Bitting hunger as starving parents sneak into schools for free lunch
2 min read
Starving parents from drought;/hunger-hit areas in Kajiado County have resorted to sneaking into nearby schools for free lunch
Starving parents from drought;/hunger-hit areas in Kajiado County have resorted to sneaking into nearby schools for free lunch.
It has become a trend for parents to sneak into nearby schools during lunch hour and queue with learners for a meal to tame their hunger pangs.
Most of these parents and the elderly have been left vulnerable after losing their livestock to the drought, relying only on relief food.
According to a publication by Daily Nation, starving parents often sit near the main gate waiting for the lunch hour.
They usually line up calmly with the learners, some of them their grandchildren, for Githeri – a mixture of beans and maize – commonly served as lunch in learning institutions.
Daniel Lantai, Headteacher at Ilbisil boarding Primary School in Kajiado Central says the school administration always allows parents to join the queues.
“Each day we have parents who gamble to get lunch from the school. We understand their plight back home so we cannot push them away,” Mr. Lantai said, adding that some parents have been approaching the school directly to beg for food.
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However, he said it’s a risky balancing act considering most parents are unable to pay school fees, meaning the learning institution has been hit hard amid the drought.
“The school management has opted to provide lunch for day scholars. We fear our food reserve will not last the whole term. Most parents are unable to pay the school fees,” he said.
To survive, some parents scramble for bad maize and beans from where the school stores grains.
“The unwanted grain will ensure a meal for my family in the evening. It’s not about quality food. It’s about having something to feed our children,” one parent said.
Recent data from the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) shows more than 400,000 families are facing starvation and that more than a million animals have died in Kajiado County.
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