AGYA Prepares to Launch Free Lunch Program in February

On Sunday, February 1st, AGYA will launch our free lunch program, thereby providing Ugandan children with a nutritious lunch. Led by AGYA Youth Leaders Happy Namutebi and Sarah Mulekatete, the menu includes rice, beans, and cabbage. Although the menu is mainly vegetarian, AGYA will offer a meat dish twice a month.

As part of this program, AGYA also provides children with clean, fresh bottled drinking water. As the world water crisis has evinced, access to clean drinking water is a luxury for many Africans living in poverty. In sub-Saharan Africa, thousands of children are dying from preventable and easily treatable diseases like diarrhea due to contaminated water. The leaders of AGYA understand the urgency of the global water crisis and AGYA is honored to be meeting such a basic, yet crucial need in the lives of children in Uganda.

Since opening our doors on January 1st, AGYA has registered 50 children between the ages of 4 and 18. According to the registration information provided by the parents, the average household has 5 kids. The families in Nabulagala have expressed their gratitude for the AGYA Free Lunch program, which will relieve the burden of buying and preparing lunch for large families. Not only will this program satisfy the hunger of kids, but it will also save time and money for the parents, most especially the mothers.

Using a charcoal stove, the average mother spends 3 hours preparing a meal of rice and beans for a family of 7 (5 children and 2 parents). This time includes fetching water, soaking and cleaning beans, making fire with the charcoal stove, picking tiny stones out of rice, chopping vegetables, and washing dishes. Thus, the mothers in the community that AGYA serves are elated that they will not have to worry about feeding their kids during the lunch hour.

Please check back soon for photos documenting the successful implementation of AGYA’s Free Lunch Program.

To make a tax-deductible donation to support our Free Lunch (and Clean Water) Program, please send a check to:

African Millennium Foundation
c/o Amagezi Gemaanyi Youth Association
468 North Camden Drive
Beverly Hills, California 90210

(checks should be made payable to “African Millennium Foundation” and have “AGYA Free Lunch Program—Uganda” written in the memo line of the check to indicate the purpose of your contribution)

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