The Coronavirus pandemic has wrecked havoc the world over.
Kenya like so many other countries was not spared of infections. In an attempt to limit the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) the government imposed restrictions and eventually a lockdown.
One of the key decisions was to close down schools indefinitely.
While this decision was guided by the need to have a healthy nation, it has unfortunately had a negative impact on children in the country who come from poor backgrounds. Many of these children relied on school feeding programs to get daily meals.
With schools closed it meant this source of nutrition was limited for a number of children.
Some of those who were affected by the school closures were those whom Rise to Shine supports.
The Rise to Shine foundation received numerous calls from beneficiaries who shared about the lack of food they were facing back at home. It was unsustainable for the foundation to send money to help the children’s families buy food. This situation also put the school-going girls in risky situations, as some were at great risk of being taken advantage of in order to get some form of money or food to support their families.
It is based on these factors that a decision was reached to carry out a food distribution drive for the children. The drive also provide a great opportunity to conduct a welfare check on for the safety and psychological well-being of the children and their families.
Food parcels were delivered to the families and guardians of children from Kisumu, Migori, Siaya, Homa Bay, Nakuru, Kitui and Makueni in a week long period between 12th and 19th October.
Each parcel cost around 3500 Kenya shillings (£25 / $32) and they contained :
Maize meal flour (10kgs)
Cooking oil (3kgs)
Rice (2kgs)
Sugar (4kgs)
Washing Soap (2 bars)
Mung beans (1kg)
The girls also got sanitary towels in their food parcels while some of the boys got boxer shorts.
The plan is to conduct these food distributions every second week of every month until schools fully reopen in January.
We realised that the food provided was basic and so are planning to increase the amount of food as well as the variety of things provided in the parcels.