More than a grade. 

In 2008, Sara Holby was volunteering in Kisii, Kenya, for a healthcare nonprofit. When the global financial crisis hit, it lost its funding overnight. Seeing how fragile aid can be, Sara, her sister Kate and their mother, Ann, started Ajiri Tea, a company that creates steady jobs for women in Kenya.

When we asked the women who handcraft our packaging, and the farmers who grow our tea, what their community needed most, the answer was clear: school fees for orphans. The Ajiri Foundation has been supporting orphan education since 2009.

How it works

• Ajiri Tea employs about 60 women to handcraft its packaging and buys tea from small-scale farmers.
• 100% of Ajiri Tea's profits go to the Ajiri Foundation.
• Ajiri Tea also covers all of the Foundation's overhead (salaries, rent, transport), so 100% of every donation goes directly to scholars.

Who we support

We sponsor orphans in Kisii and Nyamira counties through secondary school. Headteachers recommend students, and our team visits each family before a scholar joins. We pay school fees, uniforms, books, boarding supplies and toiletries. In 2024, a year of school cost about $1,025 for a first-year scholar and $620 for a senior.

Where they go next

All nine of our 2024 graduates are pursuing higher education, in teaching, nursing, commerce and engineering.

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