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Wawira Njiru — Kenya’s No. 1 school feeder honored with the German Africa Prize
Kenyan social entrepreneur Wawira Njiru received the German Africa Award in Berlin for founding Food4Education, a school meal programme that has grown from a small fundraiser into a major organisation. The award recognises its work tackling child hunger and supporting education, and Njiru said it would encourage the team to expand beyond Kenya.
Food4Education now employs 6,000 people and provides meals to more than 730,000 children at 19,000 schools each day. Its funding combines donations, government support and small parental contributions, sometimes as little as five Kenyan shillings; wristbands track meals and payments. Around 80% of its food comes from small-scale farmers, and plans are under way to expand into six African countries.
In short
- Wawira Njiru received the German Africa Award.
- Food4Education feeds 730,000 children daily.
- The programme plans expansion to six countries.
Explained simply
In Kenya, some children arrive at school without having eaten, which can make it harder to concentrate and learn. School meal programmes aim to provide food during the school day, while also supporting children’s attendance and education.
Wawira Njiru founded Food4Education, a Kenyan organisation that prepares and delivers meals to pupils. Its programme brings together donations, government support and small payments from families, and it buys much of its food from small-scale farmers.
The organisation’s scale matters because it links children’s access to meals with schools, family contributions and local food producers. Its plans to work in other African countries raise questions about how a programme developed in Kenya can be adapted to different communities and funding systems.