TUJILISHE

ABOUT TUJILISHE

Tujilishe is a Swahili word that literally means “let’s feed ourselves”. It is a 3-months community-driven emergency feeding programme that has been initiated in response to the Corona Virus (COVID-19) pandemic that has cost thousands of lives and threatens far more around in the world. The programme is intended to provide vital foods and non-food items to identified families and individuals living in Gachororo village in Juja Constituency, Kiambu County, Kenya.

ABOUT GACHORORO

Gachororo village is located in Juja Ward in Juja Constituency, with a population size of approximately 34,000. It’s about 35 kilometres north of the nation’s capital, Nairobi. Majority of Gachororo residents are some of the neediest people in Kenya, who nearly entirely depend on menial jobs on day-today basis. There is a significant proportion of youth, most of whom are unemployed. There is also a small population of urban refugees, majority of which are from war-ravaged South Sudan and Somalia.

IMPACTS OF COVID-19

In Kenya, particularly at the time [16/04/2020] of inception of this initiative, COVID-19 virus had infected just over two hundred and twenty-five (225) persons and taken away ten (10) precious lives. Only fifty-three (53) of those infected had recovered but the number of new cases of infection goes up on daily basis.

The Government of Kenya has responded through various counterinsurgency measures some of which include curfews, social distancing, self-isolation, 14-day compulsory quarantining at a designated government facility and other direct medical interventions.