Kenyan woman who gives food to school children lands prestigious award

Wawira Njiru, founder and director of Food 4 Education, was this week awarded the 2018 Global Citizen Prize for Youth Leadership in South Africa.

Food 4 Education was founded in 2012 and distributes nutritious meals to 2000 school-going children from poor backgrounds in Ruiru.

It also provides mentorship and tuition support for the kids to ensure they gain admission to good schools once they complete their primary school education.

According to Wawira, the organization provides 2000 meals a day to ensure children remain in school and focus on their studies.

The 27-year-old is the first-ever recipient of the award that is supported by American Multinational Company Cisco and the prize includes Sh25Million for Food for Education, an all-inclusive round-trip to Johannesburg to attend the Prize Ceremony at the Global Citizen Mandela 100 Festival, as well as networking opportunities to support the organization’s work.

Wawira shared her excitement online by saying: “Still feels unreal that @Usher and @ChuckRobbins from @Cisco presented me with the Global Citizen Youth leadership prize yesterday.

“It would be sooo cool if they came to Kenya to serve up @Food4Education meals to hungry school kids! Twitter do your thing.”

She added that she is feeding Africa because she believed in a generation that is well-nourished and educated.

“Hungry children cannot learn and I believe a prosperous future for my continent begins with no child is learning on an empty stomach,” she said.

Wawira schooled in Ruiru before proceeding to the University of South Australia where she studied Nutrition and Food Science.

She was named among the 40 under 40 Kenyan Women in 2018 and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Public Health at JKUAT.