A CHEK-in from Majengo

Community Development, Coronavirus, Education, Food Security, Fundraising, Health & Wellbeing, Hygiene & Sanitation, updates | April 17, 2020
To our incredible donors, thank you. We are so grateful for your continued support, especially during this challenging time. The coronavirus presents numerous stressors for the children and families of Majengo Children’s Home and in the surrounding community, and with your help, we are moving quickly to meet their changing needs.

In our battle to deal with the impact of the coronavirus,we have two priorities. The first is the safety and well-being of the children residing at Majengo. The second is to provide protection and sustenance for the disadvantaged families in the surrounding community.

While we believe we have the right programs in place to support the the children living at Majengo, we do anticipate increased requirements for food and medical supplies.
Meet Jesca’s family, one of the families being helped by our outreach programs. Jesca’s family lives a few meters away from a fresh water source where they can easily fill the bucket provided by the CHEK (Coronavirus Handwashing Emergency Kit) program. There are 3 people in her family. Her mother works on a farm to pay for their daily meals.

While our programming has helped Jesca’s family, we have become increasingly aware of the issues related to food security for the children enrolled in the community programs. The first step for caring for these children and their families was introducing protection with our CHEK program, which provided the tools and teaching for handwashing and distancing.

This week, we are launching the CHEK +Food Pack for 111 children enrolled in our community school programs. Normally, these children would get two meals a day while attending school. Now, they are living at home with parents who have relied on farming and casual labour to pay for food on a daily basis. They have no savings.

The CHEK +Food Pack will provide a CHEK and subsidize a family’s food for one month. The addition of food security through a CHEK +Food Pack is an additional $25 per family.  It will include basics like:

  • Cooking oil
  • Beans
  • Ugali (a local polenta)
  • Makande (a local corn and bean mixture)

A donation of $50 will supply a family with a CHEK +Food Pack delivered safely by a Majengo employee.