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{
    "id": 806818,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/806818/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 28,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Igembe Central, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kubai Iringo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1574,
        "legal_name": "Cyprian Kubai Iringo",
        "slug": "cyprian-kubai-iringo"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion. On the same token, let me thank and congratulate Hon. Vincent Kemosi for bringing the same. Education is a basic need for our children and for everybody in this country. Equally, food or nutrition is quite a basic need to each and every human being. Therefore, we should support the Motion so that as our children go to school, they have healthy bodies. They should be fed well so that, at least, they can concentrate and achieve what they went to learn in schools. The School Feeding Programmes in this country has been there for quite a while. Most of us have grown seeing it. Initially, it was a pilot school feeding programme. Unfortunately, it has never taken off to the extent that it takes into account each and every child in this country. It is well known to all of us here that not all families can afford three meals per day. That is breakfast, lunch and supper. This becomes a big burden to those poor families whereby children drop out of school or they do not go to school because they did not take any breakfast. You find that when a child leaves home without having taken any breakfast, he or she shivers in class while others who had breakfast concentrate on their class work. This brings the disparities we have in education. That is why we find that public schools are not performing as well as private schools. Private schools or academies have children whose parents have the means. They pay for their food, accommodation and everything. But in public schools, we have poor infrastructure, few teachers and pupils do not get any food. During the dry spells especially in the marginal areas, school attendance drops even by 50 per cent because children are unable to go to school because there is no food. Once they hear that there is some food in schools, they go there. Once relief food is brought in the constituencies or to the counties, it should first be distributed in schools. For example, in my constituency, Igembe Central, when we get food, I always agree with the administration to take it to the schools first, before we give it to other families. When the pupils hear that there is food in school, they all go back there. So, if we introduce this programme, we will not have school dropouts and absenteeism. Therefore, there will be continuity. That is the time we will get good results. Previously, we had the milk programme - maziwa ya nyayo . Some counties have also started giving milk to children in nursery up to Standard III. A case in point is Meru County. In Meru County, you will find that the enrolment is going up because the Governor has started a milk feeding programme for the children. The children are now going back to school in droves. The money that is being stolen through corruption can be put to good use by introducing the programme. It can be sustained without any problem. Thank you."
}