The County Executive for Education, Sports and Social Protection, Leah Audan on Wednesday flagged off 8,333 bags of the fortified porridge meant to be distributed across all the sub-counties in Turkana.
At least 1026 Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) Centres are going to benefit.
The first phase of distribution has begun with Turkana East receiving 1000 bags of porridge. Turkana South received 1400 bags.
Other sub-counties to follow are Turkana North/Kibish, Turkana West and Loima each receiving 1400 bags of the porridge. Turkana Central will receive 1733 bags.
The availability of the Unimix Porridge to the centres is aimed at keeping and retaining young learners at in early childhood learning institutions.
Speaking at Lodwar Resource Centre, the County Executive for Education, Sports and Social Protection, Leah Audan said the supply of the fortified porridge will boost the enrolment, transition and retention rates at schools.
She pledged to ensure accountability for the porridge delivered to all ECDE Centres.
The CECM commended Mary’s Meal for its commitment to supporting learner’s education, saying the food donated will undoubtedly, leverage food availability at schools.
“The food donation from Mary’s Meal will always complement the County’s efforts in keeping early childhood education learners in schools,” she said.
CECM Audan also appreciated UNICEF, Save the Children, JICA, Diocese of Lodwar among others for their continued support to the ECDE sector.
She commended the Governor’s effort for the immense support towards education, saying his investment has revitalized education in the County.
The Education CECM noted that the County’s Administration has hired enough teachers, built model classes and provided teaching and learning materials to the centres, thus improving the quality of education in ECDE Centres.
She further called on the parents to help their children discover talents outside academics, stressing that with the country embracing a competency-based curriculum (CBC), learners are bound to exhibit their talents.
The Director for ECDE Ezekiel Kulal, assured the food supply will be kept safe, away from contamination, as he hailed the Governor’s effort in investing in early childhood education.
He advised teachers responsible for the centres to diligently adhere to the recommended storage procedures to preserve and maintain porridge’s nutritional value.
Others present during the exercise were Ignatius Erupe (Principal Admin, Education) and Barbara Ekai (Procurement Officer, Education).
By Peter Gitonga
