School Programs

Nourishing the next generation

An essential part of our farming co-op involves our work with five area schools. Most children in the community will become farmers and most schools have ample land for crops. Yet there are no meal programs in any of the schools.

Because of all this, we’ve begun teaching the seventh and eighth grade students how to farm. We start with proper farming practices and give them seed and fertilizer for the schools’ crops. The students

are responsible for planting, watering, weeding and harvesting the crops. They are given a grade for their work. The crops they harvest ensure every student in the school has at least one meal every day.

For many, this will be their only meal of the day.

The harvest of corn, bean, peanuts and sorghum is ground into a mixture used to make a porridge. Ideally, milk is used to add fat to the children’s diet, but due to its limited availability, water is more often used.  This not only provides a protein-rich meal to thousands of children, but also gives the older students a valuable skill they can use to support themselves in an agricultural economy such as Kenya’s.

Today, the program reaches 8,062 students in 20 schools. Our ultimate goal is to support 12,000 students in 30 schools.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.