Seniors Feeding Program

Seniors in Kenya account for 3.8% of the entire population. That is approximately 1.2 million seniors. The official retirement age in Kenya is 60 years. However, the retirement benefit system in Kenya is still a new concept for many. For the seniors who spend their lives within the blue –collar economy, this concept is none existent. As a result, they have no retirement benefits to look forward to.

In recent years, the Kenyan government has implemented a number of measures to reduce the suffering of seniors. Such measures include: Inua Jamii program, where seniors of 70 years and above can access a monthly stipend of Kes 2,000 an equivalent of USD $17/CAD $22 to cater to their daily needs. This amount is not enough to sustain a senior for 4 weeks. In addition, this program’s mandate and frequency is not well maintained and is often coupled with various challenges.

It is for this reason that our seniors have remained poor, sick and without an income. To survive, they have resorted to begging and pleading for assistance in order to support themselves. We strive to put an end to this cycle.

Our Approach

A Seniors Feeding Program!

This is our flagship program that was initiated in 2011 with 50 beneficiaries aimed at mitigating hunger and poverty among senior citizens.

It involves the provision of monthly food hampers to vulnerable seniors of 60 years and above in Isiolo and Kakamega Counties.

To date, we support 1000 beneficiaries: 700 from Isiolo and 300 from Kakamega with monthly food hampers that consist of:

Our Impact

Over the years, we have made strides in ensuring our seniors age in a healthy and dignified manner. They include:

We have witnessed a significant improvement in the health and well being of the seniors.

We have empowered the seniors to become functioning members of society as they are the breadwinners for their families.

We have supported more than 2,000 households in the last 11 years, 70 % of these being women led.

We are impacting 9% & 1.5 % of the seniors’ population in Isiolo and Kakamega Central Sub Counties (2019 Kenya Population & Housing Census).

We are implementing Policy 2.5 that highlights food security and nutrition of the Kenyan National policy on older persons and aging.

I am a beneficiary of the Mama Ibado charity seniors feeding program for the last 6 years, my grandchildren and I are grateful for the food rations we receive every month. They are a lifesaver for my family.

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Our Challenges

This program plays a crucial role in alleviating poverty among our seniors; yet it faces several challenges. These include:

Inability to adequately extend food choices and enhance our seniors’ nutrition.

Limited empowerment of beneficiaries to consume a variety of unfamiliar food items that possess high nutritional value.

Provision of adequate food quantities that can sustain a senior with large household for an entire month.

Limited financing that inhibits impact reach to more vulnerable seniors across Kenya.

Volatile food prices due to very high inflation.

Our Opportunities

We are committed to sustaining our interventions to our seniors.To achieve this, we have initiated agricultural projects specifically designed to support the seniors’ feeding program. These projects aim to extend food options and enhance the nutritional quality of our seniors’ diets.However, we acknowledge that we cannot tackle all these challenges alone. We invite like- minded individuals, organizations, and governments to join us in our efforts to promote Zero Hunger among our seniors.