School feeding programmes has helped keep several needy children from Mavoko Sub county in school, says Manish Shah, a trustee at the Amrita Children's Home.
Amrita Children's Home in Athi River is a charitable Hindu organisation that looks into the affairs of orphans and vulnerable children in the surrounding community.
"Needy children from this region get attracted to attending school due to the feeding programs offered in some of the schools like Amrita Primary School," said Shah.
Shah who addressed the press at the facility on Thursday, said children's performance had equally improved among children who benefit from the feeding program.
He said some of the children from nearby informal settlements visit the home frequently for meals since their families can hardly afford food.
Shah urged the Machakos County government to consider addressing plight of children form poor families in the area to ensure they don't lose out on basic education.
"Children cannot learn on empty stomachs. There is a great need to introduce feeding programmes to most of the public primary schools in the entire County," he added.
Shah said the Hindu community was willing to partner with locals and the county government to initiate development project and improve the welfare of residents.