Mwega Lunchbox Project
“For many of the children, this is their only food of the day and a major motivation for coming to school.”
Supporting Education in Kenya, one meal at a time
The College’s annual service trip to Gilgil, Kenya has its roots in the OA Community. The Langalanga Trust provides vital education infrastructure, scholarships and school meals to pupils in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, and was founded by Old Ardinian, Harry Vialou Clark (1958) in 1999.
In 2008 the Ardingly community came together to help build Ndogo Primary School near Gilgil, Kenya – solidifying an educational partnership that has lasted over a decade.
Over the years, in tandem with the annual service trip, the College community has helped build classrooms, water storage and bathroom blocks, as well as complete repairs and maintenance, and help feed the young pupils of the region.
Much-missed Gesa Paulfeierborn initiated a feeding programme in 2011 to ensure that every pupil attending Ndogo had a cooked meal in the middle of the day – vital for enabling pupils to get the most out of their lessons, especially for those walking many miles to school. For many of the children, this is their only food of the day and a major motivation for coming to school.
Today, the Lunchbox Project remains at the heart of the Langalanga Trust’s work, and provides this crucial midday meal to pupils in Ndogo and Mwega Primary School. The College’s 2020 and 2021 service trips were cancelled due to the pandemic and these schools need our support more than ever – funding for the Lunchbox Project is running perilously low.
The midday meal served to pupils at Mwega is “uji”, a sorghum-based porridge, and costs KSh 32,500 per month – just £220. Our goal is to raise £2700 to fund a year of lunches at Mwega Primary School, with just £20 providing an entire year of school meals to one Gilgil child.