Feed School Children in Kenya

With the school year out here in Kenya now at an end, I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on our school meal programme, which you so generously supported this year.

The programme was launched in a single school of 330 pupils in September 2013 and has twice been extended since (in January 2014 to a further 570 pupils and in May 2014 to 300 more). We now provide a hot and nutritious meal of maize/rice and beans to 1,200 pupils (including all 500 nursery pupils - the youngest and most vulnerable children) every school day across our network of six partner schools. In 2014 we provided around 205,000 meals, at an average cost of just £0.09 ($0.15) per meal. We have now provided more than 225,000 meals since the launch of the programme.

The immediate impact of providing a regular meal been noted in increased enrolments and improved attendance levels, and, according to feedback from teachers, in the improved levels of concentration amongst pupils in class, particularly during afternoon lessons when classrooms are at their hottest and when concentration levels would normally fall due to hunger and fatigue.

“The feeding programme has seen many children who were out of school resume schooling.” (Mr Victor Masai, head teacher, Jora Primary School)

I am delighted to report that thanks to your support, and that of other institutional and invididual donors, we are in a position to continue the programme at current levels into the new school year starting January 2015. In time, we hope to be able to extend the programme further to include some or all of the remaining 1,200 pupils we are currently able to reach.