Waira Njiru, a 35-year-old social entrepreneur, founded her organization, Food4Education (F4E), which provides daily meals for 600,000 children in Kenya. She has been recognized as the winner of the Germany and Africa Award for these efforts. This award is given to individuals from African countries whose ideas and work contribute to solving global issues.
Beginning of Entrepreneurship
Njiru started her work with a small fundraising effort for 25 children and has now become one of the largest school meal providers in Kenya with 6,000 employees. She says about this: "My dream and goal initially was to feed 100 children a day. Now, over time and with more learning, I realized I could do more than that. Currently, my goal is to reach one million children a day."
The Impact of Food on Education
Njiru also points to the importance of food in education, saying: "Food is everything. When your stomach is empty, you can't learn anything in class." The Food4Education system now delivers food to 19,000 schools in Kenya. This model is designed to source 80 percent of the food needed from local farmers, which recently helps the agricultural market.
Njiru understands well that food is not just a charitable issue but also strengthens economic infrastructures. She says: "For a long time, food in schools was seen as a charitable act. We have proven that this is an economic infrastructure." With this system, students in participating schools have lower absenteeism and perform better academically.
By sharing her ideas and gaining the trust of others, Njiru has been able to achieve significant successes. She found that to create change, she needed to find people who believe in her. More than 70 percent of her employees are women, which reflects her commitment to empowering women in the community.
The Germany and Africa Award will be presented to Waira Njiru on Wednesday by the German Development Minister, Rim Alabily Radwan.
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