Don't Just Give Them Food-Teach Them How to Get It

School meals are most often the only meals of the day for many, many children. Live and Learn in Kenya International is proud and happy to be able to make very nutritional and tasty meals available to all of the 480 children on its program. 300 children attend the Live and Learn in Kenya Education Center Kindergarten and Elementary School. These children receive both breakfast and lunch every school day. On Saturdays, all of the 480 children on the program come for tutoring, activities such as sports, dance, music and handicrafts - and lunch. Sad to say, the coronavirus has put an end to this from March 15, 2020, until the end of the pandemic - and lockdown. Parents have lost the few and low-paying jobs that they had and are not able to walk the streets freely. Where there is no source of income, there is no source of obtaining food. We at Live and Learn in Kenya International - both in Kenya and in the mother organization in Germany - wracked our minds on how to get food to our children and their families. It was not possible to distribute food for two reasons - gathering larger groups is forbidden and if people found out that food was being distributed they would storm the Live and Learn in Kenya Education Center to get whatever they could - understandably. Riots of that kind had already broken out in Nairobi where people were literally trampled to death. We couldn't let that happen. After many restless nights, we came up with the solution: M-PESA! M-PESA is a possibility to transfer funds within Kenya to cellphones. Once funds have been transferred, the person need only go to one of the many M-PESA agency offices and fetch the funds in cash. For those parents and guardians with no cellphone access, it was possible for them to come to the LLK Center in small groups to fetch the money personally. Live and Learn in Kenya International began the Corona Emergency Relief Fund and after weeks of hunger and fear parents were able to buy food and soap for their families. In time for Easter, we were able to transfer nearly $33 to each of the families of the 480 children. This was enough to buy rice, beans, flour, and soap. In May it was $27. We are hoping to go on providing at least a minimum of $25 every month until the end of the pandemic when parents can go back to work and earn their wages themselves. Until then they are depending on the charity and caring of strangers.

It is a difficult time for all involved - all around the world. Financial distress is coupled with the fear of contracting the virus ourselves or our friends and loved ones. There are so many unknowns. But one thing is certain - we will only get through this pandemic by working hand in hand - in Swahili they say Harambee - "joining hands and working together for a common goal" - and this common goal is staying alive!

If all goes as planned and prayed for - school will begin again for the new school year in Kenya in January 2021. All grades will be repeated as the children have been officially out of school for more than 9 months. That when we will be able to resume our feeding program and needn't transfer funds to parents any longer.

Please stick this one out with us for a couple of more months!!!

Asante sana - thank you so much for your kind and generous support!

Links:

• LLK Home Based Learning and Corona Emergency Relief Funds