With schools closed in Kenya, the staff at our partner schools have lost both their source of income to support their families, as well as a main means of getting food. They typically received two meals a day at the school.
The situation quickly became desperate as our dedicated staff had no recourse.
How can we lessen coronavirus hunger in Kenya? Food vouchers
To help fill the gap we launched a food voucher program with a local grocery store. We gave teachers and staff members vouchers which could be redeemed for $20 worth of food staples including flour, beans, oil and salt.
Our Bright Hope Kenya staff told us that the distribution went very well. The teachers and staff were extremely grateful for this support. They sent us video messages expressing their thanks.
We are looking into various strategies to provide some critically needed assistance for not only staff, but also the students and families of our partner schools, as well as our partner churches. The secondary effects of the coronavirus are causing widespread hunger in Kenya.
In the meantime, we sent some funds to three of our partner pastors to help them provide relief for the neediest members of their congregations.
Our Kenya staff told us they received pictures and messages of thanks and gratitude back from the staff:
- Pastor Makwata wrote that “On behalf of our church families, we are very grateful for your timely gift that put smiles on our faces. Thank you so much. May the Lord richly bless you for the love and sacrifice.”
- Pastor Vitalis said, “I am so grateful for this. I had to be discreet on this because it could have exploded here. I am grateful kabisa (absolutely). Bwana Yesu Akubariki (God bless you).”
Please keep Kenya in your prayers at this time. Eastleigh, a town in Nairobi, has recently been put under an extremely tight lockdown.
Our staff write: “The lockdown of Eastleigh is having a profound effect on the many poor communities around it. This is where most residents of Mathare and many others buy cheap food and household items. It’s unclear how long the lockdown is intended for, but it’s making life very hard for the poor.”
The last thing we want to see because of the coronavirus is an even further increase of hunger in Kenya.
To read other updates about how the coronavirus is impacting Kenya, click here.
