By Seliphar Machoni
Needy learners are set to benefit from the “Dishi na County” program, as announced by Nairobi County Governor, Hon. Johnson Sakaja during a groundbreaking event at Roysambu Primary School.
The governor expressed his distress over the struggles faced by public school learners due to inadequate meals. However, with this feeding program in place, which won a significant portion of the county’s sh 42.3 billion budget for the financial year 2023/2024, about 250,000 learners will get access to one nutritionally balanced meal daily across all public primary schools and Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres in Nairobi.
The “Dishi na County” initiative is an Intergovernmental Partnership Agreement (IPA) between the county government of Nairobi and the National government that commenced at the start of this week when schools opened for their third term across the region. To participate in this program, students will only be required to pay Ksh.5 per day.
In addition to providing meals for students who cannot afford them through funding from private sector players such as individuals and corporates working hand-in-hand with the county government, special diets will also be offered on a case-by-case basis after specialized assessment by medical practitioners at either school or ECD centre level.
Payments for these meals can now be made via USSD code *648# using the Tap2Eat digital platform that allows M-Pesa payments every day during lunch hours.
However, kids whose parents cannot afford it shall still receive food since they are not left out under any circumstances while running day-to-day activities remains solely under the responsibility of Nairobi’s County administration team.
