Updates

June was another solid month at Safe City. 353 people received free healthcare in Oworoshoki, Lagos, taking the clinic's total since it opened to 8,560 patients. Safe City accounts for most of the 11,195 people the two Kwanda-funded clinics have now cared for between them.

113 of those patients were visiting for the first time, 32% of June's visits, while the other 68% were people coming back to a team they trust. We treated patients from Oworoshoki, Bariga and Ebute Metta, and from Mushin, 12.1km away and the furthest anyone travelled to us this month. 69% were women, most supporting families on an average of $7.06 (about £6) per person each month, still well below the poverty line and still without an affordable alternative closer to home. Malaria and hypertension were again among the conditions we saw most, alongside a wide range of everyday health needs.

We spent $470 (about £370) caring for those 353 patients, the majority on medications and medical supplies and the rest on clinic operations and materials. We also recycled 7lbs of plastic waste from the neighbourhood this month.

Mrs Adeniji has been coming to Safe City since it opened. She first heard about it at our launch rally, when we went into the community with a band, music and dancing to announce that a new clinic was coming to Oworoshoki, and more than a year on she still comes back month after month. "They attend to us and are doing their best," she told us. With returning visits holding above two thirds and new patients still arriving, we should pass 9,000 people cared for at Safe City in the next month or two.

In June, 348 people received free consultations, diagnosis and treatment at Care Circle in Itire-Surulere, Lagos, a fifth month running above our 300 target and taking the clinic's total since launch to 2,635 patients. Across both Kwanda-funded clinics, that makes 11,195 people cared for between them.

133 of June's patients were finding us for the first time, 38% of all visits, and word about Care Circle keeps spreading further across the area. We saw patients from Itire and other nearby communities, and 64% were women, who usually manage healthcare for the whole family. Malaria was again the most common condition we treated at 33% of visits, with unspecified malaria and hypertensive urgency (dangerously high blood pressure) each adding another 6%. The average patient lives on $5.08 (about £4) per person each month, so a household of four gets by on ₦28,808 (about £16), well below the global poverty line of $2.15 a day. Nurses Benedeth and Sylvia ran the clinic right through the month.

We spent $469 (about £370) on medications, medical supplies and staff salaries, helped along by our community plastic-waste recycling programme, which turned 5lbs of neighbourhood waste into cash for clinic operations and cut down nearby mosquito breeding sites in the process.

Mrs Olajumoke brings her children to Care Circle and told us, "They treat us without collecting anything." That's the whole point of the clinic: free, dependable care for families who have nowhere else to turn.

Nothing went wrong this month, and with first-time visits still climbing we're on our way to 3,000 people cared for since launch.

This month we ran menstrual health and hygiene training at three schools in rural Kenya: Kyamwei, Kikulumi and Kyuluni Comprehensive Schools. The sessions covered managing periods, tracking a cycle and reproductive health, and we then gave reusable Wings Poa kits to 162 girls, 45 at Kyamwei, 58 at Kikulumi and 59 at Kyuluni, so they can stay in class during their periods.

We also ran menstrual health surveys at Mbaani and King’atuani Comprehensive Schools to understand what girls there are dealing with and work out where to go next. That takes us to nine training sessions completed and 19 schools surveyed, with 1,195 girls reached through the surveys and 640 now holding a kit. One of the girls at Kyuluni told us: “Before this training, I did not know how to count my cycles. My period could just come anytime and I had to go home to change. Now I am confident in tracking my cycle.”

The kits are sewn by 12 LitMoms, local women who earn from every batch while building their tailoring skills, and Ann, one of them, said the income helps her support her family’s daily needs. We spent Ksh 95,800 (around £560) this month: Ksh 72,800 to the LitMoms for production, Ksh 10,000 on staff time, Ksh 9,000 on transport to the schools, and the remaining Ksh 4,000 on monitoring and coordinating with schools by phone.

Inter-school games took up much of the term, which cut into the time we had for surveys, training and distribution, so we reached fewer schools and fewer girls than we had planned. With the August holiday approaching, we are sourcing more flannel and waterproof PUL fabric, keeping the LitMoms producing kits through the break, and finishing the distributions we still have outstanding before schools close.

In May, 312 community members received free healthcare at Safe City in Oworoshoki, Lagos, taking the clinic's total since launch past 8,000 to 8,207 patients. Across both Kwanda-funded clinics, we've now served more than 10,000 people in total, a milestone we passed this month.

Even as Safe City matures, 131 first-time patients (42% of visits) came through our doors, a sign that word is still getting out and new lives are still being reached at a long-standing clinic. The other 58% were returning patients, coming back to a team they trust. We served patients from Oworoshoki and Bariga, and 64% were women, most supporting families on around $11.60 (about £9) per person each month, still well below the poverty line and often without any other affordable option. Malaria was the most common condition (33%), followed by hypertension (19%) and upper respiratory illnesses (15%).

We spent $416 (about £330) on medications and staff salaries, keeping the clinic open and free throughout the month.

Mrs Helen has been coming to Safe City since 2024, and this month she told us, "If I come, they give me drugs, and my children will be okay." Two years of consistent care for one family is the kind of long-term trust that reliable, free healthcare builds. With the new team now firmly settled, we expect to keep welcoming both familiar and new faces through June.

In May, 303 community members received free healthcare at Care Circle in Itire-Surulere, Lagos, the fourth month running above 300 and taking the clinic's total since launch to 2,287 patients. Across both Kwanda-funded clinics, we've now passed 10,000 people in total.

More than half of May's visits (52%) came from first-time patients, with 159 people finding the clinic for the first time, a sign that word about Care Circle keeps spreading further across Lagos. We treated patients from four communities, including Itire, Ikorodu and Aguda, and 62% were women, who usually manage healthcare for the whole family. Most were adults between 36 and 50, though we saw the full range of ages from young children to elderly grandparents. The average patient lives on $4.90 (about £4) per person each month while supporting a household of four, well below the global poverty line. Malaria was the most common condition (27%, with another 15% unspecified), followed by hypertension (13%). Nurses Benedeth and Sylvia ran the clinic throughout the month.

We spent $402 (about £320) on medications, supplies and staff salaries, partly supported by our community plastic-waste recycling programme, which turns neighbourhood waste into cash for clinic operations and cuts down nearby mosquito breeding sites in the process.

Mrs Mary brought her children along to the clinic this month and shared what Care Circle means to her family on video, telling us, "They are so good, taking care of me." A mother trusting us enough to bring her own children is exactly the relationship we're building, one family at a time.

With first-time visits still climbing, we expect to keep this momentum going into June.

This month we ran menstrual health and hygiene training at Kalau DEB Comprehensive School, reaching 250 students. The sessions covered managing periods, tracking a cycle, reproductive health, and building the confidence to talk openly about it. We then gave reusable Wings Poa kits to 180 of the girls, so they can manage their periods and stay in class.

We also ran a menstrual health survey with 60 students at Kiuanzukini Senior School, asking about the challenges girls face during their periods so we know which schools to reach next. With Kalau DEB included, we have now completed six training sessions and surveyed 17 schools, and 478 girls across our rural partner schools now have a kit.

Behind every kit are the LitMoms, the local women who sew them. This month they produced 301 kits and earned Ksh 120,400 (around £700) for their work, building their tailoring skills as they go. In all we spent Ksh 198,400 (around £1,160): Ksh 50,000 on fabric, Ksh 120,400 for the LitMoms, Ksh 18,000 on transport, and the rest on monitoring and staff time.

The school calendar slowed us down. Mid-term exams and the break that followed cut into the time we had for training and distribution, so we reached fewer schools than planned. We are using the break to keep producing kits, which is why the LitMoms made more than we handed out, and once schools reopen we will pick up training, surveys, and distribution in the schools we have just surveyed.

In April, 398 community members received free healthcare at Safe City in Oworoshoki, Lagos, the clinic's busiest month of 2026 and a sharp rebound from 241 in March, when a staff change had slowed visits. The total since launch now stands at 7,895 patients, closing in on 8,000.

Two-thirds of April's patients (66%) were returning, the highest rate Safe City has seen this year, a sign the community has settled in with the new team. We welcomed 135 first-time visitors, and 119 of our patients were children under 18, brought in by parents who had nowhere else to turn for free care. 74% were women, most supporting families on around $9.22 (about £7) per person each month, well below the poverty line. The most common conditions we treated were upper respiratory infections (35%), muscle and body pain (30%), malaria (17%) and high blood pressure (13%). We spent $460 (about £360) on medications, supplies and clinic operations.

Mrs Yetunde came to see Safe City for herself after hearing about it from others, and shared what she found on video.

With the new team now firmly established, we expect to pass 8,000 patients next month.

This month we kept producing and distributing our Wings Poa reusable sanitary kits across our rural partner schools, and expanded the menstrual health surveys that help us find the girls who need support most.

We ran new surveys in five schools: Kalau DEB, Kiundwani, Kyamwei, Kyuluni, and Kyambusya Comprehensive Schools. The questionnaires help us understand the challenges girls face around their periods and decide where to focus next.

We then distributed Wings Poa kits to 198 girls across four schools: 31 at Nduluku, 28 at Miondoni, 66 at Makila, and 73 at Kionyweni Comprehensive Schools. That brings the total number of girls who now have a kit to 298. The kits mean girls can manage their periods with dignity and stay in school.

We also marked this year's Menstrual Hygiene Day, themed “Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld”, by handing out 139 hygiene kits to girls at Makila and Kionyweni.

The funding mainly covered continued production of the kits, plus transport and coordination for the surveys and distributions. Beyond the girls receiving kits, the local women who sew them keep earning an income and building their tailoring skills.

Stigma around menstruation is still a challenge in some schools, and it can make girls hesitant to speak openly in our discussions and surveys. We'll keep running menstrual health education so girls feel safe sharing, and our next round of production and distribution will reach more of the schools we've just surveyed.

This past month was all about getting ready to launch in June. We confirmed the dates for all our summer GEAR Lab robotics sessions and advertised them to the 300 young people who took part in our earlier DRILL programme. Applications for the first cohort are open, and we'll send decisions next week.

We also bought and shipped the equipment kits for every session this summer, and brought new mentors onto the team. Five of them are former GEAR Lab participants from last year, and they'll earn a stipend for mentoring this time round. Onboarding and mentor training are scheduled for this week.

We spent $785.54 (about £620) on kits and $60 (about £47) on marketing this month.

We welcome our first cohort of 20 students on 15 June.

This month we held our graduation ceremony at the Government Bilingual High School in Mfou, Cameroon, where the latest cohort of our regenerative-farming and business programme qualified as what we call “Architects of the Soil.”

Government officials, local authorities and our partner organisation RELUFA joined us, and we unveiled the International Gold Level Award the programme won from the School Enterprise Challenge (run by the UK charity Teach A Man To Fish), with a virtual keynote from its chief executive, Nik Kafka.

We held our scholars to a high bar, and 12 of the 20 met the full requirements to graduate. The clearest proof of the model came from Pitou, one of our graduates, who presented the business plan she had built for an organic poultry and vegetable farm. Her pitch was strong enough that a guest in the audience pledged to invest in it on the spot, and she is now a business owner preparing to employ others in her community. Each graduate received a certificate, and we gave letters of recognition to the school's staff.

We spent £1,200 on project kits, logistics and training materials, plus 175,000 CFA (about £225) on the ceremony itself, covering catering, refreshments, transport and certificates.

The eight scholars who did not graduate this round mostly face difficult economic circumstances, and we're planning more intensive mentorship to help them through. We're also assessing a site near Ngoumu, in Mbankomo, for a permanent Ecological Learning Centre, where we want to scale the programme to reach more displaced young people. International transfers for our running costs have been slow to arrive, so we're working with partners in the United States to streamline that.