Rafiki Thabo Foundation on BBC Radio 4
Thank you for helping us Change Futures Through Education!
We were so incredibly proud to be featured as the BBC Radio 4 Charity Appeal from 21st to 27th June and are so immensely grateful to everyone who supported our appeal!
We set out to raise funds to support 42 children in Kenya throughout their entire 4-year secondary education – and we will very soon know whether we achieved that. Come back here in a couple of weeks to find out what your support has enabled.
Did you miss our appeal week?
Our week as BBC Radio 4 Appeal may be over for this time, but our work continues as does our need for support. 1.4 million children in Kenya alone remain out of secondary school due to poverty. So if you missed the opportunity to contribute to our appeal please know that any support you can give, whether in kind or via donations, small or large, will be instrumental to our continued efforts to empower through education and see the ripple effects live on for generations to come. At the bottom of this page you can see just how much every penny truly does count!
MAKE A DONATION
Listen to Amar talking about why he is such a passionate supporter of our work and why he is so inspired about Ayiesa’s story – the Rafiki Thabo graduate at the centre of our appeal – in the video below.
You can still listen to our appeal on BBC Sounds – but if you wish to support us please do so via this donate page – as donations on BBC Sounds will go to this week’s BBC R4 Appeal charity.
Vital awareness raising success
Aside from raising vital funds, this special appeal has helped us shine a light on the transformative power of education and the life-changing impact that it can have on children and young people across Kenya, Uganda and Lesotho – and on those around them.
We are so grateful for this opportunity to allow stories that deserve to be heard to reach new audiences nationwide. Not only did BBC Radio 4 listeners across the country and beyond hear Amar share Ayiesa’s story in our appeal, but…
- Our founding trustee, Jon Uglow and Amar were interviewed on BBC Radio Oxford (interview starts 53 minutes into the clip).
- The Sunday Mirror ran an exclusive feature about Amar and Rafiki Thabo
- This was also picked up in the Yorkshire Evening Post and Oxford Mail.
- More press coverage is happening as we write, with Jon being interviewed by Charity Times, our advocates Jenny and Mary-Ann with features in Yours Magazine and Women’s Own magazine respectively and we will be featured in The Good Web Guide!
At the heart of Rafiki Thabo’s work is a simple belief – which has resonated so strongly with the media:
Every child deserves the opportunity to access education, reach their full potential and build a brighter future — regardless of the circumstances they were born into.
This is why we strive to enable access to quality education for vulnerable children in Kenya, Lesotho and Uganda through our four programmes: our flagship scholarship programme, our Eat Well to Learn school meals programme, our school improvement programme and our disability programme. Find out more about what we do and read about the amazing impact we are having.
The Ripple Effect of Education
For many of the children and young people supported by Rafiki Thabo, education is far more than a classroom.
Education can provide dignity, independence, confidence and hope — often becoming the turning point that changes the direction of an entire life.
Perhaps no story demonstrates this more powerfully than that of Rafiki Thabo graduate, Ayiesa from Kenya.
Ayiesa’s Story – as told by Amar Latif in our BBC Radio 4 Appeal
At just six years old, after having been listening to the lessons through open windows, Ayiesa persuaded a teacher to let him quietly sit at the back of a classroom as he could not afford to attend as a paying student.
Without books, tuition or official access to education, he learned in the shadows — listening carefully, watching closely and refusing to let poverty extinguish his determination to learn.
Years later, unable to afford secondary school, Ayiesa moved to Nairobi where he scavenged rubbish and collected plastics to survive whilst continuing to study independently at home – raising just enough money to survive and to pay his the fees to sit the exams.
University felt impossible.
But despite every barrier placed in front of him, Ayiesa never stopped believing education could change his future.
And eventually, through a Rafiki Thabo scholarship, it did.
Ayiesa was awarded a Rafiki Thabo scholarship to study at KCA University in Kenya, graduating with a Finance degree thanks to which he later secured a senior role within the Kenyan Government.
Today, he supports his own — and two other — children through education, runs businesses employing others, mentors students and helps support children with disabilities and their families within his community.
His story is a powerful reminder that education does not simply transform one life.
It creates ripple effects that can change generations.
Why our campaign continues to matter
We are so delighted that our patron Amar Latif presented our BBC Radio 4 appeal as his own journey reflects so much of what the campaign stands for.
Having lost his eyesight at the age of 18, Amar refused to let other people’s perceptions define what was possible for his future. Despite facing barriers and doubt, he went on to build a successful career, travel the world and become a powerful advocate for challenging limitations and redefining opportunity.
A few years ago, Amar climbed Mount Kilimanjaro alongside Ayiesa — a symbolic moment that beautifully reflected everything this campaign represents.
From learning secretly at the back of classrooms…
to climbing one of the world’s highest mountains.
From surviving day-to-day…
to helping transform the lives of others.
It is proof that potential exists everywhere.
Opportunity does not.
And that is why support matters so much.
How You Can Show Your Support
There are many ways you can help support brighter futures through education:
- Make a donation today – small or large, every penny contributes to real impact. See what your donations can pay for below.
- Add Gift Aid to your donation if you are a UK tax-payer and we will receive an extra 25p to every £1 you donate, at no extra cost to you
- Become a regular supporter – as little as £5 per month with Gift Aid can pay for an entire year of school meals for a student at one of our partner schools
- Follow Rafiki Thabo on social media (see links at the bottom of the page)
- Help spread awareness of our work and the impact our supporters enable.
- Visit and support our charity shops if you are in South Oxfordshire!
- Explore partnership and fundraising opportunities with us: contact us.
Every penny truly counts – here’s why
Whether you choose to make a one-off donation or support Rafiki Thabo regularly, every contribution helps create brighter futures through education.
MAKE A DONATION
Every action helps us move closer to a world where more children can access the opportunities they deserve.
Because sometimes, one opportunity really can change generations.