• The project improves food security among urban slum families who have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• More than 37,000 people will benefit from the project over the next three years.

Mombasa, 24th March, 2022: The Coca-Cola Foundation, the global philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company, has awarded the Association of Women in Agriculture in Kenya (AWAK), a grant of Kshs 22,500,000 to implement a three-year project among urban slum communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant helps urban poor women in Mombasa, Kenya’s second largest city (Kongowea, Kisauni and Changamwe) counter COVID-19 pandemic shocks under a project dubbed “Resilient Recovery for Vulnerable Mothers Living in Urban Slums.”

“This grant empowers women through skills training and entrepreneurship to become self-sufficient, create stability for their families and help build thriving communities,” said Saadia Madsbjerg, President of The Coca-Cola Foundation. “AWAK helps create meaningful change for women throughout Kenya, and we are proud to partner with them on this critical sustainable community building initiative.”

AWAK Chairperson,  Judy Matu, welcomed the partnership noting that the resilient recovery programme will reduce vulnerabilities among poor urban mothers, by providing and equipping them with alternative sources of livelihood. “The effect of Covid-19 pandemic to informal settlement households has been devastating. Most slum residents, who work as casual laborers at industries, homes and businesses, lost their sources of livelihoods either after being laid off or the factories closing,” said Matu.

According to a report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Kenyans remained food insecure due to the Covid-19 pandemic with the shortage of food directly impacting the ability of adults and children to undertake a normal, healthy, and productive life. Food insecurity has a devastating effect on children as it leads to malnutrition, stunting, and irreversible human capital losses. Matu said her program mitigates the effects of the pandemic by addressing hunger and malnutrition.

“In consultation with the beneficiaries, we identified climate smart urban farming, food processing and environmentally friendly briquette making, business development skills and gardening as appropriate initiatives that could help women overcome food insecurity challenges,” she said. The project envisions that the beneficiaries will be economically empowered to start micro enterprises using the skills that they gain from the project. The project is also in line with a number of UN sustainable development goals that seek to end food insecurity globally. sustainable

About AWAK

The Association of Women in Agriculture (AWAK) is an organization that seeks to build the capacity of women and young farmers to become informed decision makers and key players in the agricultural economic sector.

About The Coca-Cola Foundation

Established in 1984, The Coca-Cola Foundation has invested more than $1.2 billion around the world to protect the environment, empower women to thrive and to enhance the overall well-being of people and communities.