Students skip meal to feed hungry

By Nation Reporter
Posted  Sunday, August 7  2011 at  22:00

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Students at a private medical college in Nyeri have given up a day’s meal to help feed Kenyans faced with hunger in parts of the country.

More than 300 students of Outspan Medical College asked the management not to provide them with meals on Thursday so that the proceeds could go towards the Kenyans for Kenya initiative to feed more than 3.5 million Kenyans faced with hunger.

Together with college management and hospital staff, the institution handed over a Sh300,000 cheque for the fund.

Anniversary

“We want to thank our students who had to forgo their meals on Thursday to contribute towards this initiative,” said the institution’s director, Mr Macharia Kiruhi.

The cheque was presented to Nation Media Group CEO Linus Gitahi, who attended the 10th anniversary celebrations of Outspan Hospital held at the institution grounds in Nyeri.

Mr Gitahi is one of the coordinators of the initiative representing the Media Owners Association, which has teamed up with other corporate organisations to raise funds to fight hunger in the country.

He said the Kenyans for Kenya initiative targeted to raise to Sh1 billion.

He said part of the funds would be used for irrigation projects to offer a lasting solution to the perennial hunger problem in the country.

“The raising of our target to Sh1 billion is not because Kenyans have given generously, but it is so that we can have funds to build dams and irrigation projects in the affected areas to offer a lasting solution to the cycle of hunger,” he said.

The initiative has enjoyed a generous response from Kenyans who have within a short period raised close to Sh500 million.