Volunteers keep hunger at bay for young Kenyans

NAIROBI, Kenya－In a long queue meandering through a densely populated suburb in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, a group of children wait to receive cooked food－perhaps the only meal they will have the entire day.

Steve Mbugua, an inspirational figure in the poor suburb, has won the hearts of some 1,000 children that he has been feeding since March when the COVID-19 pandemic rendered their parents jobless.

"These young ones come from desperate families. Some of their houses are caving in while others walk on bare feet under the scorching sun fending for their families," Mbugua said. "The pandemic has undoubtedly made their circumstance worse."

Children from poor families in Kenya have been severely affected by the global pandemic.

The loss of informal employment by their parents and diminished vibrancy of feeding programs had placed the young ones in a dire situation.

A UN report on the food situation, released in July, predicted that about 130 million people globally could go hungry by the end of 2020 due to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.

Mbugua said the motivation to provide for disadvantaged children came from not wanting them to engage in vices in order to afford a decent meal.

"Before embarking on mentoring these boys and girls years ago I acknowledged that I cannot talk to them on an empty stomach and that is how the feeding program was born in 2017," Mbugua said.

His organization, Faith Rescue Center, was providing meals to children from poor homes once a month but the pandemic forced him to feed them daily.

"My wife and a number of volunteers help with preparations of the meals very early in the morning. Because the children start lining up by 6 am, I have also brought in some of the teenagers I mentor to help with food distribution," Mbugua said.

Jumila Wanjiru flashes a broad smile after receiving her portions at the feeding center, and at just 14, she has assumed the responsibility of feeding her immediate family.

"This smaller pot is for my little brother and food from the other two pots will be split between my mother, father and two sisters," she said. "My mother, who was our primary breadwinner, stopped working after being diagnosed with diabetes."

Mbugua is well aware of the social ills, such as alcoholism, that are rampant in the slums, and that such problems have only worsened poverty, hunger and malnutrition.

Easing economic burden

"All of these children come here with more than one dish for food, some carry even three. If you inquire they will reveal that the food is for other family members who are either sick, jobless or disabled," Mbugua said.

Efforts by the government to alleviate the economic burden in poor households have been significant but not sufficient to fulfill their needs.

Simon Chelugui, Cabinet secretary for labor and social services, last week said the government would end weekly cash transfers that propped up poor families in these tough times.

"Targeting is still ongoing for the remaining balance of 327,042 households into the program who will be paid up to the first week of October 2020," Chelugui told lawmakers.

With a baby swaddled on her back, Rita Achien'g waits patiently to receive her share of the day's meal: rice and beans.

"I used to work in the events industry, and I became redundant due to the economic downturn. Hence my full reliance on this food," Achien'g said.

The feeding program has since expanded its outreach to single mothers, underage pregnant girls and the disabled in a bid to reduce suffering.

Xinhua