RYC is an organization of local women led by the founder Zulekha, who has over 20 years of vast experience in the field of Disaster Management & Organizational Development.  She has impeccable track record of performance and is the force behind the drive to alleviate poverty in the region through capacity building of the communities and appropriate effective sustainable development programmes and gender development.  She has achieved this through advocacy, improvement in education, women in development, policy making and engaging of the elders, chiefs and the County Governments. 

Zulekha Abdi - FOUNDER

Zulekha is a motivated and experienced professional with over 20 years of experience in community outreach & business development.

Before becoming the founder at Raising Youth & Communities, Zulekha served as the Executive Director of Shona Kenya, where she sourced & made leather products locally resulting in sustainable solutions and solving challenges in the industry. 

She has held various roles as Program Officer at the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), she was responsible for implementing the strategic plans and project proposals to donors on the impact of climate change. 

At the Kenya Red Cross Society, Zulekha is renowned for being one of the major fund raisers; where she liaised with local corporates & donors and raised approximately KSH1billion for disaster preparedness.  This was achieved by holding the roles of Information and Reporting Manager during Post-Election Violence, Drought Operations Manager during the drought in Kenya; Project Manager for Tsunami and Business Development Manager. She also worked at the BBC London in the department of documentaries.

Zulekha is skilled in relationship building, program management, and strategic planning. She has a proven ability to drive growth and development relationships with various partners to achieve organisational objectives. She's passionate about creating positive impact in underserved communities.