This is the first time we can personally recall a health crisis gripping all of us at once. We want you to know we’re praying for you, especially those of you facing loss, or working on the front lines to bring medical care or essential service to others.

We’d also treasure your prayers for us. Here’s how the novel coronavirus is tilting reality for our KKC students.

Covid in Kenya

When Kenya confirmed its first Covid-19 case in March, the government immediately closed schools in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. Since we run our lunch program through our local schools, shuttering schools has halted meals for our 19,000 students. And with the loss of jobs here and around the world, this is a particularly tough time for our families to lose a reliable food source.

But over the last two weeks, Lucy (our program manager) has worked with a slew of good people to distribute our stored maize and beans to students and their families. This massive operation has involved head teachers, school personnel, local police, area chiefs/community leaders, and of course a multitude of moms, grandparents, and dads showing up to collect food for their children.

In a context where children can sometimes feel like an afterthought, this concert of intentional planning and resolve showed our students just how deeply they are loved.

Looking forward

Kenya’s next school term is slated to begin May 4 — two weeks from now. We plan to purchase truckloads of maize and beans on schedule, and if schools indeed open, we’ll gratefully resume feeding kids in person and teaching computer classes. If schools are closed, we plan to orchestrate another distribution to our KKC families.

Much remains unknown: Will the price of maize and beans escalate? Will transport laws allow us to move food across the country? Can families still safely pick up food? One thing this pandemic has made clear is our utter reliance on the authority and mercy of God.

But as long as He lights the path before us, we will faithfully feed these students He has placed within our care.

Thank you!

KKC began 20 years ago in an arid expanse of suffering and drought, when Steve Peifer refused to make peace with the reality of hungry children. While the specifics of this current pandemic differ, the need is urgently familiar.

We carry Steve’s resolve to wage war against childhood hunger, and we’re grateful to have you with us. Thank you for continuing to fight for our kids.