By Muskan Singh | Reporting Team
Dear Friends,
On behalf of the entire team at The Rahul Kotak Foundation, we wish you a very Happy New Year. With you by our side, we continued to nourish communities, strengthen resilience, and build pathways toward brighter futures. Your support made a meaningful impact possible: on the ground and in the lives of those we serve.
Over the past term, our programmes continued to support hundreds of children and families across Kisumu through daily school meals, scholarships, and community-led engagement. For a deeper look into specific projects, you can also explore our recent reports:Impact in Action: Our Climate Story and This Christmas, Kindness is the Main Course.
This report highlights key moments from the past term, including reflections from our Cooks and Interns Roundtable (Term 3), insights from our Scholars’ End-of-Year Workshop, and an update on what lies ahead as we continue strengthening our projects together.
Cooks & Interns Roundtable
While our previous reports have shared encouraging reach and impact figures, behind every meal served is a committed team working consistently on the ground. Driving the daily delivery of the RKF Meals Program are our cooks and field team, women who not only implement the project each day, but also actively help manage it.
Recruited directly from the communities we serve, these women bring local knowledge, trusted relationships, and a continuous feedback loop that allows the programme to adapt and respond in real time. Beyond meal preparation and distribution, we invest intentionally in their training, upskilling, and reflection, ensuring the people behind the project grow alongside it.
Each academic term, cooks and interns come together for structured roundtables, spaces designed for learning, accountability, and well-deserved rest. In the past term, the Cooks’ Roundtable focused on accountability and responsibility, addressing operational challenges, reinforcing ethical practices, and renewing pride in delivering nutritious meals with care. The Field Interns Roundtable, in parallel, strengthened on-ground monitoring, communication, and reporting systems to ensure beneficiaries are served consistently and with dignity.
To balance learning with well-being, the roundtables also included a thoughtful team outing. Cooks visited Impala Park, while field interns spent time at a local museum, engaging in group activities and sharing a meal, many experiencing such spaces for the first time. These moments of pause and recognition are vital: they build trust, deepen team bonds, restore energy, and affirm the value of the women whose daily commitment sustains the Meals Program long beyond the numbers.
Scholars’ End-of-Year Workshop (November 2025) - What happened, and why it mattered
Over four days, 38 scholars were asked to look closely at themselves, not just their marks, but their habits, choices, and readiness for what lies ahead. Through guided reflection and activities like Letter to My Future Self, many spoke clearly about how they had grown; others admitted where consistency, effort, or focus had fallen short. That level of honesty is essential. As one facilitator put it, “You can’t change what you refuse to see.”
Career sessions reinforced this message. Professionals from different fields spoke openly about failure, delayed progress, and the discipline required to keep going. The message landed: success is built less on raw talent and more on communication, reliability, and showing up, especially on difficult days.
These ideas were tested in practice during the Cook-Out Challenge, where scholars took full responsibility for planning and execution. Disagreements surfaced quickly, leadership was contested, and confusion set in before collaboration followed. By the end, teams had learned to listen, compromise, and move forward together, skills no exam can assess but every workplace demands.
Debate sessions further pushed scholars out of their comfort zones. Arguments on careers, soft skills, and entrepreneurship were sharp and often humorous, revealing growing confidence among many participants, while also highlighting those still learning to speak up and defend their views.
The workshop closed with parents joining their children for open conversations about expectations and academic focus. Recognition was given not only to top performers, but also to scholars who showed clear improvement - reinforcing that progress, when sustained, matters.
20 Scholars in 2026
We are excited to share that we have launched a microproject to further support 20 bright, deserving students in 2026. Many talented students in rural Kisumu cannot transition to high school because their families cannot afford fees, uniforms, or learning materials, and even high-performing pupils are forced to drop out.
Insights from our Scholars Workshop highlighted that access alone isn’t enough; students also need guidance, academic follow-up, and support when challenges arise.
Your support makes this possible, covering fees and mentorship while helping students stay in school, build strong habits, and complete their education, laying the foundation for long-term success and brighter futures.
Check this out for more information: Their Future Starts Here: 20 Scholars in 2026
Links:
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.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
