Model Kitchens for the Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja’s school feeding program ‘Dishi Na County’ are nearing completion agead of the planned roll out of the program scheduled to start at the beginning of schools third term in September.
The governor yesterday, Sunday 6th August said that the 10 kitchens across Nairobi are 90 per cent complete and the contractors are ready to hand over.
Sakaja said this will go a long way in delivering meals for the over 250,000 children in public schools as was promised during the launch that was presided over by President William Ruto in Roysambu Constituency.
According to Sakaja, pupils in public primary schools and ECDs will benefit from the school feeding program which is designed to ensure school children across the county are fed even as parents continue facing biting harsh economic times due to the high cost of living.
Parents and guardians will pay only Sh5 per day per plate as the county in collaboration with private partners’ foot the rest of the bills.
Sakaja has reiterated that the program aims at cushioning poor and vulnerable parents from the current economic shocks while keeping children in schools.
This he said in the end will increase enrollment and transition to higher learning institutions in public primary schools and ECDs across 17 sub-counties in Nairobi.
The centralised kitchens are being constructed in Baba Dogo Primary School, Bidii Primary School, Kwa Njenga Primary, Farasi Lane Primary, Muthangari Primary, Kayole One Primary, Njiru Primary, Toi Primary, Roysambu Primary and Racecourse Primary.
“The modern school feeding Industrial Area mega kitchen facility will provide at least 60,000 plates per day to back-up schools that might fall short of the required meals,” Sakaja said in a press release.
He said City Hall in the 2023-2024 budget has allocated Sh1.7billion towards the program dubbed ‘DISHI na County’.
Some Sh500 million is allocated to build seven more kitchens and the rest will subsidize the cost of a plate for each child.
The program is facing hiccups following a court injunction that halted the roll-out after former Nairobi Education CEC Muthoni Ouko and an education lobby group moved to court challenging the initiative claiming with claims that it may not be all inclusive.
Muthoni Ouko has maintained that there are more needy children in non-formal schools in Nairobi than there are in public primary schools.
Muthoni who is also the Executive Director, Tunza Mtoto Coalition that operates in slums said she would mobilize parents of whose children are deprived to mass action and also petition the Members of County Assembly (MCAs) whose wards will be locked out of the programme.
