Here are the facts:

• The drop out rate in most Kenyan schools is about 65-70%.
• Most Kenyan children eat one meal a day.
• When a free lunch is provided, the drop out rate is reduced dramatically.

Here are some thoughts:

• Most Kenyan children walk several miles to a classroom and sit all day on a bench without a back to it.
• It would seem like one might be able to concentrate if you had some food in your stomach.
• Without an education, there is little opportunity one can expect from Africa.

The World Food Program has established the following as the minimum nutritional requirements for a lunch program:

150 grams of maize (per student) 40 grams of beans (per student) A small amount of oil for cooking

It would cost me 1000 shillings or about $13.33 to purchase a 90-pound bag of maize. It would cost me 720 shillings or about $10.00 to purchase a 90-pound bag of beans. If I add cost for oil, a little salt and a few onions and my cost would be up to about $30.00.

For $30.00 dollars a day, I can feed 600 schoolchildren a nutritious lunch.

This is how it would work. The school would provide a parent who would cook the meal. The students would have to provide the bowl and utensils. We would provide the food and tell the school that we had given enough food to last for three months, and we would announce that to all the school and the parents, so any theft would have some accountability to it.

The problem with most aid programs is that most of the donated food doesn’t get to the people it is intended to help. We could tell you stories that we don’t need to get into, but the beauty of this is that all the monies go to buy local food and school children eat it.

There is no middleman. I will take the money, buy the grains, deliver the food and make sure that the students are getting fed. I don’t get paid for this, and I don’t want to be. All the monies go to feed the kids.

So, if you have been looking for something to help out, we think that this can accomplish the following:

• Decrease the drop out rate
• Increase learning
• The children will know it is kind Americans providing the food.

I will collect enough monies to commit to a school for one year. If we get more than we need, we will add another school. If you commit, you will own a school. If it takes 20 people to get a school fed, it will be those people’s school. You can count on regular pictures and updates, and you can get an idea of what school is like for a Kenyan child.

I can’t do this, obviously, without support. How many schools we cover depends on how much support we get. My hope is unrealistic, but I am so tired of seeing hungry children. I would love for this to get big enough that many many children benefited from it.

But we start with one, and if you are interested, please send a check made out to AIM and send it to AIM PO Box 178 Pearl River, NY 10965. In your note, please let them know that it goes towards the Peifer School Lunch Program. It is tax deductible, and they will send you a receipt.

The other need I have is a car. Several of the schools we want to begin with are in the valley, and there are no good roads. I will need a four-wheel drive van, and someday I will write an email about the adventure of trying to buy a car in this country. If you would like to help, you can send a check to the same place and include a note indicating it is for the Peifer vehicle fund.

I always add that I get a million of these requests a day, and if you can’t or don’t want to, it won’t hurt our feelings. Do what you are suppose to do, and don’t worry about the rest.

But I really honestly think this is a way for kids to get fed and go under the radar so it all goes to kids. I think it can really really make a difference.

Let’s change the world, shall we?

Steve Peifer

JT and Matthew in their wedding duds!