts of Nairobi will be using private means of transport to go to school. Pick up point will the at the NRCF office. The students shall be accompanied by a staff to ensure they are dropped in their respective schools.

NEMIS/UPI number: This is a free medical cover for students. With this number, students can get free medical services in government hospitals. Parents are encouraged to enroll their students to this service by simply presenting a copy of the student’s birth certificate to their respective schools especially students in Jagiet Primary school.

Our form 4 students were able to return to school after a long break at home due to covid 19. We believe despite the challenges they’ve faced in their final year they will be able to make us proud in the KCSE exams.

Secondary programs, SRH and Life Skills were conducted successfully observing the MoH guidelines pertaining to covid-19. Our students were empowered with vital information through the programs. It’s our responsibility to equip our students with knowledge so that they do not lead astray. We will continue providing our students with these programs.

Post-secondary department

Despite the impact of covid 19, the post-secondary department has been able to enroll half of the class of 2019 to higher institutions. Students have also adapted to E-learning as they wait for their institutions to re-open in the future. We believe by next year we will have enrolled all students.

Pregnancy cases have gone up this year. We sensitize parents to keep a close watch on their students but most importantly the students are required to protect themselves from early and unplanned pregnancies. The organization’s mission is to support education and it becomes hard to achieve this if students become parents. Let’s apply the knowledge of Sexual Reproductive Health we’ve acquired along the way.

Alumni department

The alumni department continues to support and empower alumni in various ways. During this year’s alumni gathering the alumni kick off the giving back to the organization project whereby the alumni will be contributing money and decide on things we can buy or support the organization in. A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step and we believe this is the first step for them. Thank you for that awesome initiative NRCF alumni.

ICT Department

We moved our computer lab to Lutheran to reduce movement in Santack estate which is a residential area. The small computer lab has been able to support various activities such as:

1. E-learning for post-secondary students
2. Research for students
3. Email writing
4. SRH and Life-skills surveys

A new sponsor-child communication portal was implemented. It has many great features. Students can attach photos and videos and even record videos to their sponsors through the video feature in the portal. Students’ photos, handwritten essays, assessments, and school marks are all in the portal where students and sponsors can track everything.

Programme Manager – Kelvin Thuku

We thank all those who made the food from friends program possible by donating towards it. The team of NRCF staff that ensured a smooth issuance of the food to parents. It has not been easy but we managed despite all the odds.

The organization will continue supporting homeschooling and E-learning until we resume back to normal.

We also thank all parents and guardians for facilitating assessments.

Let’s remember that TOGETHER WE’RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE (WePowerment)

Back to School

Kenya re-opened schools Monday after a long break occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic that forced closure in March. The Ministry of Education allowed learners in Grade 4, Standard 8, and Form 4 to start reporting to school for physical learning.

Our Students Preparation

To prepare our students to go back to school, we have ensured each has adequate masks mostly the re-usable ones so that they can be safe at school. We also change the way our students get to school. Previously we would hand them cash for transport but now we’ve opted to hire private means of transport to reduce cash contact and the risk of contracting COVID in public means of transport.

Food Aid Support Update

Food aid will still be issued to all families even those whose students have reported back to school. In case of any change pertaining to Food Aid Support, it will be communicated to the parents through their students’ respective Case-Managers.

Programs Update (Life Skills & SRH)

It’s been over three weeks since the life skills program commenced. Students turn up and participation has been impressive. We believe these skills will be of help to our students to deal with the demands and challenges of everyday life. The NRCF Youth Peer Providers continue to pass the essential information on SRH to our Secondary and Post-Secondary students through social media especially WhatsApp groups.

Economic hardships, school closures, and loss of parental care as a result of COVID have increased children’s risk of sexual exploitation which has led to a spike in teenage pregnancies. We are calling upon parents and guardians to watch after their children so that they do not fall victim to this cruelty. Let’s not shy from educating our children accordingly because a lack of proper knowledge is a major contribution to sexual exploitation and teenage pregnancies.

Teenagers who are uneducated about sex are more likely to have an unintended pregnancy. Some teens do not fully understand the biological and emotional aspects associated with having sex. These teens may get incorrect information from friends, videos, and/or movies. Many times, teens do not have the knowledge needed to make informed and responsible decisions about whether or not to engage in sexual activity and the consequences thereafter. That’s why for the last one month we have had Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) sessions with our high school students but your engagement as parents/guardians highly matters.

COVID 19 is also resulting in an increase in online child sexual exploitation. As schools have shut down, children are spending more time online which increases the chances of accessing inappropriate content or being sexually exploited if not well monitored. These children might be tempted to experiment on things they‘ve seen on the internet or movies.

SEX is NOT a TABOO, let’s EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN so that they can MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS.

Below is Kenya childline to report any cases of children exploitation or abuse:

Childline Kenya

Call 1 1 6

Whatsapp: +254 722 116 116

Email: [email protected]

Students who are thrilled to do their homework every single day are rare… if there are any. Everyone needs a motivational push now and then, and you will be surprised what inspiration can do with your opinion about “pointless” homework assignments.

Even if you don’t see the point in doing homework, you still see a point in getting good grades, so read these tips and learn how to become a more motivated student.

1. Change your perspective

You cannot form a foundation for your future knowledge and skills without doing homework, no matter how pointless it seems. Even topics that don’t awaken a single spark of interest are important for your general knowledge and development as a person.

2. Become an “expert” in one area

There isn’t a student who loves all subjects. All you need to do is focus a bit more on the area you love and get some serious attitude about it. Maybe you can start a blog associated to the area you love and become a self-appointed expert in it. Research deeper, become more involved and enjoy your devotion to the things that interest you.

However, this shouldn’t drive you away from all other homework you get; in fact, it should help you become more tolerant of the topics that don’t interest you that much. Think of the less favored topics as “supporting bricks” for your career path.

3. Don’t be afraid of competition

You don’t have to tame your competitive spirit. In fact, it can help you be a more diligent student and have fun while doing homework and making better achievements than anyone else in class.

Being competitive doesn’t mean that you have to become the classmate no one likes. You can team up with one or two friends and inspire each other to do better in all subjects. Healthy competition can be a very inspiring motivation if you know how to approach it.

4. A prize can be motivating

If a big science project is giving you trouble and you can’t even get motivated enough to start it, you should make a plan and divide the entire process into few smaller steps. Take each step and turn it into a goal, having the big picture in front of you at all times.

Make sure to set deadlines for each step and reward yourself with small treats or breaks after every achievement. When you focus on the prize, you will be motivated to do everything right.

5. Get support to get motivated

If you are not getting enough encouragement from your family or friends, that shouldn’t discourage you because it doesn’t mean that no one cares.

Your teacher, for example, surely cares whether or not you do your homework and study well. Teachers are always there to support their students, because their success as educators depends on the achievements of the class.

If you feel like you don’t get enough support in your home or from your friends, you can join an education forum and find the motivation you need. Many people will cheer for you if you are brave enough to cheer for yourself.

Conclusion: Motivation is crucial for your academic success

This is common for all students: they don’t see how the knowledge they gain in the classroom is implementable in the real world, so they see homework as a pointless task with a single aim to cause them stress, consume their free time and exercise their brain cells. If that’s your attitude towards homework, it is completely wrong!

All you need is a different perspective on your studies and you will understand how important they are. When you learn how to motivate yourself, the homework will immediately become important and meaningful in your eyes.

While schools still remain closed, we’re trying our best to make sure our students still access online studies especially our post-secondary (PS) students. We’re doing so by setting up space in our computer lab for them to carry on with their studies. This activity is conducted by observing all the ministry of health guidelines and regulations to curb the spread of Covid-19. Even though the majority of our PS students have laptops acquired through the organization’s computer loaner program, internet connection still remains a challenge. Come September, in case the number of students having online classes increase the computer lab access might be a problem since it can only accommodate a few students. The program is trying to work out on how to secure more laptops for students to borrow and provide internet access for them so that they can study at home.

The program is also thinking of a way our secondary students can access online studies and resources that schools are sharing with them. Majority of secondary students don’t have gadgets that they can use to access this content so they end up missing a lot. Considering their backgrounds, it’s also very difficult for their parents/guardians to have smartphones that their children can use for online studying. For our primary students, they can get study materials and exams question papers from their respective schools through their parents to keep them engaged during this period. Literature books are still being issued to students through their parents during food aid issuance days. The library reading area has been used for storing food aid in the meantime.

Also, due to an increase in teenage and unplanned pregnancies in Kenya during this period, SRH talks have been conducted through Whatsapp for post-secondary and secondary students with online access. We’re also sending weekly messages to parents and students reminding them to keep safe and protect their children from unplanned pregnancies by educating them.

Stay safe.