Our Chair of Trustees, Andy King, shares his thoughts of 2021 in the report;
“2021 could easily have been an impossible year. Many charities, including organisations we would consider friends of Raising Futures, haven’t made it through.
Yet as ever, when we find we come on hard times, we only need to look to the young people we exist to serve for inspiration.
One of my favourite stories is that of Meshack. One of our first motor vehicle mechanic students, Meshack found a shell of a car in his neighbourhood and said he would make it move again. Even his mechanics teachers told him it couldn’t be done – they didn’t even know where he’d begin looking for the right parts.
But two years later, the teachers heard the puffing and wheezing and banging of a vehicle coming up the road. Inside was Meshack. The car was still damaged, but he was grinning from ear to ear. He’d made it move.
As a board, and an organisation, we challenge ourselves to share in Meshack’s determination.
As many funders have moved to only funding local projects, it would be easy to accept defeat – to think ‘these parts aren’t made anymore’.
Young people like Meshack teach us that when we refuse to give up on ourselves, other people refuse to give up on us too. When we set a very clear goal of what success would look like, it becomes much easier to achieve. If we take baby steps every day, within a year, we will move miles.
This determination has seen us through the tough times well. Our brilliant staff in Kenya and the U.K. are working to change the gear of our organisation – meaning we are reaching more people than ever before.
I am very excited to share what the future holds for Raising Futures Kenya holds. We know together we can put more Meshacks in the driving seat; we’d love you to join us for the drive.”
You can read the full update, report and accounts here.
We’d like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank each and every person who supported us during such a difficult couple of years, it means a lot to us as a small charity, thank you.
From Kirsty and Natalie in the UK, Mary and Florence and the rest of the team in Kenya and all of our Trustees.
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