Undugu Society of Kenya

What Undugu Society of Kenya does

Undugu Society of Kenya is a national non-profit child-centered community development organization founded in 1973 by Father Arnold Grol, a Dutch Roman Catholic missionary, in response to the struggles of street-connected children in Nairobi. Operating across six Kenyan locations (Westlands HQ, Dandora, Kisumu, Kajiado, Eldoret, and the Kitengela Place of Safety), the organization delivers a portfolio of programs structured around the 3R framework (Rescue, Rehabilitate, Reintegrate), Street Youth Associations, Community Child Rights Clubs (CCRCs), and Village Savings and Loaning Associations (VSLAs). Its primary beneficiaries are street-connected children and youth, vulnerable families in informal settlements, and organized youth groups across Kenya, with services ranging from shelter, education, healthcare access, and psychosocial support to vocational training and alternative justice mechanisms.

The organization is governed by a 7-member Board of Directors with oversight from a Patron and operates under a 2023-2027 Strategic Plan aligned with Kenya's Constitution Article 43 and the SDGs. It runs a staff complement of approximately 26-30 professionals across program, finance, administrative, and field roles. The core technology footprint is minimal: a WordPress website, YouTube channel for impact storytelling, and an online shop for branded merchandise (15 SKUs of apparel and accessories priced from KSh 1,500). There is no proprietary software platform, mobile application, or AI/ML capability.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through institutional grants and public donations. Primary funders include the Commonwealth Foundation (healthcare access for PLAWS), WeSeeHope (associations and CCRCs), Taksvarkki Ry (Finnish development organization funding the 'Sisi tuna Haki Pia' project targeting 1,000 youths across 50 associations), and Citi Foundation ($500,000 in September 2024 for youth economic empowerment). Public donations are accepted via M-Pesa Paybill 600100 and Stanbic Bank transfers. Strategic and operational partners include Family for Every Child, ICJ Kenya, Citi bank, and the Rotary Club of Kitengela. Merchandise sales represent a marginal supplementary revenue stream.

Name

Undugu Society of Kenya

Legal name

Undugu Society of Kenya

Website

https://undugusociety.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Undugu Society of Kenya is a national non-profit founded in 1973 that delivers rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration programs for street-connected children, vulnerable families in informal settlements, and youth associations across Kenya, funded primarily through institutional grants and public donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Child Welfare and Community Development Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO), Protection Services (GBV, Child Protection, Safeguarding) (BPADAHAF), Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA)

Keywords

• Child protection services
• Community development programs
• Youth rehabilitation services
• Social services nonprofit
• Family strengthening programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Primary revenue from donations, charitable grants, and partner funding from organizations such as Commonwealth Foundation, WeSeeHope, and Taksvarkki. Includes M-Pesa and bank transfer donations from public.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including t-shirts, caps, hoodies, mugs, jute bags, tumbler cups, and water bottles through online shop.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Undugu Society of Kenya is a national child-centered community development organization that rescues, rehabilitates, and reintegrates street-connected children and youth in Kenya. It delivers direct social services through the 3R program (Rescue, Rehabilitate, Reintegrate), operates the Kitengela Place of Safety, runs Street Youth Associations, Community Child Rights Clubs, and Village Savings and Loaning Associations, and supports vulnerable families in informal settlements with socioeconomic empowerment.

Product overview

Undugu Society of Kenya is a national non-profit organization that offers a portfolio of branded merchandise products (including apparel, accessories, and drinkware) sold through an e-commerce shop to support fundraising. The product portfolio consists of 15 distinct merchandise items across categories including t-shirts (available in black, blue, green, pink, and white), caps (in black, blue, green, and pink), hoodies, jute bags, mugs, tumbler cups, water bottles, and wristbands. All products feature the Undugu Society branding and are primarily marketed as ways for supporters to contribute to the organization's mission of supporting vulnerable children, youth, and families in Kenya. The organization also delivers social programs including rehabilitation services, education support, health access initiatives, and youth empowerment programs, though these are not commercial software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Branded Merchandise Apparel and Accessories Apparel, drinkware, and accessories branded with the Undugu Society logo (e.g., black, blue, green, pink, and white t-shirts at KSh 1,500; caps; hoodies; mugs; jute bags; tumbler cups; water bottles; wristbands) sold through the organization's e-commerce shop to generate funds supporting programs for street-connected children, youth, and families.
• 3R Program (Rescue, Rehabilitate, Reintegrate) Comprehensive program for street-connected children and youth that provides shelter, education, healthcare access, psychosocial support, vocational training, and long-term follow-up to transition beneficiaries into stable family, education, or employment settings.
• Kitengela Place of Safety (KPOS) Transitory residential institution in Kitengela, Kenya, providing safe shelter and care for up to 50 street-connected children as part of the rehabilitation pathway.
• Street Youth Association Model Structured community model establishing organized associations of street-connected youth with peer governance, alternative dispute resolution, and appeals mechanisms, designed to enable members to leave streets, rent housing, start families, and engage in income-generating activities.
• Community Child Rights Clubs (CCRC) Community-based child protection clubs for children aged 6-16 that deliver awareness of child rights, leadership training, mentorship, and safe spaces in informal settlements.
• Village Savings and Loaning Associations (VSLA) Community-based financial inclusion program that organizes vulnerable families in informal settlements into savings and loan groups, providing financial literacy, small credit access, and welfare support to reduce economic drivers of street-connectedness.
• Donation Campaign Program Charitable giving program enabling individual and institutional donors to financially support Undugu's programs through mobile money (M-Pesa Paybill 600100) and bank transfer.

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduates successfully transition to vocational training or formal education after rehabilitation program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered secondary and minor.

• Family for Every ChildsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational alliance of child-focused organizations working collaboratively on child protection and welfare programming.
• ICJ Kenya (International Commission of Jurists Kenya)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides testimonials affirming Undugu's people-centred justice approach. Collaboration on alternative justice systems and child rights advocacy.
• Rotary Club of KitengelaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal service organization providing support and solidarity visits to Kitengela Place of Safety for vulnerable children.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• World Vision Kenya: Large INGO working on child welfare, education, and livelihoods in Kenya with extensive rural and urban programs. Competes for similar institutional donor funds and addresses overlapping child-protection pain points.
• Save the Children Kenya: One of the largest INGO actors on child welfare in Kenya, operating across health, education, and child protection. Broad incumbent with significant overlap with Undugu's protection and rehabilitation priorities, but with far larger scale and portfolio breadth.

Direct peers

• SOS Children's Villages Kenya: Kenya-based child-focused NGO providing alternative care, family strengthening, and youth transition services. Direct peer to Undugu because both serve vulnerable children through residential and community programs in Kenya.
• ChildFund Kenya: International child rights and development organization working in Kenya on child protection, education, and youth livelihoods. Directly comparable to Undugu's child-centered community development focus and informal-settlement target communities.
• Street Child: International NGO specifically focused on street-connected children's education, protection, and livelihoods across multiple African and Asian countries. Direct peer due to overlapping streetism remediation mandate.
• Plan International Kenya: INGO delivering child rights, protection, and youth empowerment programming in Kenya, including work with marginalised girls and boys in urban informal settlements. Strong comparability in mission and beneficiary focus.

Emerging players

• RefugePoint: Refugee-serving organization with focused work on protection, shelter, and psychosocial support. Comparable to Undugu's Place-of-Safety model and protection services for street-connected and displaced populations.
• Childline Kenya: Kenyan child helpline and child protection organization providing case management, counseling, and referral services for children in distress. Comparable via direct child protection and safeguarding services for vulnerable children.

Others

• Family for Every Child: Global alliance of child-focused NGOs (including Undugu as a member). Adjacent/ecosystem peer given formal partnership listed in Undugu data; useful as an indicator of Undugu's positioning within the international child-welfare alliance network.

Regional players

• African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) Kenya: Africa-rooted child protection network with Kenya chapter working on child rights, advocacy, and child protection systems strengthening. Comparable via shared child rights mandate and protection-systems framing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@undugusocietyke
• Xx.com/undugu_kenya
• Facebookfacebook.com/Undugusocietyofkenya

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Undugu Society of Kenya