Chalice’s Saida sponsor site is the town of Gilgil in Kenya. Children look forward to learning, but the worry of what students would bring for lunch was a concern for many. The Saidia site staff, and the teachers, know that the children are arriving at school hungry. Students’ education is the beginning of their future, and starting the day on an empty stomach does not prepare them for productive learning.
Almost 40% of sponsored children attend one of three local schools, Gilgil Highway, Gilgil Township, and Njeru Primary. “Most of these children are totally dependent on the one hot meal they receive while in school,” says Everlyne, Saidia site director.
Chalice launched a school feeding at Township and Highway primaries in 2017. Since then, “the student enrolment has doubled, retention in school has been sustained, and the academic performance of these schools improved,” Everlyne says.
The need to expand the program became increasingly urgent. Kenya has endured a multi-year drought, and crop production has plummeted. “Lack of harvests have led to escalating food prices and the schools are struggling to sustain these essential school feeding programs,” she says.
Thanks to your support, our Saidia site continued and expanded the hot meal program, now feeding more than 300 sponsored and 700 community children at Gilgil Highway Primary School, Kivulini Primary, Njeru Primary, and Teachers Primary School. The older children eat one hot meal a day, and the pre-primary students eat an extra cup of millet porridge, too.
“The program is getting the much-needed support from the parents,” Everlyne says, “and we look forward to self-sustainability of the program for the well-being of the children.”
They’ve even been able to grow some of their own meals. Njeru Primary’s school farm produced 7500 kg of maize and 1100 kgs of beans.
Your support also supplied the Gilgil Highway school with extra meat for their lunches. “The children and the teachers were very grateful because they were able for once to eat a balanced and delicious meal,” Everlyne says. “We are very much grateful to our donors for the sacrifice they make.”
You can help more students and elders fight hunger. Our nutrition program, Ladles & Love, supports programs like Kenya’s Saidia schools. Become a Lunch Buddies and build stronger, healthier communities. Keep our sites filled with smiling faces, full stomachs, and focused students!
Become a lunch buddy today and ladle up some love for someone in need.
Follow Chalice on Facebook and Instagram for daily updates from our sponsor sites, impact stories, and more!