The Rahul Kotak Foundation

It's that time of the year! Come spread the holiday cheer by supporting our charity sale. We will be in three locations: Mega City, Dunga Hill Camp and United Mall in Kisumu from Friday, 22nd December to Sunday, 24th December.

Whether you're looking for a cute succulent to jazz up your Christmas decorations or you're looking to gift some books to others - we got you! And it all goes towards a good cause! Will you be there?

Do you have clothes and/or toys that you would like to donate? Get in touch with us!

Our Annual Christmas Drive is coming up in a few days and we will be giving away lots of food, clothes and toys to families living in marginalized communities. Spread the holiday cheer by giving away something you haven't used or worn for a while.

Are you interested in learning more about volunteering and internship opportunities at the Rahul Kotak Foundation?

You can join us for a Volunteers' Meet and Greet that is taking place at our office next week on Tuesday, 19th December 2023 from 9:30am to 12noon. Please send a message to the contact numbers in the poster by Sunday, 17th December to let us know you will be attending.

Looking forward to meeting you! See you there!

Giving Tuesday 2023

These are challenging times – everyone is experiencing tough economic, social and political realities around the world and we are mindful of this as we write to you to make an appeal for a donation.

In Kenya, the current economic downturn is the harshest for those who were already vulnerable and left struggling as a result of the pandemic. What we are seeing is heart-breaking. The worst-hit are single mothers and children living in marginalized communities. Food insecurity continues to be families’ biggest concern as well as lack of access to learning materials for children. During recent field visits to eight communities, our team came across similar stories of hunger and worry about the cost of living.

You can watch a video we made and read about Dolphince in our newsletter: https://www.therahulkotakfoundation.org/so/3aOmIvVpr?languageTag=en

Watch Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyryHg0BB2Q

You can make a difference in the life of many families like Dolphince's by donating today on Giving Tuesday and increasing your impact because GlobalGiving is giving away US$1.2 million through an Incentive Fund. The more funds we raise today, on Tuesday 28th November 2023, the more we receive in proportional matching.

When children continue to have food security and access to learning materials, they can keep moving forward – and that is our primary focus for 2024. And we are asking you to make whatever contribution is possible for you at this time. Whether it is $10 or $2,500 or anything in between – we will use it towards four key programs in 2024. If you can't make a donation, please consider sharing this with your friends, family and colleagues.

You can donate online by clicking on the link: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/give-hope-to-kisumus-underprivileged-children/

or via M-Pesa through Paybill: 891300, Account: GG30316

A million reasons to give:
This year, GlobalGiving is giving away US$1.2 million through an Incentive Fund during Giving Tuesday. There are a million reasons to give, but we are sharing four compelling reasons that will help us continue with our work in 2024 through our infographic. Will you join us during Giving Tuesday this year to ensure children and their families will have access to school meals, meal kits, books, learning material and school fees?

Do you have any new or gently used clothing items and/or shoes that you would like to donate to vulnerable children and families.

You can drop off the items to our offices in Sango Court.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to any of the numbers shared below.

The Rahul Kotak Foundation is organizing a Virtual Walk-a-thon from 15th November to 15th December 2023 to raise funds to build a library for 1,800 students in Nyalenda. And we will do a celebratory 5k group walk on 16th December in Kisumu to end the month long walk-a-thon. Are you as excited as we are?

Step 1: set a daily, personal goal of how many steps you will walk for the month
Step 2: garner support from family and friends to raise some money
Step 3: compete with your friends to win prizes
Step 4: join us for a 5k celebration group walk (which will be in person) on 16th December

But before you can do any of that, you need to register. Registration fee starts from KES 2,000. Registration form: https://forms.gle/vFiKsJHLdT15UARJ6

Everything you need to know about the Walk-a-thon: https://www.therahulkotakfoundation.org/walk

If you have any questions or would like any clarifications, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Team on [email protected] or via Whatsapp/Call on 0777 733 443 or 0776 636 333

Celebrating Teacher Millicent on World Teachers’ Day!

We want to honor her incredible dedication and innovative spirit. RKF started working with Teacher Millicent and the SHAMCO community in early 2019 to make daily school meals available to the young students attending her school. At the time we started, most children went hungry throughout the day if their parents were unable to send a packed lunch. Through the pandemic, we supported the community with Meal Kits and when schools resumed, Teacher Millicent was confident she could run the program independently.

This is what Teacher Millicent shared:
"When we started working with the Foundation, we did not have a food program in our school. But by working with them, I learnt how to organize and budget for a food program for the children in my school and I started to see the parents in our community getting involved. So when we returned to school after lockdown, we decided to take over the program entirely and run it ourselves. As a community we came together and despite some cash flow challenges we face occasionally, we are running the program week-after-week on our own."

As Team RKF, we could not be happier to watch this community stand on its own feet and run the program on their own. We continue to cheer Teacher Millicent and the SHAMCO community as they grown from strength to strength. Help us to continue empowering communities like SHAMCO to become self-sufficient and overcome challenges. Your donation can have a real, lasting impact. Contribute now!

Hongera Teacher Millicent!

Join us at the Mega City mall Kisumu this Saturday, 23rd September 2023 from 10am onwards for an opportunity to invest in affordable reads at Ksh. 200 each and lush greenery to contribute to our mission of providing quality education resources to the community. Invest in wisdom and growth for your home and our cause.

📚 Who says quality books have to break the bank?

Don't miss out on the Plant-tastic opportunity for literary adventures and vibrant plant companions, head on over to Mega City mall and join us for our book and plant sale!

This week, to celebrate this, we are running a campaign: 7k for 7 years. You can donate up to KES 7,000 until Friday 7th April to continue supporting our work at the Rahul Kotak Foundation. All donations between KES 1,000 and 7,000 will be matched by 50%. Please note, you can donate more than KES 7,000 if you wish, but matching will be capped at KES 3,500.

You can donate online on our GlobalGiving Page: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/give-hope-to-kisumus-underprivileged-children or via M-Pesa through Paybill 891300, Account: GG30316.

RKF Turns 7! Donate 7k for 7 years!!

This is a week of celebration at The Rahul Kotak Foundation - we complete seven years of serving children in marginalized communities within Kisumu County. We are grateful for the journey so far and feel just as enthused, if not more, to continue this work.

On this occassion, we want to highlight a few key milestones that we could not have been possible without you:

- Serving nearly 665,000 meals to vuknerable students and their families
- Keeping over 1,100 girls in school through our Girls Empowerment Program
- Supporting 4 high school students with schools fees through our Scholarship Fund
- Providing over 25,000 text books and story books to school-going students in 8 communities

Can you spot the lion in the picture? Tell us where it is. 🦁🤔

In December 2022, our team visited Impala Sanctuary in Kisumu with the students of Valley and Brima to celebrate the end of the academic year. This was a very significant moment for us – it was our first outing since the pandemic.

We saw lions, a blue monkey, an ostrich that we named Austin, a buffalo and many other wonderful animals. We then had a picnic followed by fun boat ride on Lake Victoria where we looked for hippos but sadly they were all away. 🦛

Would you like to see more photos from our Impala Sanctuary visit? Stay tuned.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!!

From the entire team at RKF to you, we wish you a Merry Christmas!

For Kisumu Peeps!! 🎄

Our team is going to be at United Mall and Mega City in Kisumu from 22nd to 24th December (10am onwards) with a Book Fair and Plant Sale. Each book is going for 150/- and we have some beautiful plants that could make great Christmas presents. The best part? All proceeds go towards our Kitabu Changu Haki Yangu Project and our Climate Action Project in 2023. Come support our work this Christmas weekend!

KCPE Results are out!!

This picture is from just a little over a month ago when Team RKF was able to support sixty vulnerable students from Central Primary School with geometrical sets and clip boards for their national exams. We’re so excited for their futures as this cross this important milestone.

We can only do what we do because of the incredible support we get!! Thank YOU for supporting us during the recently concluded GivingTuesday Campaign. We are looking forward to working even harder in 2023 to reach more students in Kisumu County.

With deep gratitude,
Team RKF

Year after year, you have generously supported the work we do at RKF and in turn supported vulnerable communities within Kisumu County. In a year that has been synonymous with rising food and fuel prices, your support has made it possible for us to continue helping students living in marginalized communities and keep making education a constant reality in their lives.

THANK YOU!! We have nothing but deep, heartfelt gratitude for your constant support. This is what you have made possible:

We have been able to

• serve more than 150,000 meals in the past year, bringing the total meals served since 2016 to nearly 620,000
• provide re-usable sanitary pad kits to over 1,000 girls (an equivalent of 209,600 disposable pads)
• continue making learning material like exercise books, text books and stationery available to thousands of students across the County
• keep our pledge to become climate action champions by planting trees, starting school and community gardens and teach students about Climate Action

Will you continue to support our efforts in 2023? GlobalGiving is making $1.2 million available in an Incentive Fund for 24 hours on GivingTuesday (29th November 2022) from 8am Kenyan time. The more money we raise, the bigger the portion of the Incentive Fund we receive.

Will you make a donation?

On the happy occasion of Thanksgiving, we want to take this opportunity to thank all our donors, volunteers and team members who make it possible for us to serve children from rural Kisumu communities.

We'll be at Mega City in Kisumu this weekend on 26th and 27th November from 10am - 4.30pm with our Book Fair and Plant Sale. If you're in town, pop by to get books at 150/- and lots of different plants. If you're interested in learning about our projects and having a chat, come say hi!

All proceeds from the above event are going towards our program Kitabu Changu Haki Yangu (My Book My Right) and our Climate Action Project.

Huge shout out to Mega City Kisumu for letting us host this event!!

is only ONE week away!

With $1.2 Million USD in incentive funds available from GlobalGiving RKF needs YOUR support in providing school children with healthy, square meals of lunch and breakfast. You can help us make education more accessible to children living in marginalized communities. Help us on Tuesday, November 29.

“The potential possibilities of any child are the most intriguing and stimulating in all creation.” – Ray L. Wilbur

All children have the right to quality education. At RKF we work diligently through our various programs to increase access to quality education in an equal and inclusive way. After all, every child deserves a fair chance in life.

Joyce has been a beneficiary of the meal kits since the program was launched in her child’s school in 2020. This is what she shared with us:

“I have 3 children who are all school-going. I used to have a job before but now I am self-employed, I sell charcoal but sometimes have to look for jobs that can pay me a wage because the income from selling isn’t always enough. Since I started receiving meal kits, it has helped me save costs and I don’t have to hustle to buy a lot of things except vegetables for the meals when cooking.”

Her daughter graduated from Valley Academy earlier this year and she says, “the meals program helped parents like me; in case there was no food at home, I was sure that she would receive breakfast and lunch at school.”

Since April 2022, we have served nearly 94,000 meals through the School Meals Program and Meal Kits for families. This has been our main focus amidst rising food and fuel prices in Kenya and through the prolonged election period a couple of months ago. Many parents have reported that it has been really challenging to feed their families within budget with many resorting to skipping meals to make ends meet.

Through your generous support, our team has continued to prioritize this program to help students and their families with this basic need. Students continue to receive two hot meals while at school on a daily basis while families continue to receive meal kits with a variety of food items that will last them nearly two weeks.

Thank YOU so much for your continued support to our project!

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Mark your calendars! There are only 2 weeks left until !

With 1.2 MILLION USD in bonus funds available from GlobalGiving YOU can make a BIG impact by donating to feed a hungry child at school within Kisumu County.Get ready to .

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“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin

Our Kitabu Changu Haki Yangu (My Book My Right) is a literacy program that aims to improve literacy across Kisumu County.

By donating to our program, you can help children access books to assist in their learning and inspire them to dream big.

In honour of World Kindness Day, team RKF encourages everyone to practice acts of kindness regardless how small they may be. After all, kindness expressed through words or actions truly has the power to make an impact in our world.

Team RKF has nurtured this banana tree for the past one and a half years and in the last six months we watched as it began to bear fruit. Today we harvested the fruit and we have deep appreciation for farmers who grow the fruits and vegetables we consume.

The intention of this program is to cultivate environmental stewardship, increase knowledge on tree planting amongst school-going children so we can value trees and gardens as a community asset.

The Rahul Kotak Foundation is now on WhatsApp.