Updated 28 July 2010
The Ramadhan Relief Fund recognizes that a hot meal and good food can make all the difference in a child’s life. For many children living in the poor and rural areas of Kenya, having breakfast before going off to school or Madrasah is not an option. With the recent drought and soaring food prices, parents cannot afford to provide even a simple meal for their children.
DROUGHT IN KENYA
After an extended period of drought in Kenya, improved short rains towards the end of 2009 and early 2010 brought some improvement in the food situation there. Unfortunately, the recovery process is slow, and there is still a need to help drought affected populations while they build up their food reserves and savings.
High food prices are also preventing many households from regaining their livelihoods. In many places the market price for maize is 70 to 80% above the long-term average. In urban areas, around 3.5 million Kenyans are struggling to buy enough food on the market.
MALNUTRITION
A malnourished person finds that their body struggles to do normal things such as grow and resist disease. Physical work becomes very difficult and learning abilities can be diminished. Even if people get enough to eat, they will become malnourished if the food they eat does not provide the proper amounts of vitamins and minerals to meet daily nutritional requirements.
Malnutrition at an early age leads to reduced physical and mental development during childhood. Stunting, for example, affects more than 147 million pre-schoolers in developing countries. Under nutrition affects school performance and studies have shown it often leads to a lower income as an adult.
RAMADHAN RELIEF FEEDS HUNGRY CHILDREN
School meals remain a vital safety net for many children in Kenya and The World Federation’s Ramadhan Relief Fund, through The Africa Federation and Bilal Muslim Mission of Kenya will help provide hearty meals to the children there. The Bilal Muslim Mission of Kenya has started a “Feed a Child Program” in response to the plight of these desperate families. The program provides a nutritional helping of porridge to supplement the undernourished children in the rural centres. The porridge is cooked by community volunteers and is provided to pre-primary and Madrasah students.
YOUR DONATION COUNTS
For as little as USD $3.00 / CAD $3.50 / GBP £2.00 per child, your donation to the Ramadhan Relief Fund buy one child in Kenya a hot and healthy meal. Think of what your donation could mean to a hungry child.
TO DONATE
Donate on The World Federation website
Donate in Canada or USA, (via NASIMCO)
Donate in Europe (via CoEJ)
For more information, please email relief@world-federation.org