Give Hope to Kisumu's Underprivileged Children

Greetings and Gratitude from Team RKF!

In our last report, we highlighted the impact of the Meals Kits on the lives of our beneficiaries. For a detailed overview, click here: A Plateful of Relief. 

In this report, we are pleased to share further updates, including the resuming and upgrading of the Meals Program in schools and the ongoing efforts to provide long-term food security to families in Kisumu.

Upgrading the School Meals Program…

During the pandemic, RKF repurposed its Meals Program into Meal Kits to ensure children had access to meals at home. As schools reopened, challenging economic conditions left struggling families even more vulnerable. Recognizing this, the continuation of Meal Kits supports not only students but also their families, providing crucial support during difficult times.

One such community is Alendu Primary, a rural public school with a population of over 600 learners. Most families reside on inherited lands and rely on income from fishing or selling vegetables. Many face financial hardships as they are elderly and responsible for caring for their grandchildren due to various life circumstances such as the death of their own children or their absence in search of better opportunities elsewhere. We partnered with Alendu in 2022 to provide Education Packs for students and since then the community has also been a beneficiary of the Meals Kits.

Time and time again, we have highlighted the importance of students receiving on-site meals at school. According to The World Food Programme (WFP), malnutrition in early childhood can lead to cognitive deficits, poor school performance and reduced productivity later in life. Providing school meals and nutrition interventions can improve school attendance and academic achievement, particularly among girls and children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Empowering the community: Training Cooks

At RKF, our goal has always been to empower communities and foster ownership of school programs. Before implementing our program, we involved the community in selecting parents who could gain part-time employment as cooks for the program. They received an intensive 3-day training covering hygiene, stock management, queue management and time management. Additionally, they provided key feedback to help ensure smooth daily operations as a key step towards community ownership of the program.

A Successful Pilot Program

Students who are part of the program receive two nutritious meals (breakfast and lunch) and a fruit at least once a week.

Their menu for the Meals Program is:

Monday: Rice and green grams

Tuesday: Ugali and cabbage/sukuma wiki with a fruit

Wednesday: Chapati and beans

Thursday: Rice and green grams

Friday: Githeri with potatoes

Uji (a highly nutritious, local porridge made out of millets is served every day for breakfast.

Since the start of the program a few weeks ago, 4,090 meals have been served taking the total number of meals served through the RKF Program to 823,868 Meals. And we only hope for this number to continue increasing.  

Meal Kits for families

Families continue to receive Meal kits and since our last report, we have served an additional 83,420 meals to 778 families (3890 beneficiaries). 

Little by Little: Small Donations, Big Impact

Our favourite Little by Little Matching Campaign is only 3 weeks away. Starting from the 8th of April 2024 to 12th April, GlobalGiving is giving away $200,000 in matching funds by matching 50% of all donations up to $50. 

Please note: this is the only Little by Little Matching Campaign this year and everyone is gearing up to give to RKF as we celebrate the completion of 8 years.

Be a part of this celebration and make a donation that will help us continue running our School Meals Program in communities like Alendu.

Links:

• Become a Patron: Make a Recurring Donation
• Read our latest report from our Girls Project!
• Subscribe to RKF's newsletter for more updates