Nutrition and Education for Schools in Makueni

by Africa Initiative for Rural Development

Summary

Kenya has been running school feeding programs which have stalled in most counties due to inadequate funds from the Government. The effect has been a drop in enrolments with signs of poor nutritional status among the pupils. This project will aim to support schools incubate their own feeding programs by growing indigenous high nutritional value vegetables for consumption with the surplus being sold to earn the target schools some income to further sustain the feeding program.

$52,000
total goal

$51,889
remaining

6
donors

0
monthly donors

2
years

Challenge

A survey by Twaweza E.A. revealed that six out of 10 families in Kenya cannot afford three meals a day due to poverty. This affects education with some children not able to attend school due to hunger. The Government has made attempts to provide meals to schools as part of its strategy to ensure all children get equal opportunities to learn. This hasn't succeeded with schools reverting to the poor parents to contribute. The result has been increased absenteeism and high levels of malnutrition.

Solution

The immediate objective of this initiative is to help individual schools establish and sustain their own feeding programs without over-reliance on the Government and parents. With an assured meal, enrolments and nutritional status of the children will improve. The surpluses will be sold to support the infrastructure in the schools. The traditional high value vegetables are a delicacy and have a ready market within most communities in Kenya. They take an average of 1-2 months to mature.

Long-Term Impact

This initiative will lead to improved education performance and good health for the children of Makueni. Once rolled out, schools will have an in-house source of revenue that is sustainable. There will be less reliance on the Government and the poor parents. Children will equally carry the knowledge and skills learnt on horticulture and replicate the same in their households. Apart from improving household incomes, nutrition will also be improved at household levels and the larger community.