![Kenya, Nairobi, 02 March 2018
Rosebellah Iminza is a 16-year-old student, studying at Nginda high school in central Kenya where she just joined form one. For this teenager, this has been a long journey.
Born in Kakamega, western Kenya in 2002, Rosebellah was brought up by her grandmother in her early years. Her dad had died while she was too young to understand and her mother deserted her.
“I had two sisters, one older and one younger, but my grandmother was also taking care of two of her own children who were disabled,” Rosebellah explains. “She couldn’t provide for us — she couldn’t feed or clothe us.”
At the age of just six, Rosebellah was separated from her sisters
“One of our aunts volunteered to take care of my older sister while a cousin took me in,” she says. “Our baby sister was left with our grandmother. I’ve never seen any of them again.”
Rosebellah moved in with her cousin in Eldoret town, about 100 kilometers away from her rural home.
“By the time I was in class five, my cousin was really struggling financially,” says Rosebellah. “I was becoming a burden to the family.”
In 2014, the family moved to Nairobi in search of a better life.
“We settled in Kawangware [an informal settlement west of Nairobi] but my cousin kept on asking me to find another place to stay,” says Rosebellah. “I did not know anyone or any place in Nairobi.”
Rosebellah continued living with her cousin’s family and helping them with their small business. By this time she had dropped out of school.
Things then took an unexpected turn. Rosebellah explains:
“One evening, my cousin sent me to the shops to buy eggs. It was late and most kiosks had closed. I walked for a long time. When I got back to the house, it was locked — my cousin and his family were gone. That night, I stayed at a neighbour’s house. The following morning, I was taken to the chief’s office — the chief brought me to a children’s home in Kibera.”
Rosebellah found herself in an orphanage under Makina Community Development Project (MACODEP) in Nairobi’s Kibera slums.
“I was happy to have a place to stay,” she says.
The children’s home placed Rosebellah in Stara Rescue Centre and School.
Based on her age and intellect, she was admitted in class six.
As they say, the rest is history.
“At Stara, life was amazing. We had porridge in the morning, githeri [mix of maize and beans] and sometimes rice and beans, and fruits for lunch,” says Rosebellah. “I would go to class with my belly full — something I had not experienced before.”
Rosebellah studied hard and could fully concentrate during lessons. By the time she was in class seven, she was already among the top five students.
Her performance earned her recognition.
“I got my first present ever — it was very exciting,” she says. “At Stara, the teachers even remember and celebrate kids’ birthdays with candy! It was the first time someone ever celebrated my birthday.”
Rosebellah is grateful to the founder of the orphanage — Andrew Otieno — a man she calls ‘uncle’ for giving her a home; to Stara school for giving her a grounding education; to the World Food Programme for providing her with a school lunch; and to the Kenya Education Fund for paying for her high school education.
“There is no way I can repay all those that have helped me — all I can do is work hard. When I graduate from high school, I want to study law,” says Rosebellah. “I want to defend the rights of children — I did not get a good upbringing and no child should go through that — I want to help other disadvantaged children.”
Rosebellah spent much of her mid-term break serving children at Stara porridge or lunch. She says she will continue volunteering here during school holidays as well as helping younger children at the orphanage with school work.
Stara Rescue Centre is one of the 91 schools that are receiving cash from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to buy food from the local markets for school meals. WFP currently gives a hot lunch to about 80,000 pupils spread across Nairobi’s informal settlements each school day.
In the Photo: Rosebellah Iminza took time over the mid-term break to return to her old school and serve lunch to the children.
Photo: WFP/Martin Karimi](http://photos.wfp.org/fotoweb/archives/5000-01_Global/Images/1_Africa_East/Kenya/KEN_20180302_WFP-Martin_Karimi_0061.JPG)
![Kenya, Nairobi, 02 March 2018
Rosebellah Iminza is a 16-year-old student, studying at Nginda high school in central Kenya where she just joined form one. For this teenager, this has been a long journey.
Born in Kakamega, western Kenya in 2002, Rosebellah was brought up by her grandmother in her early years. Her dad had died while she was too young to understand and her mother deserted her.
“I had two sisters, one older and one younger, but my grandmother was also taking care of two of her own children who were disabled,” Rosebellah explains. “She couldn’t provide for us — she couldn’t feed or clothe us.”
At the age of just six, Rosebellah was separated from her sisters
“One of our aunts volunteered to take care of my older sister while a cousin took me in,” she says. “Our baby sister was left with our grandmother. I’ve never seen any of them again.”
Rosebellah moved in with her cousin in Eldoret town, about 100 kilometers away from her rural home.
“By the time I was in class five, my cousin was really struggling financially,” says Rosebellah. “I was becoming a burden to the family.”
In 2014, the family moved to Nairobi in search of a better life.
“We settled in Kawangware [an informal settlement west of Nairobi] but my cousin kept on asking me to find another place to stay,” says Rosebellah. “I did not know anyone or any place in Nairobi.”
Rosebellah continued living with her cousin’s family and helping them with their small business. By this time she had dropped out of school.
Things then took an unexpected turn. Rosebellah explains:
“One evening, my cousin sent me to the shops to buy eggs. It was late and most kiosks had closed. I walked for a long time. When I got back to the house, it was locked — my cousin and his family were gone. That night, I stayed at a neighbour’s house. The following morning, I was taken to the chief’s office — the chief brought me to a children’s home in Kibera.”
Rosebellah found herself in an orphanage under Makina Community Development Project (MACODEP) in Nairobi’s Kibera slums.
“I was happy to have a place to stay,” she says.
The children’s home placed Rosebellah in Stara Rescue Centre and School.
Based on her age and intellect, she was admitted in class six.
As they say, the rest is history.
“At Stara, life was amazing. We had porridge in the morning, githeri [mix of maize and beans] and sometimes rice and beans, and fruits for lunch,” says Rosebellah. “I would go to class with my belly full — something I had not experienced before.”
Rosebellah studied hard and could fully concentrate during lessons. By the time she was in class seven, she was already among the top five students.
Her performance earned her recognition.
“I got my first present ever — it was very exciting,” she says. “At Stara, the teachers even remember and celebrate kids’ birthdays with candy! It was the first time someone ever celebrated my birthday.”
Rosebellah is grateful to the founder of the orphanage — Andrew Otieno — a man she calls ‘uncle’ for giving her a home; to Stara school for giving her a grounding education; to the World Food Programme for providing her with a school lunch; and to the Kenya Education Fund for paying for her high school education.
“There is no way I can repay all those that have helped me — all I can do is work hard. When I graduate from high school, I want to study law,” says Rosebellah. “I want to defend the rights of children — I did not get a good upbringing and no child should go through that — I want to help other disadvantaged children.”
Rosebellah spent much of her mid-term break serving children at Stara porridge or lunch. She says she will continue volunteering here during school holidays as well as helping younger children at the orphanage with school work.
Stara Rescue Centre is one of the 91 schools that are receiving cash from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to buy food from the local markets for school meals. WFP currently gives a hot lunch to about 80,000 pupils spread across Nairobi’s informal settlements each school day.
In the Photo: Rosebellah Iminza.
Photo: WFP/Martin Karimi](http://photos.wfp.org/fotoweb/archives/5000-01_Global/Images/1_Africa_East/Kenya/KEN_20180302_WFP-Martin_Karimi_0019.JPG)
![Kenya, Nairobi, 02 March 2018
Rosebellah Iminza is a 16-year-old student, studying at Nginda high school in central Kenya where she just joined form one. For this teenager, this has been a long journey.
Born in Kakamega, western Kenya in 2002, Rosebellah was brought up by her grandmother in her early years. Her dad had died while she was too young to understand and her mother deserted her.
“I had two sisters, one older and one younger, but my grandmother was also taking care of two of her own children who were disabled,” Rosebellah explains. “She couldn’t provide for us — she couldn’t feed or clothe us.”
At the age of just six, Rosebellah was separated from her sisters
“One of our aunts volunteered to take care of my older sister while a cousin took me in,” she says. “Our baby sister was left with our grandmother. I’ve never seen any of them again.”
Rosebellah moved in with her cousin in Eldoret town, about 100 kilometers away from her rural home.
“By the time I was in class five, my cousin was really struggling financially,” says Rosebellah. “I was becoming a burden to the family.”
In 2014, the family moved to Nairobi in search of a better life.
“We settled in Kawangware [an informal settlement west of Nairobi] but my cousin kept on asking me to find another place to stay,” says Rosebellah. “I did not know anyone or any place in Nairobi.”
Rosebellah continued living with her cousin’s family and helping them with their small business. By this time she had dropped out of school.
Things then took an unexpected turn. Rosebellah explains:
“One evening, my cousin sent me to the shops to buy eggs. It was late and most kiosks had closed. I walked for a long time. When I got back to the house, it was locked — my cousin and his family were gone. That night, I stayed at a neighbour’s house. The following morning, I was taken to the chief’s office — the chief brought me to a children’s home in Kibera.”
Rosebellah found herself in an orphanage under Makina Community Development Project (MACODEP) in Nairobi’s Kibera slums.
“I was happy to have a place to stay,” she says.
The children’s home placed Rosebellah in Stara Rescue Centre and School.
Based on her age and intellect, she was admitted in class six.
As they say, the rest is history.
“At Stara, life was amazing. We had porridge in the morning, githeri [mix of maize and beans] and sometimes rice and beans, and fruits for lunch,” says Rosebellah. “I would go to class with my belly full — something I had not experienced before.”
Rosebellah studied hard and could fully concentrate during lessons. By the time she was in class seven, she was already among the top five students.
Her performance earned her recognition.
“I got my first present ever — it was very exciting,” she says. “At Stara, the teachers even remember and celebrate kids’ birthdays with candy! It was the first time someone ever celebrated my birthday.”
Rosebellah is grateful to the founder of the orphanage — Andrew Otieno — a man she calls ‘uncle’ for giving her a home; to Stara school for giving her a grounding education; to the World Food Programme for providing her with a school lunch; and to the Kenya Education Fund for paying for her high school education.
“There is no way I can repay all those that have helped me — all I can do is work hard. When I graduate from high school, I want to study law,” says Rosebellah. “I want to defend the rights of children — I did not get a good upbringing and no child should go through that — I want to help other disadvantaged children.”
Rosebellah spent much of her mid-term break serving children at Stara porridge or lunch. She says she will continue volunteering here during school holidays as well as helping younger children at the orphanage with school work.
Stara Rescue Centre is one of the 91 schools that are receiving cash from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to buy food from the local markets for school meals. WFP currently gives a hot lunch to about 80,000 pupils spread across Nairobi’s informal settlements each school day.
In the Photo: Rosebellah Iminza (left) is happy to be back at school.
Photo: WFP/Martin Karimi](http://photos.wfp.org/fotoweb/archives/5000-01_Global/Images/1_Africa_East/Kenya/KEN_20180302_WFP-Martin_Karimi_0013.JPG)
![Kenya, Nairobi, 02 March 2018
Rosebellah Iminza is a 16-year-old student, studying at Nginda high school in central Kenya where she just joined form one. For this teenager, this has been a long journey.
Born in Kakamega, western Kenya in 2002, Rosebellah was brought up by her grandmother in her early years. Her dad had died while she was too young to understand and her mother deserted her.
“I had two sisters, one older and one younger, but my grandmother was also taking care of two of her own children who were disabled,” Rosebellah explains. “She couldn’t provide for us — she couldn’t feed or clothe us.”
At the age of just six, Rosebellah was separated from her sisters
“One of our aunts volunteered to take care of my older sister while a cousin took me in,” she says. “Our baby sister was left with our grandmother. I’ve never seen any of them again.”
Rosebellah moved in with her cousin in Eldoret town, about 100 kilometers away from her rural home.
“By the time I was in class five, my cousin was really struggling financially,” says Rosebellah. “I was becoming a burden to the family.”
In 2014, the family moved to Nairobi in search of a better life.
“We settled in Kawangware [an informal settlement west of Nairobi] but my cousin kept on asking me to find another place to stay,” says Rosebellah. “I did not know anyone or any place in Nairobi.”
Rosebellah continued living with her cousin’s family and helping them with their small business. By this time she had dropped out of school.
Things then took an unexpected turn. Rosebellah explains:
“One evening, my cousin sent me to the shops to buy eggs. It was late and most kiosks had closed. I walked for a long time. When I got back to the house, it was locked — my cousin and his family were gone. That night, I stayed at a neighbour’s house. The following morning, I was taken to the chief’s office — the chief brought me to a children’s home in Kibera.”
Rosebellah found herself in an orphanage under Makina Community Development Project (MACODEP) in Nairobi’s Kibera slums.
“I was happy to have a place to stay,” she says.
The children’s home placed Rosebellah in Stara Rescue Centre and School.
Based on her age and intellect, she was admitted in class six.
As they say, the rest is history.
“At Stara, life was amazing. We had porridge in the morning, githeri [mix of maize and beans] and sometimes rice and beans, and fruits for lunch,” says Rosebellah. “I would go to class with my belly full — something I had not experienced before.”
Rosebellah studied hard and could fully concentrate during lessons. By the time she was in class seven, she was already among the top five students.
Her performance earned her recognition.
“I got my first present ever — it was very exciting,” she says. “At Stara, the teachers even remember and celebrate kids’ birthdays with candy! It was the first time someone ever celebrated my birthday.”
Rosebellah is grateful to the founder of the orphanage — Andrew Otieno — a man she calls ‘uncle’ for giving her a home; to Stara school for giving her a grounding education; to the World Food Programme for providing her with a school lunch; and to the Kenya Education Fund for paying for her high school education.
“There is no way I can repay all those that have helped me — all I can do is work hard. When I graduate from high school, I want to study law,” says Rosebellah. “I want to defend the rights of children — I did not get a good upbringing and no child should go through that — I want to help other disadvantaged children.”
Rosebellah spent much of her mid-term break serving children at Stara porridge or lunch. She says she will continue volunteering here during school holidays as well as helping younger children at the orphanage with school work.
Stara Rescue Centre is one of the 91 schools that are receiving cash from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to buy food from the local markets for school meals. WFP currently gives a hot lunch to about 80,000 pupils spread across Nairobi’s informal settlements each school day.
In the Photo: Rosebellah Iminza.
Photo: WFP/Martin Karimi](http://photos.wfp.org/fotoweb/archives/5000-01_Global/Images/1_Africa_East/Kenya/KEN_20180302_WFP-Martin_Karimi_0007.JPG)
![Kenya, Nairobi, 02 March 2018
Rosebellah Iminza is a 16-year-old student, studying at Nginda high school in central Kenya where she just joined form one. For this teenager, this has been a long journey.
Born in Kakamega, western Kenya in 2002, Rosebellah was brought up by her grandmother in her early years. Her dad had died while she was too young to understand and her mother deserted her.
“I had two sisters, one older and one younger, but my grandmother was also taking care of two of her own children who were disabled,” Rosebellah explains. “She couldn’t provide for us — she couldn’t feed or clothe us.”
At the age of just six, Rosebellah was separated from her sisters
“One of our aunts volunteered to take care of my older sister while a cousin took me in,” she says. “Our baby sister was left with our grandmother. I’ve never seen any of them again.”
Rosebellah moved in with her cousin in Eldoret town, about 100 kilometers away from her rural home.
“By the time I was in class five, my cousin was really struggling financially,” says Rosebellah. “I was becoming a burden to the family.”
In 2014, the family moved to Nairobi in search of a better life.
“We settled in Kawangware [an informal settlement west of Nairobi] but my cousin kept on asking me to find another place to stay,” says Rosebellah. “I did not know anyone or any place in Nairobi.”
Rosebellah continued living with her cousin’s family and helping them with their small business. By this time she had dropped out of school.
Things then took an unexpected turn. Rosebellah explains:
“One evening, my cousin sent me to the shops to buy eggs. It was late and most kiosks had closed. I walked for a long time. When I got back to the house, it was locked — my cousin and his family were gone. That night, I stayed at a neighbour’s house. The following morning, I was taken to the chief’s office — the chief brought me to a children’s home in Kibera.”
Rosebellah found herself in an orphanage under Makina Community Development Project (MACODEP) in Nairobi’s Kibera slums.
“I was happy to have a place to stay,” she says.
The children’s home placed Rosebellah in Stara Rescue Centre and School.
Based on her age and intellect, she was admitted in class six.
As they say, the rest is history.
“At Stara, life was amazing. We had porridge in the morning, githeri [mix of maize and beans] and sometimes rice and beans, and fruits for lunch,” says Rosebellah. “I would go to class with my belly full — something I had not experienced before.”
Rosebellah studied hard and could fully concentrate during lessons. By the time she was in class seven, she was already among the top five students.
Her performance earned her recognition.
“I got my first present ever — it was very exciting,” she says. “At Stara, the teachers even remember and celebrate kids’ birthdays with candy! It was the first time someone ever celebrated my birthday.”
Rosebellah is grateful to the founder of the orphanage — Andrew Otieno — a man she calls ‘uncle’ for giving her a home; to Stara school for giving her a grounding education; to the World Food Programme for providing her with a school lunch; and to the Kenya Education Fund for paying for her high school education.
“There is no way I can repay all those that have helped me — all I can do is work hard. When I graduate from high school, I want to study law,” says Rosebellah. “I want to defend the rights of children — I did not get a good upbringing and no child should go through that — I want to help other disadvantaged children.”
Rosebellah spent much of her mid-term break serving children at Stara porridge or lunch. She says she will continue volunteering here during school holidays as well as helping younger children at the orphanage with school work.
Stara Rescue Centre is one of the 91 schools that are receiving cash from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to buy food from the local markets for school meals. WFP currently gives a hot lunch to about 80,000 pupils spread across Nairobi’s informal settlements each school day.
In the Photo: Rosebellah Iminza.
Photo: WFP/Martin Karimi](http://photos.wfp.org/fotoweb/archives/5000-01_Global/Images/1_Africa_East/Kenya/KEN_20180302_WFP-Martin_Karimi_0004.JPG)
WFP has a team of spokespeople all over the world who are on stand-by 24 hours a day to answer media inquiries.
More than 7 million people in South Sudan – almost two-thirds of the population – could become severely food insecure in the coming months without sustained humanitarian assistance and access, three United Nations agencies warned today. Last year, FAO, WFP, UNICEF and their partners rolled out their largest ever aid campaign, saving lives and containing famine. In 2017, agency partners conducted more than 135 rapid humanitarian missions to the most hard-to-reach areas, providing life-saving assistance to over 1.8 million people.
Today is Africa Day of School Feeding! An entire continent is coming together in the fight against hunger. #ADSF
WFP has a team of spokespeople all over the world who are on stand-by 24 hours a day to answer media inquiries.