Kiambu County government has launched the free milk feeding programme dubbed ‘maziwa freshi na Wamatangi’ for all public nursery schools within the county.
Governor, Kimani Wamatangi, is targeting over 36, 000 children in Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres who will each receive a packet of milk every Thursday.
During the launch, he emphasized the importance of providing every child with adequate nutrition as a fundamental building block for success in a prosperous future.
The provision of milk is an addition to the comprehensive nutrition support that the government is already offering where children get a bowl of porridge and a boiled egg in the feeding programme.
The main aim is to provide a conducive environment for learning and ensuring that the children are happy and eager to be in school. “In a world where malnutrition continues to hinder the potential of millions of children the provision of free milk is one of the ways to address such challenges,” Wamatangi said.
The County government he noted has a programme where they are distributing one month old improved “kienyeji” chicks to women and who in turn supply eggs to the County Government to be given to the ECDE centres.
He added that, Beneficiaries will receive ten chicks and sell eggs for an Early Childhood Education feeding program, providing daily egg and porridge to children.
The Governor plans to modernize all 524 ECDE centres in the county by 2026, focusing on constructing new models and renovating existing ones through the department of gender, culture, and social services.
The governor also stated that they are increasing support for students beyond the ECDE level through the annual bursary from Ksh 300 million to Ksh 500 million to ensure that no child misses out on education opportunities.
