School meals at the time of Covid 19
Uji (porridge) for breakfast and lunch.
The immediate goals are to reduce hunger and malnutrition and increase school enrollment, attendance and retention.
The basic concept of the program is to provide children in public elementary schools with a hot, nutritious meal prepared from locally grown foods each school day.
Many children travel long distances to go to school. These children do not know the luxury of packed or boxed lunches, sliced bread, sandwich meat, grapes or numerous other items. In the areas where we operate, children typically either have nothing with them and leave school at lunch time to get something to eat, often not returning to school that day.
Since PBF began the school feeding program with Uji a few years ago, teachers report that the children have enough energy to not only learn, but to run and play. In addition, absences are down and grades are better.
The children at Mathare Page Vision School and PBF School are enjoying this small but impactful program. We would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to all of you for your child-focused work in serving the underprivileged and the less fortunate in our society. We are very grateful for your unceasing support in fighting hunger in our schools. The PBF Uji meal is still a wonderful meal with a unique taste and experience. It is breakfast as well as lunch.
Testimonial from a girl
We have a Grade 8 Primary School student who scored the highest report card grades in the 2020/2021 KCPE Mock EXAMS. She loves and appreciates One World Network and PBF for supporting her with Uji. She thanks God for her academic success and PBF for supporting her to achieve this success.
She writes, “Dear PBF, I was not born in the Mathare community, but my parents settled here for a while and are now permanent residents. From our little house, PBF school feeding with Uji is the reason for our morning run to school and is the reason for the happy faces back home as well. Thank you.”
In closing, we at One World Network, the children and the entire community are very grateful for your unwavering support for the well-being of our children at school. You all enable us to meet the most basic needs of the children.
George O. Orimba
PBF Coordinator in Nairobi, OneWorldNetwork