Hundreds of children risk dropping out of school in Turkana County as Mary’s Meals Kenya, a school feeding programme that provided daily meals to learning institutions, prepares to close.
The organisation had enrolled at least 183,639 children, including 117,039 in 793 Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centers, many of whom are now vulnerable to hunger and may be forced to leave school.
Mary’s Meals confirmed in a statement that it will close its country office in Lodwar by the end of 2025, resulting in the regrettable loss of 68 jobs.
Mary’s Meals International Chief Programmes Officer Erin Pratley described the decision as difficult for both staff and the communities they serve.
“We remain encouraged by the progress the Turkana County Government and the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya have made recently, and are set to make in the future, to ensure that children receive food in their place of education,” she said.
To mitigate the impact on communities that will no longer receive daily school meals through the charity, Mary’s Meals International has pledged a one-time food distribution to cover the first term of the new school year. This will give the county government, schools and communities time to make alternative arrangements.
The organisation has also begun talks with the Catholic Diocese of Lodwar to manage the school feeding program in the ECDE centers.
Vicar General of the Diocese, Rev Fr Joseph Eyangan Ebenyo, confirmed that Mary’s Meals had approached the Diocese and that plans are underway to take over feeding programmes for the vacated centers starting January 2026.
“Over the coming weeks, we anticipate confirming which ECDE centers will be transferred so that we can implement daily school feeding from the start of the new academic year,” Fr Ebenyo said.
Not all ECDE centers currently supported by Mary’s Meals Kenya will be transferred to the Diocese, nor will feeding centers that do not offer education or those already receiving significant food support from the county government.
Parents expressed concern that the county faces rising malnutrition and potential dropouts, particularly in nursery and some primary schools that previously benefited from the programme.
They also cited delays in food distribution by the national government through the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya.
“We have faced delayed food distribution by both county and national governments. This has affected vulnerable learners who attend school mainly because there is no food at home. Mary’s Meals Kenya reliably filled that gap,” said James Ekitela, a parent in Lokichar.
“We face a crisis if the Diocese of Lodwar does not leverage the structures already in place to distribute food effectively across the county.”
Mr Ekitela added that before Mary’s Meals Kenya stepped in, school feeding programs suffered from lack of coordination, leaving some schools supported by multiple partners while others went months without meals, resulting in inefficiency.
“Mary’s Meals Kenya successfully captured most of the ECDE centers in the county,” he said.
