Dr Truphena Choti serves as the Founder and CEO of Afri Thrive Inc. She runs the organisation alongside her husband, Prof. Charles Choti.
Afri Thrive is a non-profit organisation based in the United States that offers free food to communities and neighbourhoods with struggling immigrants living in them.
Founded in 2019, the initiative addresses food and social security issues many immigrants face when they move to a new country.
Afri Thrive strives to distribute ‘organic and culturally appropriate’ foodstuff. The Kisii power couple has set up shop in the DMV area (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia) and Pennsylvania.
Dr Choti, who holds a PhD from the University of Maryland, revealed she was compelled to start an initiative in the US that would help connect with her African roots.
Speaking in a YouTube interview with Alex Chamwada, she explained that they distribute food to numerous families every Friday.
“Having worked and grown up in Africa, I needed something that could connect me to the African continent and provide hope to others when they have challenges,” she said.
Her husband, who actively engages in the operations of Afri Thrive, reiterated Dr Choti’s words. He remarked that the organisation found joy in caring for others struggling to settle down in the land of opportunities.
“America is a completely different environment with new socio-economic challenges.”
“You need to know where to get the right food and need someone to guide you in choosing the neighbourhood where you want to settle down,” Truphena added.
Afri Thrive serves immigrants mainly from Kenya. Other countries’ immigrants include Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, and Egypt. In addition, they also serve people from the Caribbean islands and Europe as well.
Upon registration in 2019, the organisation’s first distribution was to about 40 families. The company realised exponential growth at the height of the 2020 pandemic.
Kakamega High alumni who is now running a successful US trucking business
During this time, Afri Thrive signed several partnerships with various non-profits.
“In the summer of 2020, we partnered with the DC Central Kitchen. They are the backbone of our growth because we had access to the food program they ran. They provided us with food. We distribute it.”
Moving to the US
The Kisii couple and their children moved to the United States in 2000. This was courtesy of a Fullbright scholarship that Mr Choti had won.
They settled in Atalanta, the capital of Georgia State. While still a newbie in the US, Truphena Choti enrolled for a master’s program at Georgia State University.
In 2005, she was awarded a scholarship to study for her PhD in International Education Development at the State of Maryland. This forced the family to relocate to MD, where they have been living.
“In 2005, I was awarded a scholarship to study for a PhD at the University of Maryland College Park. Since then, we settled in Silver Spring, Maryland, where we are up to now,” she said.
Growing their own produce
Afri Thrive Inc. owns a two-acre farm where they have grown a variety of foods and vegetables for their programs. Some produce includes managu, beans, pumpkin, peppers, maize, and tomatoes, among many others.
At the end of 2022, the organisation distributed over 1 million pounds of food to needy families. They have a handful of employees and nearly 30 volunteers.
“When you talk about food security, it is not about having money. It is not about being desperate for food. It is about having access to the right food, healthy and nutritious food,” said Milton Nyakundi, the communications Manager at Afri Thrive.
In the future, the power couple looks to open a Community Kitchen in Kenya to assist in feeding school-going children from needy families.
