FOR a little more than a dollar, students at Monash University sampled a doughy porridge called ugali, a staple for poor people in East Africa.
The Ugali Lunch Share Day at the Clayton campus raised more than $1000.
The event was to raise awareness of the drought in Kenya's Kitui, Mwingi, Machakos and Makueni districts. The money raised will help 933 drought-stricken children through the Kenya Red Cross School Lunch Program.
Samples of ugali were sold for $1.20 which will give one child a month of Unimix, a nutritious porridge-type meal.
South African musician Valanga Khoza entertained the crowd with vocals, guitar, kalimba and traditional flute.
Prizes worth more than $3000 were raffled, including hand-painted ostrich eggs, Kenyan hand drums and a painting.
Event co-ordinator and Red Cross volunteer Lynette Phuong said that without the lunch program children in these drought-hit areas would continue withdrawing from school because they were too hungry to make the gruelling daily trip, which could be up to 10 kilometres.
For details about hosting a fund-raising event to support the Kenya Red Cross School Lunch Program, call Lynette Phuong at lynette.phuong@gmail.com or 0401199131.
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