Dear Donor,
Thank you so much for your continued support to our Girl Empowerment Project!
In our last report we had shared with you a powerful story from Teacher Anne of Central Primary School and our plans for the rest of 2021. In this report, we share with you our reflections from what we were able to achieve last year with your support and what we hope our 2022 journey will look like. We also share a powerful story by our speaker Edna, share some photos from IWD 2022 workshops and a brief update from our COVID Relief Project.
Reflecting on 2021
Nothing like a new year to do a little bit of reflection and set some new intentions. Today, we’re taking a minute to look at the work we did with our Sanitary Pads Program in 2021.
When we started this program in 2018, we were responding to a worrying trend of highly skewed girl:boy ratios we saw in some of our rural schools. Girls were dropping out of primary school after they started their periods because they didn’t have access to sanitary pads. So we started making sure girls had access to pads.
In the past four years, this program has evolved into something that not only equips girls with eco-friendly sanitary kits that keeps them on their academic journey, but also empowers them through knowledge on menstrual health management, body positivity and self-belief. Plus, it also includes their mothers and guardians as a part of the dialogue we co-create as a community to end the taboo and stigma around this topic.
In 2021, we were able to reach a total of 267 girls and 265 mothers/guardians across Kisumu County. That is 532 empowered girls and women! Woohoo!! This year, we are hoping to reach 1,011 girls and their mothers in Kisumu County, and for that we need your support.
International Women's Day: Starting 2022 workshops
Happy International Women’s Day!!
Team RKF is honouring all the women around the world who have raised their voices for educating our girls to create a sustainable tomorrow. This quote by Michelle Obama says everything we believe:
“Investing in girls' education is the very best thing we can do, not just for our daughters and granddaughters, but for their families, their communities, and their countries.”
All through March 2022, RKF will be working with girls and women in Kisumu County to educate them on the importance of menstrual health and hygiene, body positivity and the importance of continuing on their education journey. We will also be providing girls with Sanitary Kits that will help girls in rural Kisumu stay in school when they are menstruating. Detailed reports from the workshops will be shared here in the coming weeks.
You can support our work by sharing this message or making a donation of KES 5,500 or US$50 to support five girls in the month of March.
Donate online by clicking here: I will support 5 girls this year
A Story from our Speaker
Our amazing speaker Edna shared with us her experience of being a part of the Menstrual Health and Hygiene workshops last year. She spoke during 5 sessions where she empowered 28 girls and moms.
“Being a speaker during the workshops was an eye opener for me. It presented me with a platform where I was able to meet the girls from my community and talk to them about things I was never told as a girl; things that were considered a taboo to talk about some years back. The Rahul Kotak Foundation is here playing the role of our mothers and educating our girls about menstrual hygiene.
I got to learn about the different challenges (different kinds of body pains) that women go through during their periods. It was also my first time interacting with the reusable sanitary towels which I have come to love to date. Thank you for the opportunity.”
COVID Relief Update – January
Joshua, a beneficiary of the food packs said, “This program has been empowering those that have been a part of it. Not having food puts many of my community members at a disadvantage because children can’t learn with an empty stomach and we can’t go on about our day without food either.”
Like Joshua and his family, 1,340 families have received food packs that have made a big difference in their day to day lives. Additionally through this program, 407 at-risk teenage girls have each received a sanitary kit and a menstrual health & hygiene talk. 3,346 students have also received an education pack with textbooks relevant to their respective classes, an exercise book and stationery for revision.
With rising inflation and food prices, many families continue to struggle in this time. Your donation can support a family of five people for two weeks.
GlobalGiving Badges
Team RKF has been recognized by GlobalGiving yet again and we have received all six badges for 2022. We are grateful for your continued support and we hope to continue doing this work as long as it is needed.
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To the future…
“Why should women be quiet and feel ashamed to talk about their bodies and the changes and challenges they face? It’s high time we start empowering our young girls. We can’t be the generation that still has to carry the stigmas and taboos that our grandmothers did.”
These powerful words came from Teacher Anne during a recent workshop where girls and mums shared their challenging experiences about menstrual health.
Speaker Appreciation
These seven superstars carried out 43 Menstrual Health and Hygiene workshops over a span of two months, to the 177 girls and their mothers (a total of 354 beneficiaries). They did this despite the extremely difficult conditions posed by the pandemic during the months of June and July when Kisumu was experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases.
We have nothing but deep gratitude and appreciation for these women for stepping up and using their voices to empower the next generation of women… to many more empowering workshops like these!
From left to right: Christine, Urvi, Zanela, Muskan, Claire, Millicent and Ednah
Q4 Plans
As the year is coming to an end, we are hoping to reach out to the girls of Dunga, some of whom received kits last year. As the kits were only meant to last 12-18 months, we are hoping to provide them with new kits so that they can continue with their education as they near their National KCPE exams. We will also introduce this program to new students in the Dunga community and when we do, we will share an update with photographs from these upcoming workshops here on GlobalGiving.
The Impact on Environment
Did you know that it could take anywhere between 500-800 years for a disposable sanitary napkin to decompose? The environment footprint of regular disposable pads is very high and can pose serious hazards to our planet. Through our Sanitary Pads Program, we tackle the challenge of girl child absenteeism, period poverty and gender inequality while taking care of our planet. All girls who receive Sanitary kits get a pack of reusable pads that last them between 12-18 months. It also means, 42,200 less disposable pads will be used by the girls who received kits from RKF in 2021!
An Update from Our COVID Relief Project
In the month of October, an additional 16,430 meals were served through 85 new food packs to families in different communities within Kisumu County. In total, 4,537 families (12,360 beneficiaries) have so far received 192,369 meals since the start of our relief program! As the new cases of COVID-19 in Kenya are lower than the 2% positivity rate and with the easing of restrictions, our team has now started re-introducing on-site school meals. We hope to share an update on this in the coming months.
You can read the reports from our COVID Relief Project in the link below.
An Update from Our Environment Project
"If we want children to flourish, to become truly empowered, then let us allow them to love the earth before we ask them to save it.“ – David Sobel
With our first official environment workshop, we tried to do just that! During the 3 hours that the students were in the mini botanical garden, we had a discussion where everyone was a part of the conversation about our earth and different ways in which we can show it some love. Many young students chimed in with: “plant trees”, “throw garbage in the dustbin”, “don’t pollute the water” among other suggestions.
Learn more about the work we do in the Environment Space here:
Giving Tuesday 2021
#GivingTuesday is only 19 days away! This year, GivingTuesday will be on 30th November 2021.
We need your help to reach our goal of raising $10,000 in support of the various communities we serve in Kisumu County—and with GlobalGiving’s incentive fund, the more you give, the larger share The Rahul Kotak Foundation (RKF) receives out of the $1 million USD in bonus funds available!
If we reach our goal this year, RKF will be able to reach nearly 4,000 students with a daily school meals program and build 2 brand new libraries... but we can’t do it without you.
Mark your calendars to #MoveAMillion: it’s almost time to help RKF!
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In Q2 and Q3, our team carried out 43 Menstrual Hygiene workshops and reached 177 teenage girls and their mothers (a total of 354 beneficiaries) who received Sanitary Kits and Food Packs respectively.
Each Sanitary Kit contains a bucket, a Girl Talk booklet, 2 panties, 1kg of soap and a pack of 5 re-usable pads which will last them for 12-18 months. Each mum received a Food Pack that would serve their families 15 meals, making it a total of 2,655 meals.
Behind the numbers on this graphic are some powerful stories. Powerful stories of resilience and courage. Stories that are piercing the veil of shame surrounding women’s bodies and experiences that many of us carry whether knowingly or unknowingly.
We look at these numbers and they remind us of the teenage girls, their mothers, their hopes, their dreams and their ambition. They remind us of how empowering each one of their stories is.
One such powerful story came from Damaris (Mama Everline): "I talk to my daughter about everything because I don't want her to miss out on important information about her body. I wasn’t taught by anyone when I was younger and I don't want it to be like that for her. I treat her like my best friend.” She shared this with us after attending one of our workshops.
Another story comes from Lavine, a young student in Dunga who received a sanitary kit last year when she attended a Menstrual Health and Hygiene workshop.
“I have been using the pads ever since. I think I was allergic to the other one (disposable pads) but these are very comfortable and my favourite. And it also helps my mom save money every month.” She hopes to attend another MHH workshop this year and for this program to continue in her school! So do we.
Each one of our workshops ended with a set of positive affirmations… hands on our hearts while repeating these lines.
“My body is my home and I am going to take care of it.
I promise to finish school and make myself proud.
My voice is valuable and my opinions matter.”
Some even thought of it as a prayer. What better way to end workshops than with kindness and love.
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Our Future Generation
Latifah volunteered during one of the Menstrual Health and Hygiene sessions to demonstrate to her peers how to put a pad on. And she did it with so much confidence! Also, she wants to become the President of our country when she grows up.
Apart from our future leader, we also met future neurosurgeons, doctors, fashion designers, engineers, lawyers, pilots and you name it! We had everyone.
During these workshops, we were able to empower 102 teenage girls (and their mothers) with sanitary packs made up of 2 panties, 2 tissue rolls, 1kg of soap and a re-usable sanitary kit that contains 5 pads that will last them for 12-18 months! Each mother also received a small food pack that would serve their families 15 meals.
Our team was so inspired by the many stories and experiences that were shared during theses sessions by the mothers, girls, teachers and our speakers. Stories and experiences that are breaking barriers and empowering our future generation of girls.
The highlight of these workshops was when a mother approached our team after her session and asked, “Can I bring my other daughters for this talk? I think it will really boost their confidence and self-esteem.”'
Tracking Progress and Growth
Our Sanitary Pads Program is designed to address the gender equity gap at schools that is often caused by lack of access to sanitary pads. Over the past few years, as this program has grown and reached over 542 girls, we have been thinking about how we can track and capture the result of this program for our donors.
We take accountability very seriously at RKF and work hard to achieve the goals we set out at the beginning of every year. And with our new tracker graphic, you will be able to track the progress we make as we make it!
So how does it work? It’s quite simple… every time a girl receives a sanitary pad kit, the pad is filled with numbers in the respective quarter she receives it. And as more girls receive kits over the year, the pad “wings”, which represent empowerment, keep growing bigger and bigger.
Pad trivia: Did you know that RKF primarily provides re-usable kits to ensure that girls have long-term access to pads and to reduce the impact of disposable pads on the environment?
COVID Relief Update
Over 108,000 meals served in the past year through our COVID Relief Program and more than KES 2.5million (~US$23,200) in savings generated for vulnerable communities in Kisumu County.
When we began this journey, we just wanted to help and play a role in mitigating the suffering within our communities. As we spoke to families, we kept learning about the harsh impact they were facing as a result of an economic downturn resulting from this pandemic. So, we kept pushing ourselves, through various ups and downs, month after month, to repurpose our programs and keep this relief effort going.
And here we are... 108,000 meals to over 1,000 families, 618 offline education packs to students during lockdown and 175 sanitary kits for at-risk teenage girls.
An impact story we want to share that really touched us came from Liz, a 13 year old student who shared with us that on the day her mother received a food pack from The Rahul Kotak Foundation, they had absolutely no food left at home and the food pack kept them going for 10 days. As Kisumu is currently experiencing a surge in cases and facing the impact of strict containment measures, we are reaching out to even more families. If you would like to continue supporting our relief efforts, please consider making a donation.
We would also like to honor the generosity of donors near and afar, the resilience of our team, our incredible interns and volunteers and everyone who has shared a kind, encouraging word in support. In the midst of this pandemic, our organization also marked its fifth anniversary.
Upcoming July Bonus Day
Mark the date: 14th July 2021. July Bonus Day is an upcoming fundraising campaign by GlobalGiving where all donations from $100 and above will be matched as follows:
15% match on donations from $100 - $499
30% match on donations from $500 - $749
50% match on donations from $750 - $1,000
There will be $400,000 matching funds available and we’re counting on donations from this campaign to keep our COVID Relief efforts going until the end of 2021.
Links:
A Powerful Story of Girls Empowering Girls
Hildah is a high school student who attended one of our Menstrual Hygiene workshops with her younger sister. Towards the end of it, she volunteered to stand up and explain to the younger girls how to put on a reusable pad and she did that with so much confidence!
We were so impressed by her confidence, we asked her about her experience of speaking to a group of younger girls and older women. This is what she had to say:
“I was shy but I gathered some courage and stood up because I wanted my sister to learn and not miss out on these important issues. We don’t have these talks or program in our school. I wish we did though, because me and girls in my school would have benefited so much.
I will always be ready to attend another workshop!”
Here is to girls empowering girls!!
International Women’s Week
8th March is International Women’s Day and this year we are #ChoosingToChallenge. Our girls project, Empower and Educate the Girls of Rural Kisumu makes sanitary kits and menstrual hygiene workshops accessible to young girls. This ensures:
So far, this program has reached over 440 girls and 200 mums. This year, we are hoping to take that number to 1,000 girls and 550 mums. And this depends entirely on your support and continued generosity.
To celebrate International Women’s Week, GlobalGiving is matching all donations of up to US$50 by 50% from 8th March to 12th March.
Continued COVID Relief Work
We continue to be in awe of the impact that has been created by your generosity over the past year. As we continue to support families that were impacted adversely by the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, we feel a deep sense of gratitude for the support YOU – our incredible community of donors – have given to us.
By the end of February, we have been able to support 881 families (4,172 beneficiaries) providing a total of nearly 75,000 meals. Prior to the re-opening of schools, we were able to support 607 students with education packs that helped them continue to learn at home. We were also able to support 140 teenage girls and their mothers through our menstrual hygiene workshops where we discussed important issues like: personal and menstrual hygiene, body image and sex education. Each girl also received a sanitary kit that will last them at least 12 months and enable them to continue to go to school.
The relief we have been able to provide over the past year has resulted in savings of over KES 1.5 million (US$ 15,000) for the 881 families that have helped them cover bills and other expenses like rent in these difficult times.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
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