The first month in Kenya
The free lunch program was introduced in Kenya Mathare Slum on March first, 2017. After that, how this program progresses?
Part 1: Reality in Slumdog
In terms of diet, local Kenyan are always self-sufficient. Normally they eat rice, ugali, seafood and eggs. Bread becomes an optional choice. As one of the main coffee producers, coffee is the primary drink in Kenya.
Eating with hands is a convention in this country. Eating with hands can be seen even in a grand banquet.
However, there is different in Slumdog. Serious life conditions such as the lack of food, water shortage, bacterial reproduction, and excessive garbage shocked the world. People can only eat beans and potatoes. Moreover, the poor cannot afford these cheap food.
Part 2: Research
Each school in Slumdog (except seccess school) is with two chefs who will be responsible for students’ diet. Although there are old kitchen utensils and appliances, these kitchens are already the cleanest in Slumdog. All students are expect to enjoy meals in school.
Daily Schedule:
1. 7:00 AM. Chefs come to schools to prepare breakfast for students
Breakfast Preparation: Simple Ugali everyday and an egg each week
Food Specialty: Adding sugar into Ugali which is sweet.
(Note: Ugali is an authentic Northern African porridge which is consist of millet, corn or sorghum flour )
2. 10:00 AM. Chefs distribute Ugali and eggs to students
Raw materials: Suppliers deliver fruits, vegetables and meat to schools.
Lunch preparation: vegetable selection, cutting meat, and then cooking them by steaming, frying or boiling.
Part3: Interview
Interview1: Interviewee（chef）(Note: I is the interviewer, C is the chef, the Dean is the translator)
I: How long have you been a chef ? Do you have any experience as a chef in schools?
C: I have been a chef for nearly two years. I am interested in this area and able to be a good chef.
Sure, it’s not my first time to cook for students. Every time students like the food I cooked, I will have a sense of achievements.
I: What is the most difficult dish for you to cook ?
C: Actually, each dish has its difficulty. For example, the dishes in Free Lunch need to be cooked appropriately.
Interview2:Interviewee (Volunteer A) (Note: I is the interviewer, A is the Volunteer)
I: As an undergraduate, what is your motivation for you to be a volunteer in Africa?
A:Firstly, I made this decision due to the recommendations from DBSA volunteers, combing my interests in African Kenya and time permits. Also, I’d like to put the theories of international development in master into practice through this volunteering work.
I：It seems that you take lots of things into consideration before you made this decision. After you became a volunteer, what is your feeling?
A：As a volunteer, I have found that DBSA program is helpful for local children which gives me a feeling of achievement and pride.
Interview3:Interviewee (Volunteer B) (Note: I is the interviewer, B is the Volunteer)
I: As a volunteer in DBSA Caso Upendo Rebuilding program, why do you still want to contribute to Free Lunch program?
B: Rebuilding program is in its progress. After I finish this work, I still have some free time to do something for Free Lunch program. The Free Lunch program has just started which needs more volunteers.
Interview4:Interviewee ( Dean) (Note: I is the interviewer, Pis the Dean)
I: Can all students have lunch in your school before Free Lunch program started? What’s their normal food?
P: Students choose to eat at home or buy some food outside. Our school hasn’t offered lunch before this program started because of the terrible conditions. Beans and potatoes are the only thing can be eat here.
I: Do you meet any difficulties in the progress of this program? What changes this program brings about?
P: There are some difficulties we have met. The time of lunch cannot be managed and the measurement of average consumed food seems difficult.Obviously, thanks to Free Lunch program, students have lunch now. Furthermore, the conduction of this program stimulates the increasing enthusiasm of study among students.
Interview3:Interviewee ( Students ) (Note: I is the interviewer, S is the student)
I: What’s your favorite dish in Free Lunch program ? What else do you want to eat in the future?
B: I like rice, eggs, banana, meat. We’d like to have some fish in the future which we cannot imagine before.
Part 4: Free Lunch program
In the past, the children live in Mathare cannot eat timely. The sanitary conditions and starvation are problems in this area. Now, we are delighted that the Free Lunch program ensure students meet their basic requirements of diet.
The Free Lunch program improve the degree of diverse diets. Simultaneously, it provide high quality food. Moreover, More children are willing to go to school due to this program.
The Free Lunch program has proceeded successfully in a few schools which inspires us. We expect to help more schools in Mathare Slumdog even other slumdog should be involved in. In this sense, the children in Slumdog can have a balanced lunch.
There is always someone suffering from starvation or pain every second. What we can do is to use our individual power to change it. Although it’s hard to change the world, it’s possible to prevent some of them from starvation.Along with the conduction of the Free lunch program, we believe the future of Slumdog wil be better.
