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A boy carries his young sibling

Kenya

Mary’s Meals is reaching pre-school children with much-needed daily meals in Kenya

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Where we work

Life in Kenya

Kenya is currently ranked 152 out of 191 countries and territories in the Human Development Index (HDI).  More than a third of the population live below the international poverty line ($2.15 per day).

Kenya is located in East Africa. The landscape varies from flat coastal land on the Indian Ocean, to high mountains and plateaus at the centre. Neighbouring countries include Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

Food insecurity is very high in Kenya particularly in the arid and semi-arid regions that make up 80% of the country’s land area. Around 29% of children in rural areas have stunted growth owing to malnutrition. Turkana County, in the north-west, has some of the highest levels of food insecurity and child malnutrition in the country.

A child eagerly takes notes in class

Mary's Meals in Kenya

Mary’s Meals has been serving school meals in Kenya since 2005.

We provide meals for children attending ECDEs (Early Childhood Development and Education centres) in the semi-arid region of Turkana County in north-western Kenya.

Mary’s Meals Kenya delivers school feeding directly to pre-school children in Turkana with support from thousands of community volunteers. We also work alongside our long-standing partner the Diocese of Lodwar to deliver our programme in hard-to-reach areas. 

Together, we are serving school meals to tens of thousands of children in Kenya.

Grains of Hope

Peter herding his goats, Turkana, Kenya

Watch Grains of Hope – a film that highlights how the promise of a daily meal served in school provides food security for the pastoralist community of Turkana, enabling families to remain in their communities during drought season.

Watch now

Related Articles

Peter and daughter Idokot

Delivering food to children in rural Kenya

Mary’s Meals school feeding programme is enabling pre-school children in the Turkana region of northwest Kenya to receive an education. This article documents Christine Atoto's trip with the Mary’s Meals programme operations team to deliver food to three ECDs in Turkana.
Read more about Delivering food to children in rural Kenya
Children in the rural region of Turkana in Kenya standing together against the backdrop of a dry, arid desert landscape.

A school community thrives despite all the odds

Mary’s Meals’ Director of Programme Partners and Affiliates, Alex Keay, documents his trip to an isolated pre-school in northern Turkana in Kenya, one of the most arid regions of the world where people struggle to find enough food – or water – for their families and livestock. In this vast, parched area, children from miles around walk to the centre in anticipation of a daily meal.
 Read more about A school community thrives despite all the odds
When did we start working in Kenya?

Mary’s Meals has been serving school meals in Kenya since 2005.

How many children do we feed in Kenya?

We are currently reaching tens of thousands of children in Kenya.

What meal do we provide?

The meal consists of maize and beans with fortified oil.

Where are we based/where do we operate?

We deliver school feeding in ECDEs (pre-schools) in Turkana County in north-western Kenya.

What is the capital of Kenya?

Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi.

What language(s) are spoken in Kenya?

Kenya’s two official languages are English and Swahili.

What currency is used in Kenya?

The Kenyan Shilling (KES).

What is the population of Kenya?

The population of Kenya is 54,555,000.