The Funda Kohli project was launched in Costa Rica in 2005.
Since then the project has run permanent canteens that provide daily free meals and nutrition to children and families after school, during weekends and on school holidays.
Funda Kohli has fed hundreds of children every week since 2005 and it is the longest-running program of the Tej Kohli Foundation.
The main aim of the organisation is to make a positive and long-lasting impact on the welfare and future prospects of young people by ensuring that vulnerable people in Costa Rica have access to vital nutrition and sustenance. Funda Kohli has been able to help and support hundreds of families and educational organisations across Costa Rica.
Over its long tenure, FundaKohli has proven how seemingly small interventions such as making sure a child can reliably fill their stomach each day without worry can greatly impact their prospects and life outcomes. Malnourished children are less able to focus and learn, so those who do not have consistent access to good quality nutrition often suffer from an education slump from which they never recover.
As well as feeding hundreds of children and their families since 2005, Funda Kohli has provided desks and solar-powered sports facilities for local schools.
Alliances have also been formed between the foundation and conservation groups in an effort to reduce damage to the environment and ecology of the magnificent area. In 2019, the foundation oversaw the installation of nest boxes to support efforts to conserve and protect Costa Rica’s threatened Red Macaw population. Other projects have included protecting eggs from poachers, taking care of injured sea turtles and releasing baby sea turtles back into the ocean, as well as projects to control Costa Rica’s stray cat population.
