•Karuku received donatedf assorted foodstuffs worth Sh100 million from the Hindu Council of Kenya (HCK).
•She said the Fund has developed accountability mechanisms that that will ensure very donation Kenyans make will go towards supporting the needy.
Covid- 19 Emergency Fund Board chairperson Jane Karuku on Friday appealed to Kenyans to continue making donations to fight the virus.
Karuku spoke as she received foodstuffs worth Sh100 million donated by the Hindu Council of Kenya (HCK).
She said the Fund has developed accountability mechanisms to ensure every donation goes towards supporting the needy.
“We have stringent measures of accountability mechanisms. We have Deloitte as our audit partner and PwC are managing our books. We are urging all Kenyans to support us,” she said.
Karuku said that the Fund has also leveraged the technical expertise of former Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph to develop a system to help it reach out to the needy.
“We are accepting any amounts of money or any form of help and we will make sure that it gets to the right people,” she said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta formed the Fund late last month to mobilise resources for an emergency response to contain the spread and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kihara received the donations by HCK from the council's chairman Kamal Gupta at Nyayo National Stadium.
“Keeping true to the Hindu unity ideals, our members across the country managed to mobilise these food items we believe will be used for the benefit of our fellow citizens hard hit by the vagaries of the Covid-19 challenge," Gupta said.
HCK is a non-commercial organisation formed in 1971 to serve the Hindu community in Kenya.
The food will be distributed to vulnerable households in Nairobi’s informal settlements of Korogocho, Mukuru, Kibera, Kawangware, Kangemi and Dandora, among others.
Karuku said the Fund has a framework to secure coordinated distribution of all donations to vulnerable populations across the country based on an already developed needs assessment.
The Fund is focused on providing support and augmenting the national response to supply medical facilities and equipment and support vulnerable communities with immediate needs, including food relief.
“We are encouraged that despite the overwhelming impact of the pandemic, it has not impacted our humanity and natural inclination to extend a hand of generosity to our brothers and sisters in need. This is evidence by the continued steady stream of donations," Karuku said.
(Edited by V. Graham)