A Richmond charity is raising £25,000 to feed more than 1,000 schoolchildren and staff in Nairobi’s slums for a year.

Teachers have said they cannot educate their pupils because they come to school without having eaten breakfast and often going without lunch.

Ken Surridge, chair of Porridge and Rice, said: “The reason why we needed a feeding programme is because, when we were investigating and talking to schools, they said the biggest problem is that you can’t teach children who are hungry.

"Our intention was for them to get an education and we felt that was a good place to start."

The charity has several programmes, but Mr Surridge said they expanded to nutrition because the schoolchildren tend to lack the necessary nutrients to develop both physically and mentally.

Other projects include helping with textbooks, building classrooms, as well as providing clean water and sanitary pads for girls starting to menstruate.

This is because most of the pupils’ families are said to be too poor to afford them, and can lead them to miss up to a quarter of their schooling every month.

He added: "Our goal is to find ways in tackling anything that stands in the way of the schools providing their pupils with a sound education.

"The idea is, with that education, they are able to break the cycle of poverty themselves.

"We don’t create a dependency, but we do create a liberation [from poverty] for them and enable them to go out and change their lives."

The 56-year-old personal tutor from Rydal Gardens, Whitton, runs the charity with vice-chair Emma Ballinger, 31, and more than 40 others that includes a 12-person management committee, ranging from a teacher to a physics students at Imperial College.

Porridge and Rice was founded in October 2013 and was granted its official registration by the Charity Commission in February the following year.

In 2014, they started with around 250 schoolchildren and have now expanded to feeding more than 2,000 pupils and staff every day at schools spread across Nairobi.

It was when Mr Surridge visited Kenya with 10 students, helping them with volunteering experience for their university applications, which inspired him and others to do more.

He said: "Being in the slums and seeing what life was like there for children, [it made us realise] how little it took to make such a big difference.

"Breakfast costs just 3p, and we provide children with as much African porridge as they want. It has Vitamin C, carbohydrates and all sorts.

"Realising how little they had and how much we could do was just a big revelation [for us]."

By raising £25,000, Porridge and Rice can provide each of schoolchildren and staff with breakfast, a nutritional lunch and fruit – all for just £30 a year.

Asked if he had any words for people seeking to help, Ken added: "You can make a difference. It sounds like a cliché, but it is possible to make a difference.

"We started with very little expertise and £70, and it has built over time, but you can make a difference."

For more information, visit: www.porridgeandrice.co.uk/about_par.php

Alternatively, you can email: info@porridgeandrice.co.uk