Provide school lunch to 3900 hungry Kenyan kids

For many of our students, personal circumstances are so desperate that the lunch they get at school each day is the only guaranteed meal of the day. Their stories help us to understand the challenges our students face, and why support for the school lunch program is critical. Meet one such student, Tonnic, and his sister Pauleen.

Tonnic is a 13 year old orphan, the youngest of 7 siblings, whose mother died recently. Tonnick now lives with his oldest sister, Pauleen, who was forced to drop out of high school in her 3rd year because there was no money for school fees. To support the family, Pauleen has taken over her late mother’s business buying and selling alcohol. She also plants maize for the family to eat.

In this child-headed home, Pauleen says she feels helpless, as no one in the extended family gives her help running the household. Pauleen reports that she is pressured by family members to hand over the deed to her mother’s land and home where Pauleen and Tonnick live. However, Pauleen is sure that if she were to do so, she and Tonnic would be kicked out of the house and become homeless.

Pauleen reports that she cannot afford to keep Tonnic but is doing her best. She wants him to excel academically so that he can help the family, but Tonnic struggles in his 6th grade classes.

In these dire circumstances, this little family struggles to afford daily food. Only the school lunch program assures Tonnic that he will have one meal each day. As a child-headed household, they also receive a small portion of food for Pauleen and him to eat on evenings and weekends.

Your support for the school lunch program is critical for Tonnick and Pauleen! We thank you for your generous donations which make the school lunch program possible.

Links:

• Global Interfaith Partnership website
• Watch a video about the lunch program