Emergency COVID-19 support for Kenyan children

Dear Kind Supporter,

Back in 2020 when we started providing emergency support for the vulnerable students we work with in Kenya, and their families, we never envisaged 2.5 years later it would still be needed.

Sadly the economic impact of Covid-19 means unemployment levels are still sky high. A year of severe droughts has caused crops to fail, driving up food prices. Fuel prices have gone up, as has inflation. Families are struggling to put food on the table, more than ever before.

Last month we were hit with another blow. The British Pound dropped in value overnight making the money we usually transfer to Kenya worth far less, meaning it doesn't support as much as it used to.

This is a worrying time for our team in Kenya as poverty is increasing at alarming rates and people are unable to eat. 

The cooked meals and snacks we provide to every student, every day, is sometimes the only meal they eat all day. We're continuing to provide a weekly bag of rice for each student to take to their family. But the cost of rice is increasing hugely, at a time when the cost of living crisis is reducing the amount people can donate.

This year we are training and supporting more students than we have in the previous 10 years combined. We're so happy to be able to provide this opportunity to secure employment or start a business, so these young people can have a brighter future. But we're worried what the next few months will bring.

We just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for your kind support. You are providing us with a lifeline during this time of crisis.

With best wishes,

Kirsty & Natalie (UK) and Mary & Florence (Kenya)

Raising Futures Kenya

Hi friend, 

We've had a record-breaking year so far in terms of the number of young people we have enrolled acoss our Seed of Hope vocational training centres. Whether it is the steep uptick in unemployment in Kenya or word of our award-winning programme is getting around in the communities we serve - whatever the cause we have enrolled an incredible 463 young people so far in 2022 - significantly more than we ever have before, since the programme was founded in 2005! 

This is obviously great news and we have taken time to celebrate being in a position to offer our free holisitic programme of vocational training so many young people. But the impact of cost of living increases and the drought is still being felt by Seed of Hope students and their families and now we have more than ever before to support. 

Thanks to your support through this project, we have been able to continue providing students and their families with food parcels every Friday. These parcels have provided a life-line for families whose crops have failed or whose limited income hasn't been able to keep up with sharp increases in cost of basic food items - in most cases items are at record highs. 

With families struggling to make ends meet due to the lingering impact of covid and cost of living increases children are not returning to school so they have no employment skills or qualifications, and therefore have very few opportunities available to them. We will continue to provide vocational training and business skills courses for free, along with counselling, cooked meals, food packs for families, vouchers for childcare and travel, menstrual hygiene packs - anything young people need to be able to learn skills and become self-reliant. The additional food parcels are on top of this already comprehensive package of support. We wouldn't be in a position to do this without your help through this project. Thank you so much.

Next time you hear from us, we will have enrolled even more young people on to our Seed of Hope programme! We hope to be able to report that life has become a little easier for the families of these ambitious young people - keep your fingers crossed for us all. 

With gratitude, 

Kirsty (UK), Flo (Kenya) Vic (UK), Mary (Kenya)