Meet Alisha Robertson of The Kikulu Foundation in Oak Cliff

Thanks for sharing your story with us Alisha. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
There is this tiny little town halfway between Denton and Wichita Falls called Nocona. That’s where I’m from. It’s about twenty-five hundred people who all know each other. We all go to public school, and we all end up with a good education. I didn’t know what a privilege that education was until years later, convinced there was more to life than my safe corporate job, I quit everything to travel the world to see with my own eyes what I could’ve only dreamed of from my tiny ranch town.

It was important to me to settle into the communities I visited; to contribute in some way and not be just a tourist. I volunteered with a number of NGOs along the way, and that’s when something very big and very important began staring me in the face. In seven countries, on four continents, I saw children, and even young adults completely stripped of their right to an education. The problem was so pervasive, it seemed at the time any effort was just a drop in the bucket. Really, it took years for me to process that experience.

I was continually thinking about what my life would look like had I not received the opportunity to receive an education. During my childhood, I saw firsthand how education changes everything. I saw what a college education did to improve the circumstances of my own family. My mother, who was a young single mom, used her education and a college degree to lift our family out of what many would consider poverty.

Returning to Dallas in 2011, armed with almost two years of on-the-ground experience in developing communities and my prior business experience, I founded The Kikulu Foundation with a $500 gift from my grandmother along with a small amount of money from my savings. My grandmother didn’t have a college degree, but she knew the importance of investing in dreams. Even though she is no longer with us, she left a legacy that helps turn dreams into reality.

Since our beginnings, we’ve invested close to $100k in education initiatives and scholarships for hundreds of children and teachers in East Africa. We have been recognized by SMU and the Dedman College of Human Rights, LuminAID, Global Citizen, and we continue to bring awareness to this critical issue.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We are a 100% volunteer-run, grassroots nonprofit, and the issues we are tackling are a challenge even for fully staffed organizations much larger than us. The greatest struggle has been the sheer number of students who need financial support to attend school. Currently, we have more than 140 students who we strive to provide a scholarship for each year. That requires roughly an annual investment of $360 per year, per student, and even more as they reach University level. That’s at least $50,400 annually for scholarships alone. This isn’t a crazy amount of money, but given our size, it does require creativity, grit, and tenacity. We’re committed to carving our own path, working lean, and collaborating with thoughtful individuals and businesses in our pursuit to ensure every child can be in school. In a lot of ways, that gets us thinking outside of the box and has ultimately been very helpful.

We’d love to hear more about your foundation.
The Kikulu Foundation was founded to address a basic human right – access to education. Currently, there are roughly 226 million children around the world who can’t go to school. That’s unacceptable in our eyes — to be a child full of potential but have no opportunity. Education is the greatest driver of social and economic change. When children learn to read, count, and reason critically, it brings generational change for entire families and communities. When children have the chance to go to school, they begin to dream. And we believe in dreams.

We differ from other non-profits in the way in which we modernize our approach. Larger, long-standing nonprofits can often require hefty overhead, conventional office, and spend large sums of money on traditional approaches to fundraising. In contrast, we have a virtual team, low overhead, and our fundraising efforts center around a tight-knit community of changemakers and status quo-shakers. Year after year, this allows almost every penny raised to go directly to the students in need.

Our commitment to making every dollar go as far as it can allow us to support education for kids all the way through vocational training or University. Something many international scholarship programs do not do.

Evaline, one of the students we’ve been supporting over the last seven years, was recently accepted into nursing school. She is now one of four young ladies in University from the community we work with. In a country where most girls don’t make it past primary school, these girls are breaking down barriers and showing others what’s possible. We are always in awe of them and most proud of their perseverance.

What were you like growing up?
My Mom tells me I was stubborn but loving as a kid. She says, once I decided on something, you couldn’t change my mind. It was just Mom and us three kids so, being the oldest I often thought I was in charge. If you ask my sister, I was just bossy. Like many kids, I loved hanging out with my friends. I loved organizing activities – lemonade stands, dance parties, sleepovers – and dreaming about going places. I grew up in a community with less than 3,000 people and as I got older, this feeling of this unknown outside world really began settling in. So by the time I graduated high school, there was nothing that could have kept me from venturing out and expanding my horizons.

My childhood set the foundation for my values and desire to do good in the world.  I believe the greatest potential for impact comes by empowering young people through education, especially girls. I received love, support, and opportunity as a child. I strive every day to pay that gift forward.

Paying it Forward:

• $30 provides a child with a school uniform
• $60 provides a child with books and school supplies for the year
• $360 annually sends a child to school equipped with everything they need

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kikulu.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kikulufoundation
• Email: alisha@kikulu.org