School Feeding Porgrammes & Holiday Club

Programme Outline

65% of children originally take to the streets in Thika because of lack of food (AfCiC Street Children's Census 2007). We work with local schools to identify vulnerable children and provide them with lunch, allowing them to stay in school and improving their concentration. We are currently feeding over 320 children daily in school. We also run clubs for children during school holidays as a means of keeping them off the street and away from abuse and exploitation in a safe environment.

"School lunch is sometimes my only meal of the day. It keeps me in school and able to concentrate in class. I use to be on the streets. I originally went to the street because of lack of food, so eating at school is really important to me." (Muya, 16 yrs, Garissa Road Primary)

Activities

	Provision of free and subsidised meals to the most vulnerable and at risk children at St Patrick's Primary School (Thika Town) and Garissa Road Primary School (Kiandutu Slum).
	Provision of individual school feeding for former street children who are unable to access a school feeding programme in their home area.
	Provision of structured, safe, educational holiday clubs, combined with free lunch, in school holidays for identified at risk children and former street children to prevent them from going to the street in search of food.

Achievements

Over 1000 acutely vulnerable children provided with free or heavily subsided school meals through our school feeding programmes at St Patrick's and Garissa Road Primary Schools. 20 former street children benefitted from our new individual school feeding programme and stayed in school despite substantial difficulties in their homes. School kitchen built at Garissa Road Primary School. 320 children participated in our School Holiday Clubs last year, keeping them in a safe, child friendly, educational environment and away from the streets. Reduced school drop out rates and improved academic performance in some of the poorest schools in Thika.

"Holiday club is helping us because we get to eat there and also exercise the body. When I eat then play football I feel healthy! I have been learning things I didn't know before, like about different countries and names of mountains in geography. I am going to understand things better. It is fun and we meet lots of new friends there." (Onesphon, age 13)