Throughout 2025, each time I publish something externally (in a journal, in a book, on a podcast, on a website that isn’t my own blog), I’m asking you to make a donation – not to me, but to the Riley Orton Foundation, a grassroots educational initiative in rural Kenya.

I don’t make any money from publishing, and I don’t run a paid subscription on this site. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have a voice and a platform at all. But the girls ROF supports are just starting out in life, and they have very few resources on their side.

Make a donation now, or read on to find out what an impact your help will make.

What the Riley Orton Foundation does

In rural Kisumu, Kenya, access to quality education is a privilege few can afford. ROF’s tiny team make absolutely massive impacts. They work with thousands of young women, providing STEM education, high school scholarships, school clothes and resources for girls whose families who can’t afford them.

Why this matters so much

For many young women in Kenya, school is just not really a thing once they get past about 12. Finishing primary school or starting to menstruate can be all the reason needed to pull them out of education and into housework — or directly into marriage.

When money is tight, parents often have to make a choice about which of their kids to keep in school. Overwhelmingly, they choose sons.

If families don’t have the resources for school clothes, sanitary pads or transport to school, or they simply don’t recognise that there are opportunities for their daughters to benefit from higher schooling, it’s not even a question.

For 15 years, Riley Orton have been changing this story. They are:

• granting scholarships to enable girls to continue education beyond primary school

• partnering with schools across Kisumu to resource and extend their STEM teaching capacity

• hosting educational camps for STEM skills, leadership and gender equality

• installing sustainable infrastructure and facilities, from solar energy to growing food on campus

• distributing quality school uniforms, menstrual pads and other school materials to kids from impoverished backgrounds

• providing bikes to girls who have no other way to get safely to school.

The team are active on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and LinkedIn, so you can find out all about the camps and competitions and programs they run all year round.

Donate now

You might prefer to make a one-off donation, or most of the options below will allow to you to make a recurring donation. Please consider making a donation per publication! (Check my 2025 Publishing Challenge tally to see how many that would be…)

If you’re in Australia, the US or UK, you can claim your ROF donations on tax. Select your geography to find out how:

I’m in Australia

I’m in the US

Donate on the ROF website, where contributions are vetted by Omprakash, a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit. You can donate with credit card, PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay and several other options.

You can donate this way from anywhere, but if you file a tax return in the United States, your donation will be tax deductible.

I’m in the UK

Donate through Prospero World, a registered UK charity which partners with Omprakash. Make sure to name ‘Riley Orton Foundation’ as the partner you wish to support. This platform accepts various credit cards.

You can donate this way from anywhere, but if you file a tax return in the United Kingdom, your donation will be tax deductible.

I’m somewhere else, but I want to help

There’s not currently a tax-deductible option, but you can use any of the methods above to contribute to expanding educational opportunities through ROF. We will be so grateful for anything you can share.