Notice of AGM – Tuesday 8th May 2018 at 2.30pm

We would like to announce that the Friends of Dagoretti Children AGM will be held on Tuesday 8th May at Mahali Pa Watoto School, Karinde (off Dagoretti Road) at 2.30pm. Refreshments will be served afterwards.

We do hope that those of you in Nairobi will be able to attend. 

RSVP by email to frodach@gmail.com by 1st May and we will send out directions, if required, and the agenda.

This will be an excellent opportunity to meet the committee and to find out more about us and our students! Do join us if you can! 

Congratulations to Lydiah Wachira on her PhD

We are so proud to congratulate FDC committee member, Lydiah, on attaining her PhD after almost five years' hard work taking a part time degree at the University of Nairobi - whilst working as well! 

Her topic was - PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS' ATTITUDE ON THE ROLE OF CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ON SOCIAL COHESION IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA -  a degree of the University of Nairobi.

Lydiah explains it in her own words: "As you must have realized while living in Kenya, social cohesion is a pertinent issue in a country divided along so many different ethnic groups. At attaining independence, the government realized there was need to unite a country which had been broken through the colonial policy of Divide and Rule. One of the vehicles to be  used to bring this unity was education - indeed one of the goals of education is EDUCATION FOR NATIONAL UNITY. The way this was to be done was by incorporating into the curriculum elements that would help Kenyan children be united within their diversity. The idea was to create Kenyans who would nevertheless respect our diversified inheritance.

However 50 years on, the 2007/2008 post election violence happened which was purely based on ethnic diversity.This is what motivated me to carry out the study to find out students' perception and attitude towards promotion of cohesion in Kenya. I used Religious Education, because as a subject, it is naturally geared towards human brotherhood - inspite of differences.

The study involved 25 Secondary Schools in Nairobi and a sample of 550 students. Nairobi was chosen for its cosmopolitan nature where different ethnic groups have lived together for years but, nevertheless, Nairobi was affected by the violence. The main tool of the study was a questionnaire for the students, but I also interviewed a few teachers and Education Officers.

These are some of the findings:  Students' age and the type of school they attended influenced their perception and attitude towards people of other ethnic groups. For example, it was found that the younger the student was, the more positive they were towards relating to other groups. Students attending National Schools were also more positive. It was also found out that the parents' level of education was significant. The higher the educational level of the parents, the more positive students were. Other variables that were tested, such as gender and parents' occupation, did not have any significant influence".

OUR 'FUNDRAISER FORMIDABLE'!

Wow! Last night was a night to remember! Thank you SO MUCH to all those who sponsored, donated, supported, organised, attended, spoke, auctioned, bid, played, sang, ate, drank and made our evening merry - all the way into the wee hours of this morning! The rain could not have dampened any spirits!

More details will follow but the photos speak for themselves! A great evening was had by all and once again the generosity of our local and further flung community will help to support our deserving students in education for another year. ASANTE SANA!

FDC's 'FUNDRAISER FORMIDABLE' 2015

FDC's 'Fundraiser Formidable'  will be held on Friday 20th November at 7.30pm at Karen Country Club. Please join us for another fabulous evening - all for a good, local cause! We are taking bookings for tables now! 

Many thanks, once again, to our very loyal and generous auction prize donors.

See the poster below for details and contacts:

Inspired and Inspiring

Many thanks to local businessman and entrepreneur, Brett Sievwright, who gave up his Saturday morning to deliver an inspiring talk to our post-KCSE students. His life skills and motivational talk covered many topics - including the importance of choosing the right attitude in life; how to channel your energies (physical, mental and spiritual) to optimize your potential; the importance of integrity in all that you do and having SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely) goals.

Brett captured everyone's attention and there was a lively and animated question and answer session at the end. Many thanks Brett for giving up your valuable time and for treating the students to pizza and sodas! We all look forward to your next session on IQ and intelligence. Asante Sana! 

Well Served by Winchester

Many thanks again to Clare Norman and her Winchester tennis players for raising the fabulous sum of 1,250 pounds sterling (Ksh 192,500) for FDC at her annual tennis fundraiser. This money will be supporting Alice Atieno and Sospeter Ngandu.

Alice is now in her second year at the Karen Technical Training Institute for the Deaf (please refer our post below for details) and will go on attachment in September which she is much looking forward to.

Sospeter Ngandu (pictured below) completed Muho Secondary School and to his credit scored a D plain grade at KCSE in 2014. He was not taken on by FDC for his academic potential but rather because his oldest sister, who was also supported by FDC, died tragically as she was just starting her first job – leaving her family without a breadwinner. In order to help his mother provide for his brother, FDC took on Sospeter and is now very pleased to help him with a catering course.

Signs of the Times

This week we visited Alice Atieno (below, second from the right) at the Karen Technical Training Institute for the Deaf. We are so pleased to report back that she is making huge progress there, and has achieved good term grades.

We found her cooking up a storm with her fellow students - but whilst the class room was quiet there were obviously many animated exchanges going on, and the ingredients were being mixed with much culinary cheer! 

In September, Alice will be going on attachment, which she is much looking forward to. She spoke to us of her excitement at being exposed to more of the outside world and of how much she wants to learn new techniques and meet new friends and colleagues. 

When we asked her if she had encountered any particular challenges this year, her confident reply was that challenges are normal and to be coped with on an every day basis - one way or another, without fuss. This pragmatic approach to life was echoed in her recommendation to the Dean that it would be great to have more items available for their practicals - budget permitting. 

On our way out, Alice, realising our inability to follow what she was  'signing', rushed off to bring us her signing text book - which we will now do our best to delve into and learn from - so that on our next visit we can do better than our weird and wonderful gestures, that must have made a few of her class mates giggle! 

Alice with Catherine in the Dean's office and Catherine with Alice's 'signing' book.

Alice with Norah Joy Iganza, the Dean of Students

Making the most of our Post-KCSE students

Last week we completed another good communication skills training course for our fourteen post-KCSE students, together with five from Karen Street Children's Trust. 

The three day course covers good communication and presentation skills; English grammar; letter and CV writing; emailing and texting: time management; social media; and good etiquette - with a good amount of the course spent role-playing and presenting. A lot of fun was had by all and the students all leave with their comprehensive documents, which will help them in the future! Certificates were presented to the students at the end of the session, by Pop Gunson and Romi Grammaticas. We wish them all the best of luck now with their tertiary education, and will be supporting them through the next exciting stage of their lives! 

 

AGM - Tuesday 12th May at 3pm

We would like to announce that our AGM will be held on Tuesday 12th May at Mahali Pa Watoto School, Karinde, (off Dagoretti Road) at 3pm. Refreshments will be served afterwards. We do hope that many of you will be able to attend as it is a great opportunity to meet committee members and students alike!

DIRECTIONS TO MAHALI PA WATOTO SCHOOL

• Take road from Karen roundabout to Dagoretti Market

• Past the road bumps outside the Bible School, the road curves to the right.

• Shortly after the curve there is a sign “FREE PENTECOSTAL CHURCH” on the right. Take this rough road, which goes uphill and past a number of kiosks. There are three or four turnings to the left. Take the one with an FDC sign (which we will put up that afternoon).

• A little less than 100 yards along there you will see the school on your right. No sign, but quite obvious.

FDC's Fabulous Fundraiser of 2014

Many thanks to all of our sponsors and to all those who attended our annual fundraiser at Karen Country Club, which went off so well again – we were incredibly lucky with the weather as we were all packed into the tent like sardines, and Alastair Addison once again worked his magic with the auction and the band played on into the small hours – keeping everyone entertained! Fundraising at its best – and we think it is true to say that everyone really enjoyed themselves!

Readers will be pleased to hear, that thanks to the auction and raffle, we managed to raise a very respectable sum of money – matching last year’s total of Ksh 1.4M! This is a great achievement and brings some peace of mind to our treasurer, as the cost of education continues to rise! 

It only remains for us to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

All the best from the students and committee members of FDC.

Many thanks to the following:

Karen Country Club; Wines of the World; Soul Syndicate; The Cake Lady; Alastair Addison.

Sponsors:

Governors' Camp; Hemingways; Air Kenya; Safarilink; Emakoko Tented Camp; Rea Vipingo; Patrick Mavros; Karen Rowe; Crista Cullen; Stuart Cohen, The Talisman; Joss Taylor; Neil and Linda Cuthbert.

Ready to Party!

It has been a busy couple of days but we are ready to party! Thanks to our sponsors, the fundraising team, four of our students with lots of puff, and to all those at Karen Country Club for setting up with us! Should be a great evening! The Band are busy doing their sound checks as I write this...

Best Pre-Christmas Party/Fundraiser Yet!

FDC FUNDRAISER – FEATURING THE SOUL SYNDICATE 

FRIDAY 28th NOVEMBER AT 7.30PM, KAREN COUNTRY CLUB

Please take a look at our fabulous poster with all the details on it + how to book a table + who and how much to pay!

We have some absolutely amazing auction prizes again this year and to keep it current, have added some new twists and turns, to make the evening even more of a success than last year! 

So please continue to help us educate the bright and needy in the Dagoretti area by buying a ticket or better still, booking a table through Linda, Charlie or Louise. You can email us (frodach@gmail.com) or do call us!

Graduation Glory and Pride

On Saturday 23rd August, FDC held its first Graduation Ceremony for eight of its students. Rather than read all about it, sit back and enjoy this short 'movie':

(Warning - this is a large file and may not play on an ipad or smart phone).

Our graduates and their courses:

Bernard Kibera - Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology
Aaron Njoroge - Diploma in Telecommunication Engineering
John Chege - BSC in Mathematics and Statistics
Harrison Mugo - Certificate in Food Technology
Fred Opel - Diploma in Clinical Medicine
Catherine Kangethe - Diploma in Journalism and Media Studies
Susan Mbugua - Diploma in Beauty Technology and Hairdressing, Revlon College
Paul Waruhiu - Degree in Sociology and Diploma in Business Management
Zacharia Gakunju - Diploma in Clinical Medicine

Absent:
Veronica Robe - Degree in Electrical Engineering
James Muniu - Diploma in I.T.
Winnie Njuguna - Diploma in Teaching
Margaret Ngugi - Degree in Business Management (Aviaton option)
Anthony Njuguna - Course at Graffins College
Joseph Kamau - Diploma in Electrical Engineering

Some additional photos:

Pop with John

And with Paul

With Aaron

With Bernard

With Susan

Limbering up for the award ceremony

Bernard with Linda

Susan, Mary, Linda and Catherine