600,000 Daily Meals: Wawira Njiru’s Kenya School Feeder Honored with German Africa Prize, Eyes 1 Million
A fundraiser becomes a major effort
Njiru began by raising money to feed 25 schoolchildren. At 21, she hoped to provide meals for 100 children each day, a goal she described as momentous at the time.
After finishing school in Kenya, she studied nutrition science in Adelaide, Australia. Learning how important nutritious food is for children, she connected with university friends who wanted to contribute and launched her first fundraiser.
Building a team and a system
Food4Education has grown to employ 6,000 people, and more than 70% of its staff are women, Njiru said. She recalled that some people did not take her seriously and that men seeking jobs were sometimes unsure about working for a young woman.
The organization serves 19,000 schools with more than 600,000 meals a day. Its funding comes from donations and government support, alongside small parent contributions that can be as little as 5 Kenyan shillings, or 3 US cents.
Meals support pupils and farmers
Children use wristbands in the Tap-to-Eat system, which records meals and parent payments. The system can also help the team understand why a child did not collect a meal.
About 80% of the food comes from small-scale farmers, giving them a dependable market. Njiru said school meals should be seen as “economic infrastructure,” rather than charity.
A larger goal ahead
Data show that pupils at participating schools miss fewer classes and perform better, according to the report. Raphaera Kanya, a primary school director in Nairobi, said children cannot understand lessons when they are hungry.
Pupil Jane Nyambura said the meals help reduce differences between children whose families can afford food and those who cannot. Njiru is now aiming to reach 1 million schoolchildren each day and is receiving the German Africa Prize from the German Africa Foundation.
Key points
- Food4Education grew from a fundraiser for 25 children to more than 600,000 daily meals.
- The organization serves 19,000 schools and employs 6,000 people, more than 70% of them women.
- Small-scale farmers supply about 80% of the food distributed by the program.
- Njiru’s next target is providing meals to 1 million schoolchildren each day.