By Muskan Singh | Reporting Team
Dear Donor,
Greetings from The Rahul Kotak Foundation!
As schools across Kenya head into exams before the long holidays, our work continues across six schools: school meals, learning resources, and food support for vulnerable households.
Since May 2026, we have:
Behind these numbers are children eating with their classmates, parents stretching small incomes, and local women and interns who make it all happen. Here are some of their stories.
Read our previous report:What Community Partnership Makes Possible
School Meals: Supporting Learning, Attendance and Community
Our School Meals Programme runs in six schools, giving children regular meals during the school day.
Teachers Sam and Esther (Alendu Primary School) told us absenteeism has dropped since meals began, especially among children from low-income homes. They have also seen meals encourage families to enrol their children.
Parents notice too. Mrs. Sanaa, a parent from Alendu, said her child used to miss lunch but now looks forward to the variety of meals: “I trust the school more now that they're providing meals for our children.”
For children, the meal is also about belonging. Stephy, a Grade 5 student, said eating together has brought her closer to her classmates. Asked what she would miss if the programme stopped, she said: ‘I would miss the sense of community and the feeling of being supported at school’
Meal Kits: Helping Families Keep Food on the Table
Each month, approximately 50 vulnerable families receive a subsidised Meal Kit of up to 16.5 kg of essential food.
Naomi, a single mother of seven from Bwanda, earns around KES 150 (about USD 1.15) a day from casual farm work, when there is work. That has to cover school fees, rent and food. The Meal Kit takes some of the pressure off food, so her income can stretch further, especially in weeks when work is scarce.
Local Jobs Behind Every Meal
The programme is run by the community it serves. 15 local women cook the meals, with five more cooks on call when extra help is needed, and six field interns from the community support coordination and day-to-day operations. For the cooks, it is a regular income earned by feeding the children of their own community.
Books for Schools: Building the Foundations for Reading
During this period, we distributed nearly 3,000 books to Korwana, Nduru and Odienya Primary Schools: storybooks for reading, exercise books for classwork, and curriculum textbooks for teachers' lesson planning.
We asked each school to set aside a space where books can be stored, borrowed and read. Nduru already has one, and students there borrow books to read. We are also encouraging Korwana and Odienya to create similar spaces, making books more accessible to students and supporting their reading and learning beyond the classroom.
Thank You for Being Part of This Work
Your generosity puts meals on school tables, food in vulnerable homes and books in children's hands. We are grateful to have you alongside us.
$100 provides two meals a day for 20 students for a month.
Links:
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