Smachs Foundation on Monday denied involvement in a scheme to solicit funds from individuals attending the Kenya-Israel Agricultural Exchange Program.
The non-profit organisation founded by Charlene Ruto in a statement elaborated that the foundation only facilitated the identification of a cohort to undergo the Program.
Additionally, SMACHS confirmed that the foundation was one of the institutions mandated to recruit individuals who would undertake the program in Israel, where 45 were identified.
”As part of the recruitment campaign, SMACHS Foundation alongside other institutions was mandated with the task of identifying young trainees for The MASHAV Agricultural Training Program.”
“As a result, we were able to identify and send 25 individuals in the first cohort, and 20 individuals in the second Cohort,” SMACHS stated.
SMACHS further clarified that contrary to earlier allegations made by several individuals, no funds were solicited from the participants.
“As a non-profit organization, we do not solicit funds from any individuals for any opportunities, partnerships or training activity whatsoever;” read the statement in part.
Additionally, SMACHS denied any involvement with an individual purported to have been collecting bribes from individuals on behalf of the organisation.
Kenya sent 210 agriculture trainees to Israel on an 11-month airlift project under the Mashav Agricultural Training Program in August 2023.
Mashav Fellows is a 54-year-old program sponsored by the Israeli government in collaboration with Kenya.
The trainees were equipped with technical agricultural skills from the Arava International Centre for Agricultural Training (AICAT) located in the Arava Desert, Southern Israel
