If elected on August 9, Nairobi gubernatorial candidate Polycarp Igathe has promised to offer free lunch in schools in slum areas.
Weekly food packages will be delivered to households through the planned scheme, Linda Jamii.
According to Mr. Igathe, who is running for the position on behalf of the Jubilee Party, many children in Nairobi’s slums miss school because of hunger because their parents make less than $1 per day.
The effort, according to him, aims to end “zero hunger” in Nairobi’s informal settlements, which account for 60% of the city’s population. Children receive food rations to take home every Friday.
All students at Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centers, primary and secondary schools, according to Mr. Igathe, will benefit from the program.
“I would like to promise that the Nairobi County government will be providing food to all learners in informal settlements if I become governor,” said Mr Igathe when he donated food to Mathari Primary School pupils on Thursday.
“The scheme will be known as Azimio Linda Jamii because the heart of jamii is the family. The family is the foundation of society,” he added.
To provide a balanced diet, the food will also contain vitamin, protein, and carbohydrate components.
“The challenge in Nairobi is stunted growth because many children in informal settlements do not get a balanced diet. Going forward, it will not only be education, our children will also get food while in school and some to take home,” he said.
