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The ports of Mombasa, Kenya are among the most strategic in the world for WFP. Ships arrive, bearing food for WFP programs in Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.
WFP rents warehouses, patrolled by armed security to prevent theivery, which are big as a football field, 3-4 stories high. One warehouse room holds enough food to feed more than two million people.
Margot Hoerrner
Vice President of Outreach
Friends of the World Food Program
WFP Committee Trip to the Field, Kenya - November, 2009
 On Wednesday, we arrived at our first school meals program in an urban environment. One of the goals of this trip was to observe several different school meals programs and determine the main differences between the rural and urban feeding programs. Pulling into the school, I noticed several children waiting to greet us. The smile on a child’s face as they see a WFP truck pull up is indescribable.
Mukindani Primary School currently has 1,553 students, of which 100 of them are in preschool. These children come from a radius that encompasses five surrounding slums. Most students have to walk as many as 5 kilometers each way every day to reach the school. The school consists of only 20 classrooms for all of the students. One of the main reasons that children attend school is because they can be assured that they will receive a hot meal; often their only meal of the day. The World Food Program works with an organization called Feed the Children. The job of this organization is to visit with schools that house the most vulnerable children, monitor the attendance of these schools and work so that children are being fed and attending school regularly. Many of the children were talking and laughing as we got out of the vehicles. We were greeted by the head teacher and invited into the main office. The office was dark and crowded. We began discussing the problems that are faced at Mukindani. The school is currently on a short-term school meals program that is used only in emergency situations. The program was implemented at this school because the droughts made it impossible for the children to receive food elsewhere. Kenya has experienced a drought that has compromised the last four harvest cycles. With the recent rains, the country may now begin to develop new harvests for food in the near future. It is for this reason that the program will cut funding and assistance to this school within the month of November.  As we finished the meeting, we were asked to join the students for a special presentation in the courtyard. The mass of students began swaying and singing a wonderful song of welcome. When they finished, Friends of WFP was able to engage the children in discussion and activity. I began taking pictures of the children around me. I noticed that the children were absolutely fascinated with the sight of their own picture. Many of these children had never seen themselves before.
I began speaking with a young girl about her life in the Mombasa slums. Her name was Caroline and she was nine years old. She has one younger brother but he is too young to attend school with her. Caroline arrives at school at 6:30am and does not return home until 6:45pm. During the day she learns many different subjects including English, math, science and art. She informed me that the school meals program has helped her immensely. She is now able to concentrate and study hard so that she may one day rise above poverty and achieve success. Touring the kitchen was one of the harder things to do. It was almost barren with a large silver caldron for mixing the supplemental food. I asked how many bags of food it took to feed all of the children at the school for one day and I was told that it takes four bags to properly serve the children. Unfortunately, with the closing of the program in the near future, the administration has had to cut down on the amount of food that can be served. The new ration is now three bags for all 1500+ students. This decision was made to try and stretch the food out as long as possible. Right before we left the slums, the children came into the courtyard to wish us well. There was such a difference in the urban schools verses the rural school programs. In the rural areas, the children are well behaved and disciplined rather than those in the urban environment. The attendance rate in rural schools is very high and the children are healthy and happy. In the 1980’s, the rural schools had implemented the program because the families could not easily find employment. However, the children in the slums have only had the program temporarily and parents of the students are expected to find employment that will allow them to support their family. Also, children in the urban environments tend to me more rowdy and less disciplined. After speaking with the head teacher, I was informed that since the program began at Mukindani, the attendance rates have increased and the children have become more focused in class. School meals programs are highly effective ways to increase a child’s attendance, help them focus and ensure that they are being properly fed and cared for. The children at this primary school made me realize the impact that the school meals program can have on a child’s life. Jennifer Armit
Having only one week to spend in Kenya, Friends of WFP needed to be able to fit several program visits into a couple of days. We flew from Nairobi to Mombasa on Monday afternoon and remained in Mombasa visiting programs until Wednesday evening. When we arrived in Mombasa, we were greeted by David Kamau, Head of the WFP Satellite Office for Mombasa. David was extremely informative and also happened to be one of the nicest men I have ever met. I learned that David would be our guide through several programs in the area. On Tuesday morning, a WFP convoy picked us up at our hotel and we began our journey into the rural area near Kilifi. David informed us that we would be visiting a couple of Food for Asset programs. Food for Assets is a type of food assistance program that helps contribute to sustainable development. At this program, WFP worked in conjunction with World Vision, an international nonprofit organization that focuses on community assets that enhance food security. The areas of focus for the afternoon included a water pan (reservoir) and a community farm project, both of which implemented a rainwater harvesting technique.  The water pan took five months to construct and is three meters deep. Around the pan, a fence was built to keep livestock from drinking the water. The women in villages from as far as five kilometers away spent many hours constructing the water pan. In return, they received food for their contribution to the sustainability of the population in the area. The water could be used for cooking, drinking (if boiled) and for irrigation.
Later that afternoon, we visited a farm in the Ndugumnani community. WFP and World Vision had to receive the consent of the community before beginning to plant. The farm was developed in June of 2009 and will be harvested in 90 days. This harvest will target 323 households in the surrounding area. The community farm utilizes rainwater that is irrigated into pits. The shape of the pit is conducive to rainwater collection. Each person working on the program is responsible for five or six pits. Ultimately, the goal is to have over 40,000 pits. The workers are only allowed to work for 2-3 hours at most. This allows the community to maintain other responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning and raising their children. The farm takes up 18 acres and when harvested, will produce upwards of 80 metric tons of food. After seeing these programs in action, I am better able to understand the objectives of sustainability. This program is extremely important to the efforts of WFP. Not only does WFP work to make sure that people are taken care of in emergency situations, but it also recognizes the fact that if the goal of ending global hunger is to be successful, the populations facing food security issues must be able to sustain themselves. -Jennifer Armit
 On Tuesday, we visited a food distribution center in MWAHERA, where women from the surrounding area were picking up food provided by the World Food Program. Samuel Mwangi is the field coordinator for this distribution and he explained the process to me. Prior to distribution, there is a pre-meeting with all the beneficiaries. Then, the process of distribution the food begins and it takes about an hour. The food was delivered that morning and has already been set into piles. The food is distributed to the women of the community to ensure that it will get home to feed the family and all the children of the family. The women are then put in groups of 10 and within these groups, they distribute the food by opening the WFP bags and moving the food into their own containers to take home. Each beneficiary also has a card and a thumbprint which are used for identification.
Seeing the process firsthand was an experience I will not soon forget. It was extremely organized and went very smoothly. Considering the amount of need in this area due to the drought which has caused crop failure for several seasons now, I was expecting quite a different scene of the arrival of all the food. That was not the case at all. After leaving this particular distribution center, we passed two others. The entire area was receiving food that day. Later in the day, we also saw all the women walking home carrying the bags and walking as much as two hours each way to get home from the distribution center.
Rachel Hofer
Today we went to visit WFP programs located in the Kibera slums in Nairobi, Kenya. Kibera is the largest slum in Africa with over 1 million people living in only 1.5 square miles. The Kibera slums began after World War II when the South Sudanese who were fighting for the British settled there. The settlement gradually turned into a slum as it grew and became populated by many who were displaced after land disputes. There is also a high percentage of women settled in Kibera due to the lack of protection laws for women. For example, when a husband dies, a woman loses their land and if she is not taken in by her husband’s family, she is left with nothing. Kibera has become a very dangerous place in recent years especially after the 2008 election when there was a huge increase in riots between tribes in Kibera. Even just a few days ago, there was a violent clash between two tribes. People were killed and homes were burned to the ground. Given the security issues, our group was escorted to the slum by four armed guards and undercover UN security. Our visit included the Lea Toto HIV Care Center, a WFP beneficiary’s home and a WFP school meals program. The Lea Toto HIV Center serves orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) who are HIV positive. Lea Toto was established in 1998 initially as a mobile outreach initiative whose goal was to reach out to HIV-positive children. In 1999, Lea Toto became a full fledged community home-based care program which includes HIV care for OVCs and food and nutritional support provided by WFP for the patient and their family. The OVCs receive antiretroviral (ARV) medication which is very toxic, especially to the body of a weak child. Food and nutritional support are needed for the ARVs to work effectively. We also visited the home of a WFP beneficiary living in the slum. To reach the home, it was necessary to navigate through the rows of homes via muddy pathways - there are no roads in Kibera. The homes were made from a combination of mud and small branches and the rooftops were made from random pieces of tin. It had recently rained which made the paths even more difficult to maneuver. We slipped and squashed through inches of mud and feces. The slum has a combination of open sewers and “flying toilets” (plastic bags used for waste then thrown in the paths or on rooftops). The home of the WFP beneficiary was approximately 10’ by 10’ (one of the larger homes) and included one small bed, a small cupboard, a few cooking utensils and stools. Ten family members live in this space. Ruth, the 31-year-old mother of a WFP beneficiary, lives with her seven-year-old daughter (a Lea Toto patient), her sister, mother and various extended family members. The husbands have all died, most likely from HIV/AIDS. Ruth is also HIV-positive and receives ARVs at a nearby clinic. She washes clothes for a meager $1/day, yet is unable to work when it is cold due to her illness. Ruth expressed her gratitude for the food and nutrition supplements given to her family from WFP. Her daughter is strong and responding well to the ARV treatment. Next, we visited a WFP school meals program at Stara Primary School, also in Kibera. The school meals program began at Stara in 2004. There are only 13 teachers for 538 students. Seventy percent of the students are full orphans (both parents have died) and many of the others have only one parent. The school has seen an increase in school enrollment and attendance since the school meals program began. For most of the children, this is the only meal they eat each day. The teachers noticed an increase in attention and academic achievement after the school meals program began. The programs we visited today demonstrated the challenges faced by the poor in Kenya. Although these programs are improving the lives of many, there is still much work to be done. Holly Schade
Friends of the World Food Program, Princeton Committee
Recently, the WFP Committee of the Northern San Fernando Valley finished up its advocacy tour. We have now
successfully met with our congressman and both senators' offices - all
of the people that represent us here in California. During our last meeting with Senator Boxer’s senior field representative,
we really noticed how far we’ve come, both in our confidence and ability to
speak effectively about the Roadmap to End Global Hunger and the Global Food Security Act. That afternoon, we arrived in front of the Federal
Courthouse in Los Angeles
(an ominous building to say the least), and were a little intimidated. However, once inside we were met by the
kindest gentleman, Boxer’s senior field representative Adolfo Bailon. He was so warm and generous with his
time. He spent about 20 minutes with us and
he seemed impressed by how together we were, both in our succinctness when presenting the information and in having all of the materials ready (thank you
WFP outreach team for the blue folders!).
It was a really pleasant meeting, and we got to share some of our
personal experiences and views too, which was a really nice touch. We have learned various lessons from our
advocacy experience, not the least of which is that you never know just quite
what to expect - all of our meetings have been unique experiences in their own
right. However, our commitment to this
cause has been constant, and we’ve done our best to bring global hunger policy
into the spotlight with the very people who can turn legislation into reality. Next step…community awareness!
-Jessica Mullan
WFP Committee of the Northern San Fernando Valley
Day three in Kenya and it feels like for all the things we have done, it has been a week. Very interesting days so far and the work really, really began today as we all went to the WFP office at the UN compound and met with the Kenya Country Director and a full complement of the staff. Hearing the programs and initiatives in person is a lot more effective and powerful compared to reading the year-end report or other forms of literature from the Friends of WFP office. The factual information and the state of affairs in Kenya are very serious matters that need much attention, especially with the current WFP fundraising shortfall.
The American people are very generous and giving, but without increasing their level of awareness about the plight of the less fortunate on the other side of the world, they will not be able to give of their talent and treasure, i.e. funds to support humanitarian programs.
By noon today, we were at the Kenyatta airport to fly to Mombasa for our field visits to schools and other WFP programs there. A short visit to their historic landmark, Fort Jesus, gave us a cultural aspect to our visit this afternoon. We met with very able and helpful Mombasa staff who guided us through the city and enabled the group to eat a typical Kenyan meal at their local restaurant. What a treat.
-Lillian Pardo
WFP Committee of Kansas City
WFP Committee - Trip to the Field.
Kenya, November 2009.
-Margot Hoerrner
Vice President of Outreach
Friends of the World Food Program
Day two of my visit to Kenya with Friends of the World Food Program has been spent adjusting to the jet lag we are experiencing as a result of the 16-hour trip from the United States. Our visit to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust camp/nursery was a very interesting experience and we got to see baby elephants between the ages of 3 weeks and 27 months old. They are being held for recovery after being caught in the wild as orphans. Each baby elephant has a name, they are all "adoptable," and they are all adorable!
After the baby elephants, we were off to see the giraffe center. It was quite amusing to see a sign alongside the road saying "Slow Down Giraffe Crossing." Only in Africa!
Today was a great introduction to one of the primary attractions in Kenya.
Tomorrow, we're off to an orientation with World Food Program staff and a short flight to Mombasa!
-Lillian Pardo
WFP Committee of Kansas City
The Summit on Global Hunger is an annual educational event to discuss global hunger and network with other like-minded individuals. We’ve already shared blog posts about panels on the role of the US government in ending hunger and hunger issues in Africa. Experts also spoke about the challenges that affect poverty in other regions of the world, as well as the role of the private sector in fighting hunger.
One special focus of the conference each year is hearing from volunteers about the work they do all year long to raise funds, awareness and action in support of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). This year two special panels highlighted volunteer efforts from the last year. One panel spotlighted artists taking action, while the other focused on successes in the WFP Committee program.
Volunteers with the WFP Committee program are asked to focus on three different kinds of activities: fundraising, awareness and advocacy. Groups of dedicated individuals known as “Committee Leaders” organize each local WFP Committee.
At this year’s summit, WFP Committee Leaders Julia Feldman, Ivano “Newby” Newbill and Callie Tomasso all shared their experiences as part of the WFP Committee Highlights panel. Below are some highlights from each of them.
WFP Committee Highlights Panelists:
Julia Feldman, WFP Committee of San Francisco
Ivano “Newby” Newbill, WFP Committee of Atlanta
Callie Tomasso, WFP Committee of Miami
WFP Committee of San Francisco
Julia shared some fundraising success stories with the audience. She focused on the main event of the San Francisco committee’s first year, a silent art auction. The auction has now become an annual event, because the committee was able to build a successful relationship with the venue. She also talked about an effective point-of-purchase initiative with her local Starbucks. The idea is simple: place a money jar by the register, leave some information about WFP’s School Meals program and encourage people to drop 25 cents in the bin.
WFP Committee of Atlanta
Newby told the audience about making it personal. He talked about the importance of school meals in his own life, wondering if he still would have become a professional basketball player without the nutritional benefits of meals in school. He spoke about Atlanta’s focus on raising awareness; the committee has made presentations to Rotary International Clubs, organized a candlelit vigil and set personal goals for volunteers. In a show of support, Newby rode his bicycle nearly 700 miles from Atlanta to Washington, DC to attend the Summit on Global Hunger. He said that all the way he thought about the great work volunteers do by creating support for WFP.
WFP Committee of Miami
A popular event for WFP committees to organize is “When We Eat, They Eat,” where local restaurants donate a portion of their proceeds to Friends of WFP when patrons mention they are there to support the fight against hunger. The initiative brings special attention to philanthropic restaurants, and allows people an opportunity to do something small for a big result. Callie and her committee are organizing one such event and she shared their experience in doing so.
The idea that rang throughout this panel, and as volunteers connected between sessions, was that each committee is focused on starting out small. Bake sales, letter writing campaigns and library presentations are all small efforts that deliver the powerful message that hunger is solvable. We encourage all volunteers to start out with realistic goals, to be successful, realizing that with a collective effort, we can make the biggest impact.
-Jessica Alatorre
Outreach Associate
Friends of WFP
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