Don't Make peace with the fact that there are hungry children!

Here are the facts:

• The drop out rate in most Kenyan schools is about 65-70%.
• Most Kenyan children eat one meal a day.
• When a free lunch is provided, the drop out rate is reduced dramatically.

Here are some thoughts:

• Most Kenyan children walk several miles to a classroom and sit all day on a bench without a back to it.
• It would seem like one might be able to concentrate if you had some food in your stomach.
• Without an education, there is little opportunity one can expect from Africa .
  

The World Food Program has established the following as the minimum nutritional requirements for a lunch program:

• 150 grams of maize (per student),
• 40 grams of beans (per student)
• A small amount of oil for cooking

It costs me 1000 shillings or about $13.33 to purchase a 90-pound bag of maize. It costs me 720 shillings or about $10.00 to purchase a 90-pound bag of beans. Adding cost for oil, a little salt and a few onions, and my cost is up to about $30.00.

For $30.00 dollars a day, I can feed 600 schoolchildren a nutritious lunch.

This is how it works.

The school provides a parent who cooks the meal. The students have to provide the bowl and utensils. We provide the food and tell the school that we have given enough food to last for three months, and we announce that to all the school and the parents, so any theft would have some accountability to it.

The problem with most aid programs is that most of the donated food doesn't get to the people it is intended to help. We could tell you stories that we don't need to get into, but the beauty of this is that all the monies go to buy local food and school children eat it.

There is no middleman. I take the money, buy the grains, deliver the food and make sure that the students are getting fed. I don't get paid for this, and I don't want to be. All the monies go to feed the kids.

So, if you have been looking for something to help out, this accomplishes the following:

• Decrease the drop out rate
• Increase learning.
• The children will know it is kind Americans providing the food.
  

We collect enough monies to commit to a school for one year. If we get more than we need, we add another school. If you commit, you will own a school. If it takes 20 people to get a school fed, it will be those people's school. You can count on regular pictures and updates, and you can get an idea of what school is like for a Kenyan child.

I can't do this, obviously, without support. How many schools we cover depends on how much support we get. My hope is unrealistic, but I am so tired of seeing hungry children. I would love for this to get big enough that many, many children benefit from it. It is tax deductible, and you will get a receipt.

Your pal,

Steve

To contribute to the Lunch Programs, click on the Donate Now link to your left.  In the Designation, please enter Peifer School Lunch Program .   Your contribution will be directed to this program.

100% of the donations collected online at YourPal-Steve.org are provided to Steve's programs through Africa Inland Mission International. The Solution Beacon Foundation and YourPal-Steve (a program of The Solution Beacon Foundation) do not utilize any of the donations received through YourPal -Steve.org for operating or administration costs.