Indian charity foundation extends its feeding programme to Kenya

Nairobi's Dishi na County programme for schools. An Indian-based charity organization is joining such programmes in Kenya to feed over 450,000 children.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, the world’s largest NGO-run school meals programme based in Bangalore, India, is expanding its reach to Kenya with the goal of providing daily meals to over 450,000 schoolchildren across the country.

In collaboration with Food4Education, a Kenyan NGO, the two organizations have formalized their partnership through a memorandum of understanding, signalling their shared commitment to empowering disadvantaged learners through school feeding programmes.

Akshaya Patra Foundation’s co-founder and Vice Chair Sri Chanchalapathi Dasa emphasized that malnutrition and limited access to nutritious meals remains critical challenges for schoolchildren worldwide, calling for urgent intervention.

“Through this partnership, we will leverage Akshaya Patra’s expertise in large-scale kitchen operations, technology, safety, and logistics to ensure efficient delivery as we scale up our operations across Africa,” he said.

The partnership aims to enhance educational and health outcomes for students, aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 4 (Quality Education). Additionally, the initiative will promote environmentally responsible practices such as waste reduction, renewable energy use and innovative meal preparation and delivery methods to ensure long-term community benefits and contribute to global efforts for a greener future.

The two organizations also plan to foster mutual learning and drive innovation in school feeding programmes through exchanges between team members.

Shridhar Venkat, CEO of Akshaya Patra Foundation, stressed the importance of providing every child with access to nutrition and called for an acceleration of school feeding programmes, especially in light of climate change challenges.

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“Our programmes in India provide nutritious, tasty mid-day meals as an incentive for students to attend school regularly and equip them to tackle life’s challenges,” he said.

Venkat also advocated for more international collaborations to support children globally.

“We aim to set a global benchmark for using school meal programmes to achieve widespread social impact, ensuring that children everywhere have the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive,” he said.

The Food4Education Organization’s founder and CEO Wanjiru Njiru described the partnership as more than just a bilateral collaboration, calling it a transformational model for international cooperation in school feeding.

“By showcasing community-driven, scalable and sustainable feeding initiatives, we hope to inspire further cross-border partnerships, whether locally, nationally or regionally,” Njiru remarked.

She commended Akshaya Patra for its charitable efforts to improve the lives of children from disadvantaged backgrounds in Kenya.

By Rodgers Wagura

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