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.

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 800 beneficiaries: 600 from Isiolo and 200 from Kakamega with monthly food hampers that consist of:

Over the years of our operation, 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 wellbeing of the seniors.
We have supported more than 2,000 households in the last 11 years.
We are impacting 9% & 1.5 % of the seniors’ population in Isiolo and Kakamega Central Sub Counties (2019 Kenya Population & Housing Census).
We have empowered the seniors to become functioning members of society as they are the breadwinners for their families.
We are implementing Sustainable Development Goals; one, two and three (No Poverty, Zero Hunger and Good Health and Well-being).
We are implementing Policy 2.5 that highlights food security and nutrition of the Kenyan National policy on older persons and aging.

This program has a number of challenges despite its vital role in alleviating poverty among our seniors. These challenges include:

Inability to extend food choices and enhance our seniors’ nutrition.
Inability to tailor our food requirements to the health needs of our seniors.
Provision of adequate food quantities that can sustain a senior and their household for an entire month.
Limited impact reach to more vulnerable seniors across Kenya.
Volatile food prices due to very high inflation.

We are committed to increase our support to 1000 seniors by the end of 2023. We plan to engage in agricultural activities and grow crops that would supplement the seniors feeding program through the provision of additional food choices consecutively adding a nutritional element. However, we recognize that we cannot address all the challenges on our own. We call upon like-minded individuals, organizations and governments to support our efforts in promoting Zero Hunger among our seniors.