Wawira Njiru the Executive Director and founder of Food for Education Foundation is among 10 winners in this year's Elevate Prize Award.
Njiru started the non-governmental organisation 12 years ago, in a noble attempt to offer subsidized nutritious meals to primary school children. The initiative has improved child nutrition outcomes, taken strides towards ending classroom hunger, and improved school attendance and performance.
For her efforts, she has been awarded a Ksh48 million (USD300,000) unrestricted grant coupled with tailored services aimed at improving her organisation.
These services will include communications, content strategy, branding, social media training and leadership.
According to Joseph Deitch the founder of Elevate Prize Foundation, the services are designed to help her and the other winners amplify their stories, broaden their reach and deepen their impact in making a positive difference in the world.
“This year’s winners embody the essence of our foundation’s commitment to pushing boundaries and broadening the impact landscape. These remarkable individuals represent an expanded scope of social change – a pivotal shift in what is expected to be a pivotal year for the world,” Deitch remarked.
When the winners were announced on Tuesday, February 6, Njiru was overwhelmed with joy while thanking the organisation for recognising her efforts to keep children in school by providing affordable meals.
"Excited and grateful to be named one of this year's Elevate Prize winners alongside other incredible leaders doing amazing work in the world. Our commitment at Food4Education to end classroom hunger is why we keep feeding the future. No child should have to learn while hungry," Njiru stated.
The social welfare advocate was also thrilled to see her face on one of the billboards at Times Square.
Notably, the Nairobi County Government partnered with her to implement the DishiNaCounty initiative to provide food for pupils in schools across Nairobi County.
Besides Njiru, other global entrepreneurs named as winners were Zarlasht Halaimzai the founder of Amna, Gayatry Datar the co-founder and CEO of EarthEnable, Sonya Passi founder and CEO of FreeForm, Mpindi Abaas co-founder and CEO of Media Challenge Initiative and Melissa Malzkuhn the director of Motion Light Lab.
Additionally, Daniel Forkkio CEO of Represent Justice, Isabelle Kamariza president and founder of Solid'Africa, Sam Bencheghib co-founder of Sungai Watch, and Kwan Stewart co-founder of Project Street Vet.
Njiru alongside other winners will fly to Miami in May 2024 for the second annual Make Good Famous Summit. They will examine ways to put media, content, and creators to work to challenge inequitable systems and inspire lasting change.
