In Nyeri, pupils are stealing classmates’ lunch due to hunger pangs

Felista has had to comfort her son after his lunch was stolen by a classmate at his primary school in Kieni, Nyeri county.

On several occasions, Felista's son has returned home in tears claiming his lunch dish was wiped clean by his classmates during break time.

“He comes home crying because he had nothing to eat the entire day save for the breakfast he took at home. This has happened four times now,” she says.

The class four pupil told Nation.Africa at their home that there were many pupils voluntarily sharing their meals with others who did not have any food in school but others, like him, have had their food stolen.

“Food is mostly stolen during break time when we go to play. Once they are done eating, they clean the dish and return it to my bag empty,” he said.

The story can be replicated by many families in the constituency who are struggling to put food on the table consistently.

Many other families cannot afford the three meals a day forcing them to go without lunch or supper.

This is due to the ravaging drought that has struck the constituency due to unrealised harvest for three seasons this year as there was little or no rainfall in parts of the county.

“We last harvested in October last year. There are no jobs and there is no food. Things are tough for a majority of us,” said Felista, adding that the government should come up with a food programme for children in public schools.

According to a report by the National Drought and Management Authority (NDMA), the percentage of children under the risk of malnutrition has been on the rise since March this year due to the diminishing household stock.

While Kieni is the food basket of Nyeri County, it has largely been affected by the prolonged lack of irrigation water forcing them to rely on rain-fed agriculture or water from rivers and streams, which are almost drying up.

“As a result, the distance from a homestead to a water source increased by 30 kilometres as most of the water points near homes have dried up and rationing by various water projects have intensified,” added the NDMA report.

More so, another section of the residents practices dairy farming which has been greatly affected due to lack of fodder.

“We have not harvested for one year now. There is drought and it is affecting both humans and livestock,” said Ms Mary Mutitu.

Consequently, milk production has drastically dropped to a point that most small-scale farmers are not selling their produce.

According to the area assistant chief Joseph Wanjau, approximately 4,500 households are in dire need of food in the sub-location, which translates to 9, 000 people.

“Minimal rainfall has contributed to the famine that we are experiencing because the rains were scattered and could not support any agricultural activities,” he said.

Mr Wanjau said the situation in Kieni had been reported to the national government in an appeal for relief food for the hungry as well as the revival of the irrigation dams in the constituency.

According to NDMA, the situation in Kieni is expected to continue to deteriorate until November.