Feed My Starving Children - A Day of Food Distribution in Kenya's Great Rift Valley

Hi Love Kenya Donors and Supporters!

As you may have seen through our social media posts, we were thrilled to receive a grant from Feed My Starving Children to distribute 7,700 meals to those who need it most in Rural Kenya. 

Our focus area in Kenya is in the Great Rift Valley region - specifically in the drought-prone areas. We identified 4 areas that are quite rural and we met with the area chiefs of each of the four regions. The chiefs are aware of the most vulnerable and needy children in their communities and prepared lists for us, identifying children who could use food support. 

It’s incredibly important to us to work with the chiefs and governments on the ground to help identify the children as they truly know the community and help us make the most impact by reaching those who need it most.

Here, the locals have gathered so that we can meet and distribute the food for their children

While we were there, we met the caretakers of those children (in some cases, the caretaker is a grandmother, aunt, older sibling or single mother). For the selected families, we provided them 2 meals per week, to last them the remainder of this year. To ensure that the food is consumed over time (rather than all at once), we only distributed a portion of the food to the families now. In a few months, our team will deliver their next set of meals. 

We also provided select families with seeds to plant maize so that they can take advantage of the rainy season (starting now) to plant food to supplement what has been provided from Feed My Starving Children. While visiting these areas, we took note of some of the handicaps and illnesses of the population. We have only recently began collecting data, so our information is incomplete, however, in each village that we visited, we met people who are blind or deaf and many middle aged people with cataracts and other ailments. These conditions are a direct result of lack of proper nutrition (they are issues related to micronutrient deficiency in-vitro and in early childhood development). The nutrient fortified meals that you provide will allow these young children to have the vitamins and minerals required for healthy growth and development. 

Along with children in rural areas, there are 12 former street children who we sponsor and who will also be eating the FMSC meals 2x/week. The meals are greatly appreciated for these boys as they cut down on our feeding costs and ensure that the boys receive proper nutrition. 

In addition to the meals, we also work with Vitamin Angels and have received a grant from them to provide pre-natal vitamins to pregnant women and vitamin A and deworming to children between the ages of 1-5. The children we will distribute these vitamins to will be the same ones who have received your food aid. We are very interested to track them over time to gauge if the number of health ailments and handicaps declines. 

On behalf of the mothers, caregivers, village chiefs and our team, we want to say THANK YOU so much to our donors for your support and for making this work possible. It is so much appreciated. 

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Join Us in Kenya! October 13th - 20th!

If you’re interested in joining us in October where you can help us distribute meals on-the-ground, be sure to check out the details and reflections from our trip last year and secure your spot today!

Mothers and their children

Some of the mothers and their children who received the food.