This Christmas, 300 children and youth (141 girls and 159 boys) attending the Seed School in the Nairobi slum of Kibera have a special reason to be joyful – thanks to the supporters of Bread and Water for Africa®, one year of free education and a daily meal of nutritious food!
Kibera is a blight surrounding the city in my native country of Kenya and is the largest urban slum in Africa, and probably has a population ranging from 800,000 to 1 million people, although no one really knows for sure.
The children who attend the Seed School in Kibera live with their families in a shack with an average size of 12 feet by 12 feet with mud walls, a corrugated tin roof, and a dirt floor. These “homes” often house up to eight family members or more, and many have to sleep on the dirt.
The sad fact is, Kibera is a horrible place where the level of poverty is unthinkable and where the few people who can get work are making less than $1 a day. Clean water is scarce, virtually 100 percent of the children are malnourished, and disease runs rampant.
Of the estimated three million orphans in Kenya, a very large percentage of them live in Kibera with extended family or simply on their own.
Each time I go to Kibera, I see so many little precious girls who are bearing the burden of caring for their ailing parents or parenting their younger siblings.
There is no free public education in Kibera, and if it weren’t for the few private and church schools, 100 percent of the children would be illiterate…but even these schools cost money that the families don’t have.
It is in this atmosphere of malnutrition, disease, illiteracy, unemployment, poor housing, alcohol, and drug abuse that you sometimes find a ray of hope!
A dedicated group of fellow Kenyans, known as the Seed Foundation, led by my friend Patrick Odongo, has set up a school in Kibera to teach some of the children how to read and write for free.
But every good thing has also a downside or every hour that these children spend learning, that is one less hour for them to beg and work to make the few pennies they can to feed themselves and their siblings.
Last year, with the generous support of good people like you, we were able to raise funds for a feeding program for one year and ensure that more than 200 children would have access to a healthy meal and a good education – and this year that number has increased to 300.
Among them is 5-year-old Presley Mumo, who arrived on his first day of school hungry, exhausted, and unable to concentrate. Everything changed for him when he was given a nutritious meal every school day. Now he is no longer distracted by hunger, he is eagerly participating in his lessons.
Another is 8-year-old Edna Atieno, who comes from a large family struggling to make ends meet on the $20 daily income that her father makes. She often is limited to a single daily meal, and until she was enrolled in the school feeding program, she was too hungry to sit in class. Now, Edna says, “The food we get at school has changed me… I do well in school now, and I’m the captain of our soccer team!”
And as we have done each year since 2019, our Giving Tuesday campaign – “Eat, Grow, Study” – this year on December 2, has supported the Seed School feeding program with funding to provide meals to 300 students -141 girls and 159 boys – each day. The meals include porridge for breakfast and ugali (a Kenyan staple food made from ground corn), beans, vegetables, tomatoes, and onions for lunch – all for just $36.44 to feed and educate a child for one year!
Because of good people like you, human angels, who support Bread and Water for Africa®, Presley, Edna, and the other children at the Seed School will have something to be thankful for during the Christmas holiday and for all of next year.
I hope you and yours will have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Thank you always,
Phyllis Keino, R.N.
Volunteer Spokesperson
Eldoret, Kenya
