US TEEN penpals needed for Kenyan teens!!

Marafiki Penpal Program - SO IMPORTANT!!

Marifiki means "friend" in Swahili. In 2020, NTS launched our penpal program to match our Kenyan students with U.S. high school students. Everyone exchanges letters each month.It's hard to believe in this hyper-connected world but for the NTS students, this is their first contact with a peer outside of Kenya! It’s also a chance to practice both written and spoken English, and to learn about another culture.

We begin our new school year in January and seek 20 new penpals from the United States who will begin in February 2025. You must commit to a minimum of a year, writing monthly. Every month, your penpal will send you a letter and then you will write back. Each letter is guided by an NTS staff member, so you'll have plenty of support. Students already in the program have been writing for nearly 2 years, watching their Kenyan penpals grow as their English skills improve.

Who We Are

NTS a not-for-profit 3-year vocational school located in the Nyamboyo Village in southwestern Kenya. We provide professional, technical education to the economically disadvantaged teens and young adults of the community. Our students are ages 14-20 and all have family histories of poverty, lack of education and job opportunities, and chronic food insecurity. At NTS, they receive professional vocational training, 3 meals a day to combat hunger and malnutrition, English-language classes, computer training, and daily sports activities. Our students thrive professionally, physically, and psychologically, building careers that move themselves and their families out of poverty.