By Muskan Singh | Reporting Team
Heartfelt Gratitude and Greetings from Team RKF
Your continued support makes our work at RKF a continued reality. Your unwavering support enables us to achieve our milestones and significantly impact the lives of children and families living in marginalised communities within Kisumu County. In our last report, we shared exciting updates, including the resumption of the School Meals Program which had served 850,000 meals by then, an impactful story from the field and the joy of receiving GG badges for the fifth consecutive year and more!
If you missed that report, please read it here:Pencils Up, Spoons Out: Back to School
In this report, we will be sharing updates from our Meal Kits and School Meals Program! We also want to share an update on the current political situation in Kenya; the ongoing protests and how our team continues to support the community despite the recurring disruption to our daily operations.
On-going Protests and Political Unrest in Kenya
There have been nationwide protests that have led to disruption of operations across the country. Businesses, schools and other institutions have had to remain closed on and off. This has impacted our School Meals Program; parents have been hesitant to send children to school resulting in poor attendance. Co-ordinating erratic school attendance with our meals program has been challenging affecting the delivery of meals to the students who depend on them.
Impact and Relief: Continuing to support our Communities with Meal Kits
Our Meal Kit distributions have been ongoing to support parents across various communities in Kisumu County. Since our last report, 66 beneficiaries have received meal kits, serving 13,200 meals! Despite the continuous disruptions due to the protests, this ongoing effort has provided crucial support for many parents navigating through these challenging times, offering them much-needed relief and hope.
We are pleased to share a story from one of our beneficiaries that highlights the impact meal kits are making in their daily lives;
Caroline, a skilled salonist, resides in a rental home in Nyalenda with her husband and four children. For the past two years, she has been part of the Meals Kit program which has significantly eased her family's financial burdens.
Caroline's husband used to drive a shuttle vehicle, earning KES 700 ($5.43) daily but recently lost that job. He now drives for a different company, earning only KES 300-400 ($2.30 – $3.30) daily, a drastic reduction that has strained the family's finances. As a result, Caroline had no choice but to operate her hairdressing business from their rural home, while her family remained in Kisumu.
The cost of transportation has become a major challenge for Caroline, yet she manages to balance expenses by carefully planning around set deadlines. While she earns KES 400 ($3.30) daily working in town, her income drops to KES 150-200 ($1.10 - $1.50) when she works from home, depending on demand. Despite these challenges, Caroline acknowledges that with the support of the meal kits, her family, especially her children are assured of having food.
School Meals Program
In June, we extended our School Meals Program to two new schools: Wandiege Primary School and Senior Chief Onunga School for the Deaf. Both schools are located in Kisumu County, where students and teachers come from local areas largely consisting of informal settlements.
Wandiege Primary School has a population of 852 students and 32 teachers. In the past, teachers had attempted to start a school meals program, but it failed due to food inflation which made the lunch program unaffordable for students and their parents.
Senior Chief Onunga School for the Deaf is one of very few schools in the County for children with special needs, primarily those who are deaf and hard of hearing. The school has a small population. The headteacher and teachers had initiated a program to provide meals to the students in the past through fundraising, however this initiative was not sustainable in the long run and ultimately failed.
After a successful pilot program, both schools have a running School Meals Program which has served 8,954 meals!
Thank you for July Bonus Day
We are moved by your generosity. July Bonus Day 2024 was a phenomenal success, all thanks to YOU! Your generous contributions have made a tremendous impact, allowing us to continue our mission of feeding and educating our community's children. We couldn't have done it without your support. Every donation brings us one step closer to a brighter future.
Links:
By Muskan Singh | Reporting Team
By Muskan Singh & Elizabeth Okumu | Reporting Team
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