Curbing libido? Why boarding schools serve paraffin-soaked food

“I had just joined Form One when I smelt paraffin in food for the first time."

“It was always like some kind of ritual. Every two or three days before a ‘funkie’ slang for school outings and trips and on weekends, I would always faintly taste kerosene in my githeri. Its distinct smell was unmistakable,” says Mildred, who went to a public school in Kisumu.

“For some reason, paraffin was a major ingredient in food in the middle of the term, especially in second term when it is cold, and the month leading to the half term. Hardly would you notice it at the beginning or end of the term,” says Joshua who spent four years in a seminary in Rift Valley. ‘