Sigh of relief for Kisumu retired soldiers as they get food donations

A family of a retired KDF soldier receives a donation of assorted food items from the officials of Kenya Veterans for Peace led by its Executive Director Nelson Sechere. [Courtesy]

About 150 families of retired soldiers in Kisumu County have every reason to smile after they received donations of assorted food items.

The donations from the umbrella of Kenya Veterans for Peace aim to cushion the families in the current challenging economic times.

The umbrella which consists of retired soldiers has been on a journey to take care of the welfare of retired soldiers especially those who cannot fend for themselves amid the increasing cost of living.

Nelson Sechere, the umbrella's Executive Director said they are targeting to reach all the retired soldiers across the country.

Some of the assorted food items that were donated to the families of ex-KDF soldiers who died in the line of duty. [Courtesy]

Sechere said this round of donations focuses mostly on widows of fallen ex-Kenya Defence Forces soldiers.

While pleading with the government to review the duration the families receive pension money once their husbands die, Sechere said the current 5-year duration is little compared to the service offered by the fallen soldiers.

Sechere further challenged the government to ensure that retired men and women live a decent life in their retirement.

In 2022, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law the Military Veterans Bill, 2022.

The Act, which establishes a regulatory and institutional framework for the management of military veterans' affairs, provides benefits to military veterans and their dependents including the establishment of the Dependents' Education Fund by the Defense Council.

The Fund provides scholarships for the education of the children of deceased military veterans and further makes provisions for the Defense Council to prescribe regulations for the administration of the Fund including the procedure for processing applications for scholarships.

"The retired disciplined men and women should not be forgotten for serving the country diligently. The government should come up with mechanisms to ensure their welfare is well catered for," said Sechere.

A family of a retired KDF soldier receives a donation of assorted food items from the officials of Kenya Veterans for Peace led by its Executive Director Nelson Sechere. [Courtesy]

They distributed assorted food items including rice, sugar and cooking oil to the families as Sechere said the umbrella is seeking more partnerships to make the programme sustainable to avoid the retirees over-relaying on government stipend which is not sufficient.

In addition to food donations, Sechere said they are targeting to drill about 307 boreholes in partnership with their Chinese friends.

According to him, the boreholes will not only increase accessibility to water but also play a key role in ensuring the country is food secure.