Feed School Children in Kenya

Unfortunately, the rain that fell in our project area in April did not hang around for long and whilst it helped to provide immediate relief in terms of water, it has done little to alleviate the drought situation in this part of Kenya.

Our school meal programme continues therefore to be an absolutely vital lifeline for the 2,750+ children that we reach across our partner schools and beyond. 

"The food that African Promise supplies for our school is the only refuge that saves the life of the most vulnerable children in this part of the earth."(Teacher at Makwasinyi Primary School)

The decision we took earlier in the year to reduce portion sizes to counter the impact of rising costs has enabled us to continue to provide a daily, term-time lunch to all of these children, and eventhough prices appear to have now largely stabilised these reduced portion sizes will continue to remain in place.

In the three months since our last report, which includes the entire duration of Term II, we have provided nearly 200,000 meals and a total of more than 35,000kg of rice, maize and beans. 

The approximate total cost of this was £17,232 (or $22,355) which works out at just 9pence/12cents per meal and £6/$8 per child for the term!

We expect to secure funding in the coming days to be able to deliver the programme for the rest of the year but 2018 is already fast approaching and aside from a couple of small recurring donations and an annual grant we do not have any funding in place for this programme for next year. If you are able to make a donation please click here.

The rains are finally arriving in our project area after an absence of more than a year but the impact of the drought continues to be felt.

Food continues to be in short supply across Kenya and unfortunately prices have continued to rise; we are now paying 60% more for beans and 40% more for maize than we were as recently as September 2016. The projected cost of the feeding programme for 2017 has now escalated 30% from our initial budget, but that is on the basis that food prices do not rise further still (which is inconceivable given the circumstances).

As a result, we have unfortunately had to take measures to control costs and ensure we can sustain delivery of the programme. Scaling back the programme in terms of the number of days we provide lunch or the number of children we feed is not a desirable option, so we have therefore reviewed the amount of food that we apportion per meal and have made some reductions in the amount of rice and maize.

This has created some significant cost savings whilst minimising the impact on pupils who are in particular need of a guaranteed meal at this time, as families continue to struggle to put food on the table.

The decision has the universal approval of all headteachers and has, of course, been made with the long-term interests and stability of the programme and the charity in mind. And whilst the changes are intended to be on a permanent basis, they will of course be subject to review.

Should prices rise further to the extent that these savings are cancelled out we may have to further reduce portion sizes on a temporary basis until prices stabilise and (hopefully) fall back to pre-drought levels.

These remain uncertain times but we hope that the rains will hang around for next 2-3 months and that food supplies and prices will return to normal levels as soon as possible; in the meantime, we are doing all we can to maintain our feeding programme and this vital lifeline for the nearly 2,750 children that we now feed.

If you can give anything towards our efforts we would be very grateful for your support. It costs just a couple of pounds/dollars to provide one pupil with a daily lunch for a month or, if you're feeling very generous, a donation of £250/$311 pays for lunch for all 2,750 children for one day.

To make a donation please click here.

Thank you.