SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAM

Improving Learning Outcomes
through School Feeding Program

‘’The school feeding program has increased the enrolment in the school. Children from the neighborhood also come to the school to get food. This program is not only benefiting our learners but also the children in the community as well.”
Head Teacher, Murera Primary School.

SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAM IN MERU AND THARAKA NITHI COUNTY

According to NDMA reports, Kenya is experiencing the worst drought crisis in over 40 years. The reports indicates that over 4.3 million kenyans are at risk of starvation due to 4 consecutive failed rainy seasons. With 924,000 pregnant and lactating mothers and 134,000 children at risk of malnutrition.
In Meru County, the NDMA reports indicate that about 40% of the entire Meru population i.e 600,000 residents are in need of an urgent food aid relief occasioned by the on going drought crisis.
It is on this basis that Ripples International is complementing government efforts in emergency response through the County steering Group to offer emergency relief through cash transfers to 100HH, wet feeding in schools, water trucking and support for drought resistant seeds.
Ripples International is supporting 16 schools with a combined population of about 6000 with wet feeding as part of humanitarian assistance project to support the communities to respond to the impact of the ongoing drought in Kenya. The Schools are-
Igembe North.
  1. Ithata Primary School
Igembe Central. 
  1. Murera Primary
  2. Kiujuline Primary School
Tigania West
  1. Nkiluthu Primary School
  2. Mweronkanga Primary School
  3. Luuria Primary School
  4. Kiare Primary School
  5. Limoro Primary School
  6. Twaale Primary School
  7. Laciathuriu Primary School
  8. Nkurare Primary School
Buuri Sub County
  1. Ribui Primary School
North Imenti Sub County
  1. Ntani Primary School
Tharaka Nithi Schools.
  1. Iria ria Mathunka Primary School
  2. Kijege Primary School
  3. Kamutiria primary School
The Drought Intervention project has also supported the teachers in the schools supported on proper food preparation so that the meals prepared are balanced and of the right nutrition content.
The project is also working with the community Health Volunteers and MOH to conduct monitoring in schools through malnutrition screening and linking those with either Moderate or Severe acute malnutrition to various interventions.

Stories of beneficiary schools

Mweronkanga Primary School

Mweronkanga Primary school is a public school with over 400 learners. It is located in Tigania West Sub County, Meru County in a remote village. The residents are subsistence farmers in a semi-arid area characterized by large scale poverty. Families barely have a meal a day. In this drought crisis schooling is not a priority to most families, people are preoccupied with what to put on the table each day and everyone is involved including the children.

In the school feeding program in 2022-2023, the effect is tangible. The academic ratings in national exams have gone up. The head teacher attributes this to the support they are getting from Ripples International. Teachers are also noting that children now have more time to play over lunch hour since they don’t have to go home for lunch, that is never certain. Ripples International also does advocacy of children rights in the school.

‘’I am so grateful for the feeding program, more often it is my first meal for the day since we normally take supper alone.’
Learner, Mweronkanga

LUURIA PRIMARY SCHOOL

The school feeding program began in the year 1974 with muddy classrooms but as the years passed by the classrooms have been upgraded to block classrooms although some of the classrooms are still dilapidated.

The school boosts of good performance, but due to drought the performance has significantly gone down.

The headteacher had stated that the majority of the learners went hungry because the little support from the parents in the school feeding program was no more. The learners hardly have enough to feed on, the land is bare. This led to absenteeism and school dropouts and thus negatively affected school performance.

RI intervened this situation and began a feeding program which has significantly improved performance and enrolment.

Ntani Primary School

Ntani primary school has 211 learners. In the last five years Ripples International’s school feeding program has helped the school to enroll back dropouts, plus newcomers, an increment of 27%. The academic ratings in national exams has consistently gone up.

The feeding program is being implemented in a community where children’s rights are scarcely upheld. RI runs a child rights outreach initiative addressing the main issues which are early marriages and teenage pregnancies that are forcing girls to drop out from school.

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