We are in a very uncertain situation as the COVID-19 virus affects people all around the globe.  Our highest priority is to make decisions that will keep our staff, students and everyone in the Ngong Road Children’s Foundation (NRCF) community safe.  Our second-highest priority is to weather this storm so we can continue to support the education of students after this crisis passes. These priorities inform our decisions.

The government of Kenya has taken the aggressive stand of mandating all schools in Kenya to close this week. The government has further requested that to the extent possible employees work from home and gatherings be suspended.  While the number of cases in Kenya is limited, the government clearly understands the dire implications to the population and health care infrastructure if this virus gains a foothold. We must do our best to comply with the Kenyan government and public health mandates. 

In the United States, similar steps have been taken.  Most people are now working remotely, travel is very limited and gatherings are not happening in person.  We expect the global economic impact of this pandemic to be profound and long-lasting.

Ngong Road Children’s Foundation Actions

At NRCF the following steps will be taken, effective immediately, and will be in place until further notice:

• Caseworkers will suspend home and school visits
• Staff hours will be reduced, keeping a skeleton staff in the office to handle issues and meet with stakeholders by appointment for urgent matters 
• The Saturday Programme, as a gathering of more than 50 people has been suspended 
• Library and computer lab access is suspended.  We are evaluating options for making these resources available by appointment and will communicate with you if and when we are able to allow access.
• “Holiday lunch” cannot be provided while students are home from school.
• Food aid for families in need is available for the neediest.  To receive food aid, please contact your caseworker (phone numbers below) and they will provide instruction.

Guidance for students, parents, and guardians

• Please do not come to the office without first phoning your caseworker to agree on an appointment time and avoid congregating or waiting at the office for any reason.
• To contact your NRCF caseworker, please phone them with questions or concerns and they will do their best to respond.
• All boarding students and those staying in hostels or receiving other support while at school are expected to return home – living expenses will not be supported by NRCF while school is out.  Exceptions for students with unique situations can be made by caseworkers.
• Continue to contact your caseworker for urgent medical referrals such as significant injuries or emergencies.  However, for suspected viral infections with symptoms that resemble the flu, colds or suspected coronavirus, please do not contact your caseworker but rather follow the Health Ministry guidelines and seek medical support directly.

Keep yourself safe and be informed

• To the extent possible, practice social distancing.  Try not to be within 6 feet of others, avoid crowded places and, if possible, work from home.
• If you or members of your family feel unwell, stay home.  If you believe you have coronavirus or have been exposed to someone with the virus, access the health system and seek testing. 
• This virus spreads rapidly and a person can have the virus and be transmitting it to others, yet not be displaying symptoms.  That is one of the most challenging dimensions of this virus and has led to exponential increases in cases in countries like Italy and the United States.
• Clean hands with soap and water or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Avoid touching your face and cover your mouth and nose while coughing or sneezing. 
• COVID-19 Hot Lines in 🇰🇪Kenya: 0800721316 (Toll-Free); 0729471414; 0732353535

Future Ngong Road Children’s Foundation Communications

• We will update the NRCFKenya.org  website weekly with any new information we have available for students and families.
• When we learn important information we will share it with you by SMS.   
• If you have questions, please convey them to your caseworker and we will do our best to respond.

Amy Johnson serves as Treasurer of Friends of Ngong Road Board of Directors. She is responsible for the financial and control activities of the NRCF.  She sets the strategy for maintaining effective internal controls and works with the independent audit firm to ensure effective accounting policies.  On a more tactical level, she oversees the budgeting, accounting, cash handling and financial reporting processes of NRCF.  In addition, Amy is responsible for providing support and guidance to the NRCF areas listed above.

Amy visited NRCF from 23^rd February to 2^nd March 2020 where she spent most of her time reviewing processes and controls around the Finance and procurement department. While her major focus was on the business entity Karibu Loo, she spent some fair amount of time supporting NRCF. This included an in-depth review of the procurement process and store inventory. She trained our accounts and procurement assistant on the new improved procurement processes and policies. She also started work on improving the store inventory to ensure proper record keeping of stock. She also supported the IT department in reviewing system security and controls to ensure data privacy and security. Amy also spent a better part of her time with KKCO East Africa (our outsourced accountants) reviewing our financial processes and controls.

Finally, Amy took a day off to spend time with her sponsored children (Martin and Rehema). She has supported these two students since 2006 and Martin is now working.

All this work is a deliberate effort to ensure the donor/sponsor funds are well safeguarded and utilized to the benefit of the target population which is the sponsored children in the program. Ngong Road children’s Foundation operating principles emphasize a strong focus on ensuring that donor investment and trust is well placed and drives measurable outcomes. Be part of this noble cause by donating to NRCF. learn more

Ultimate frisbee is a non-contact, self-referred team sport played with a flying disc (or Frisbee). Each team defends one endzone. They score a goal if one of their players catches the disc in the opposite end zone. The player with the disc is called the thrower. The thrower may not run with the disc.  Instead, they move the disc by passing to team-mates in any direction. The defensive team gets possession of the disc if an offensive team’s throw is not caught by a player of the same team. Then the defensive team becomes the offensive team and can try to score in the opposite end zone.

Ultimate relies upon a Spirit of the Game that places the responsibility for fair play on every player. There are no referees; the players are solely responsible for following and enforcing the rules, even at the World Championship. Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules, and the basic joy of play.

On Saturday 8th February, Our students got a rare opportunity to learn ultimate frisbee through a partnership with Nairobi Ultimate club and Kisumu Ultimate club. We hosted the ultimate experience at the Dagoretti City Council Grounds where children learned about the history of the game, the spirit of the game and how to play (rules and tactics). In attendance were local clubs such as Blackfish Ultimate, Cool Waters, Dahz Ultimate and Fast Touch Ultimate.

This event was made possible by a generous donation of 50 discs from Disc-craft in the US. The whole initiative was driven by Steve Kotvis, one of our sponsors whose interest is in sports photography.

Since then, the game has been introduced to our kids during Saturday program

Badi joined the program in 2007 and is sponsored by Keith and Kathleen Kale. Since a young age, Eric has been a focused, dedicated student who has wanted to make his family proud. However, getting to where he is today hasn’t been easy.

Badi was raised by his mother. Badi’s mother was not able to provide many material goods for her family, but she instilled a powerful appreciation of education in her children. Badi knew from a young age that his involvement in the Ngong Road Children’s Foundation, through which he gained access to education, was his vehicle to a transformed life for himself and his family too.

He attended G.S.U. Primary School, one of our past focus primary schools, St. Joseph’s High School, and just a few months ago graduated from Kenyatta University.

Throughout his post-secondary career, Eric was a standout employee at Digital Divide Data, a company Friends of Ngong Road has partnered within Nairobi to provide supplemental income and employment experience to some of our students. Eric’s role at Digital Divide Data was to transcribe handwritten articles to an electronic format for clients such as museums and libraries. In return, Digital Divide Data helped pay for some of Eric’s university tuition.

Upon graduation, Eric was promoted again at Digital Divide Data and is now a full-time Project Manager, managing a team of people and interacting with clients. He is looking for a new apartment out of the slums. He has made it into the Kenyan middle class.

Margaret was raised in Nairobi with nine of her extended family members. In 2017, Margaret finished a program in Community Development. Ngong Road Children Foundation employed her as an intern for six months, after which she got an entry-level job with the law firm Odero Osiemo Advocates. Margaret explained to me that she wanted to become a lawyer, but her grades were not high enough to be admitted to a law school program. She began at the firm as an office administrator and was soon promoted to be an assistant to one of the lawyers. The firm has now offered Margaret the opportunity to attend a six-month professional training program in 2020 to become a mediator. They will pay her fees and continue to employ her as she goes through this program. Margaret has built a new, better life for herself. Margaret was sponsored by Anne McCulloch.