About Us
Lishe kwa Ufanisi is a community-based school feeding program founded in 2021, operating across three public primary schools in Homa Bay County, Kenya.
Our Story
How Lishe kwa Ufanisi Began
It began in 2018, when Elizabeth Danga Ouma, our founder, decided to volunteer at Nyabiage Primary School as a way of giving back to her community. She took on a class of Grade Six learners, teaching Science and Mathematics, alongside Religious Studies in Grade Four.
During lessons, a pattern became hard to ignore: a lot of inattentiveness and low concentration among learners. Many were simply on empty stomachs, some not having eaten anything since the previous night.
Conversations with other staff confirmed it - hunger, coupled with poverty, was a real struggle for a lot of the learners, making it difficult for them to concentrate in class.
A telling pattern emerged at breaktime: whenever teachers sat down for tea and mandazi, younger learners would suddenly appear at the staffroom to report playground conflicts. Handed a mandazi, they would immediately forget why they came. It was hunger, expressed the only way it could be.
By the end of that five-month stint volunteering, it was clear to her that something had to be done. That realisation is what led her to found Lishe kwa Ufanisi.
What Drives Us
Vision & Mission
Our Vision
A future where no child's education is compromised by hunger.
Our Mission
To address hunger as a barrier to learning by ensuring no child endures school on an empty stomach, through community-driven, sustainable feeding programs in local schools.
Shared Responsibility
Three Commitments That Sustain Every School
Parents
Parents contribute cereals that go directly into the breaktime porridge served at their child's school.
Learners
Learners provide firewood, helping keep the on-site kitchens running every school day.
Lishe kwa Ufanisi
Lishe kwa Ufanisi covers cooks' salaries, keeping every partner school's kitchen staffed.
Join Us in Building a Healthier Community
Your donation helps provide nutritious breaktime porridge and pay cooks’ salaries at our partner schools.
Our Journey
From One School to Three
What started as a single pilot has grown, one partner school at a time.
2021
Pilot program launched at Nyabiage Primary School
Breaktime porridge served daily to over 350 learners - the first step of Lishe kwa Ufanisi.
2024
Expansion to Kobila Primary School
Following the positive impact and success stories from Nyabiage, the feeding programme expanded to Kobila.
2025
Expansion to Kodhoch Primary School
The feeding programme reached a third partner school, Kodhoch Primary School.
What Guides Us
Our Values
The principles behind our feeding programme.
Compassion
Every decision starts with the wellbeing of the child and family in front of us.
Community Led
Parents, learners, and cooks share responsibility for keeping the programme running.
Built to Last
A distributed model of shared responsibility keeps each school's programme sustainable.
Accountable
We aim to put every contribution to work transparently, directly at our partner schools.