24 public day schools in Kisumu benefit as Gov’t donates food relief to cushion absenteeism

24 public day schools across Nyando Constituency, in Kisumu County, are set to benefit from a free school feeding and emergency education support programme after the government and the Child Welfare Society of Kenya, donated substantial relief supplies to the schools.

Some of these include 723 bags of maize weighing 90 kilogrammes each, 1,370 bags of 50-kilogramme beans, 56 bags of green grams, 153 twenty-litre jerrycans of cooking oil, and 1,200 bags of 50-kilogramme rice.

Additional items distributed include 3,403 mentorship books, 5,900 exercise books, 1,200 pens, 180 mattresses, 400 blankets, 20 boxes of bar soap, 10 bales of sanitary towels and 356 dignity kits for boys.

Speaking during the launch at Lela Mixed Secondary School, the Cabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture and Children Services, Hanna Cheptumo that the government has stepped up efforts to protect and support vulnerable learners in Nyando by providing emergency food assistance to all pupils in public day schools.

The CS said said the initiative aimed at ensuring that no child attends school hungry and reiterated the government’s commitment to child protection and inclusive education.

She stressed that every learner must be supported to remain in school despite the impact of natural disasters affecting the area, such as floods and droughts that, she noted, have significantly contributed to hunger, ill-health school absenteeism, school dropouts, child labour, and early marriages in the region.

ALSO READ:

Matiang’i to Duale: Any education system would fail under current leadership

A recent assessment indicates a nine per cent decline in student enrolment in Nyando Sub-County, attributable to flood-related disruptions, displacement and prolonged absenteeism.

“Many learners are emotionally distressed and struggling to remain in school. A child who is hungry, displaced or traumatised cannot learn. A child without protection is exposed to exploitation, which compromises their education,” Cheptumo regretted.

To address these challenges, she said, the Ministry of Gender, Culture and Children Services will roll out mentorship and psychosocial support programmes to help learners overcome trauma, rebuild confidence and stay motivated to complete their education.

The initiative will also ensure that both girls and boys receive dignity kits, enabling them to continue learning in a safe, supportive and dignified environment.

The Cabinet Secretary was accompanied by the Principal Secretary for Children Services, Carren Ageng’o, who underscored the hardships faced by learners in the region, particularly during school reopening.

ALSO READ:

Why court allowed TSC CEO hiring to continue amid unresolved main petition 

She noted that the food relief initiative will be critical in achieving the government’s goal of a 100 per cent transition from Junior Secondary to Senior Secondary school.

Ageng’o said many learners in public day schools grapple with poverty and food insecurity, challenges that often affect attendance and academic performance.

“Many learners from day schools face numerous challenges, including poverty and lack of adequate food. We have donated food supplies to schools to supplement what parents provide at home and help learners focus on their education,” she said.

The Principal Secretary also acknowledged the losses suffered by rice farmers in Nyando following a recent invasion of quelea birds, which devastated large sections of rice farms, leaving many households facing food shortages.

“President William Ruto sent us here to support you with food and to ensure that schools and communities in Nyando have access to food, cushioning families from hunger after quelea birds destroyed large grain fields in this region,” Ageng’o said.

The event was also attended by Nyando Member of Parliament Jared Okello, Kisumu County Commissioner Benson Leparmorijo, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Child Welfare Society of Kenya, Irene Mureithi, alongside other national and county government officials.

By Our Reporter