The sun is rising over thousands of school-going children in the arid landscapes of West Pokot County, Kenya. A sense of hope lingers in the air as trucks loaded with rice, beans, cooking oil, and salt find their way to 58 public primary schools. This marks the beginning of a new school feeding programme rolled out by the national government through the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya.
The programme will benefit students for the next 45 days with a distribution of 2,251 bags of rice, 979 bags of beans, 245 litres of cooking oil, and 98 bags of salt. The programme is much more than a meal; it’s hope in a region where often poverty compels parents to make a choice between sending their children to school and feeding them.
At the flag-off of the food distribution in Kacheliba sub-county, the County Education Director, Simon Wamae, pointed out that this programme was likely to improve the education standards a lot, raise learner retention in school, and generally upgrade well-being in the county.
“With the arrival of school food consignments, parents have no reason to keep their school-going children at home since they can at least have something to eat at school,” Wamae said. He added that some children may miss meals at home, making them rely on the school feeding program very important for their nutrition and passing rates.
According to Wamae, supplying food to schools increases enrolment and enhances access to education. He said most of the sub-counties have received their entire food consignment with Pokot South getting about 80 per cent.
He further urged teachers to handle food well, ensuring its safety to avoid spoilage and going to waste. “Ensure you use the recommended ratios of rice, pulses, cooking oil, and salt so that the food can last for 45 days,” he advised.
Proper nutrition supports healthy growth, cognitive function, attention span, and overall academic performance. One of the priorities of the government has been to ensure quality, affordable education for all in the county through a school feeding programme. We, however, ought to do more to provide an enabling and congenial learning environment for our learners,” Wamae said.
He warned against such vices as selling food meant to feed children in school, urging parents to ensure that their children attend school to quality education. “Together, we can make a lasting impact on the future of our children and our community,” said Wamae.
The initiative serves the need to quench hunger and gives students energy and concentration in class. “When children come to school well-fed, they are more likely to show up consistently and remain in their classes, thus minimizing their absentee and dropout rates,” Wamae added.
The school feeding programme targets all the 676 schools in West Pokot County. The biggest challenge that schools have faced so far is streamlining the programme with school enrolment data in the National Education Management Information System, an online platform for managing education data. Wamae called on teachers to ensure all learners are registered in NEMIS to benefit from the programme.
Philip Wapopa, the West Pokot County Director of Children’s Service, welcomed the move by the government to release food for the school feeding programme. He said that the programme was very important, particularly in ASAL counties like Pokot, whose people depend mostly on pastoralism.
Wapopa noted that food scarcity had negatively impacted school enrolment, attendance, and retention rates. “The Department of Children Services has completed the assessments of schools affected by the long rains and drought in the Sigor area, Pokot Central Sub-county, and parts of the Kipkomo Sub-county. Assessments indicated that consistent food provision in schools greatly improved enrolment, attendance, and retention rates in Early Childhood Development Education centres being managed by the county government,” he said.
This was noted to fluctuate with enrolment and attendance at primary and junior secondary levels with the availability of food. “When the ratio of food decreased, the number of learners attending school dropped drastically,” he said.
The school feeding programme in West Pokot County is one sure step to ensure that children within the locality have easy access to education and good health.