Program for children encourages families

Kevin Oluoch, the deputy head teacher of the Mathare Light Center, says DBSA has provided free meals at the school since 2017, adding that the feeding program has helped the children grow because they come from vulnerable families, which cannot afford lunch and breakfast.

Oluoch says free meals have been a draw to the pupils from poor households. This school has seen an increasing number of students.

"The children get the energy to learn once they get food here in school," says Oluoch, stressing that parents are also happy to have their children fed in school, easing pressure on their meager daily wages.

Since 2016, DBSA has started to hold talent shows, soccer matches, art exhibitions, youth training and other projects in Mathare to help children pursue their dreams.

Some of these activities have been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the feeding program is the main charity work still operating now.

Liu says DBSA's charity projects have covered six countries in Africa, namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi and Nigeria, and the feeding program has covered more than 40 schools across the six countries.

Xinhua