Nine-year-old Mary lives with her mother and two younger brothers in a single-room home in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum. Her mother picks up casual laundry work whenever she can, but the little she earns is barely enough for rent, let alone food.
Most mornings Mary would go to school on an empty stomach, her hunger gnawing at her concentration. Some days she stayed home altogether – too weak to walk or helping her mother search for small jobs.
In school, her teacher, Mrs Kerubo, watched the bright, curious girl fade. Mary sat silently at her desk, eyes heavy with fatigue, her grades slipping further from the promise she once showed.
More Than a Meal: Restoring Energy and Hope
Everything changed when Mary joined the Kings Rugby Development Academy (KRDA) feeding programme.
KRDA works exclusively with children from Kibera, aged 5-19, using rugby as an entry point to provide food, education, mentorship and life skills – tools that offer a path out of poverty.
For the first time in her life, Mary could count on at least one hot, nutritious meal every day. Slowly, her energy returned. She began raising her hand in class again, smiling, and even helping her younger brothers with homework in the evenings.
Mary’s mother says the programme has lifted a heavy burden; knowing her daughter is fed allows her to search for work without the constant fear of her children going hungry.
Today, Mary dreams of becoming a nurse – determined to help others the way she has been helped. For her family, the KRDA feeding programme has been more than a meal; it has been a lifeline of hope.
Breaking the Cycle with KRDA
Mary’s story is far from unique. In Kibera, clean water, regular meals, and schooling remain out of reach for countless children. Poverty, through no fault of their own, traps these children in a cycle of hunger, ill-health and lost potential. Without intervention, too many bright young lives are limited before they begin.
KRDA exists to break that cycle. By combining nutrition, sport, education, and mentorship, the programme helps children see their own worth, build resilience, and develop the skills to chart their own paths. Rugby may be the entry point, but the goal is much larger – opening doors that poverty has shut.
