A cauldron bubbles and school attendance more than doubles
In Niger, more children are turning up to class while hunger levels are down thanks to WFP school feeding programmes
“Last year we had lettuce, tomatoes and zucchini,” says Matar Mondou, the former director of the School of Wacha. “We have many banana trees now and we hope to plant onions, cabbage and tomatoes this year.”
In Niger, the southern commune of Wacha is situated nearly 900 kilometres from the capital, Niamey, in the region of Zinder. Beyond the major paved road connecting the two cities and the rolling hills of deep-red earth, a school garden has been created to enhance the dietary diversification of students’ meals.
For many outsiders, the idea of a well-balanced meal for students may seem rudimentary. For those living in a place where having a good food supply is complicated by climate shocks — and the fastest growing population in Africa — school meals can be a step towards ending hunger for an entire community.
About one hour away in the commune of Dagouji, a similar change can be seen; 169 students are now in attendance at the school there. Many are girls. Just three years ago maximum attendance was 50 students. Some would come for just one month at a time.
“We have seen so many changes since this school opened,” says Mouhamala Abdou Bandar, the director of education at the School of Dagouji.
“It was created in 2001. At that time, attendance was very low, in the sense that parents would take their kids with them when they migrated. During this time, harvest was also not good, so parents thought it better to look elsewhere for a better life.”
“We really didn’t have the mindset to put more resources into schooling. But now, with the implementation of the school canteen, we are aware of how that has really contributed to the frequency and the consistency of how children come to school,” said Bandar.
The school feeding was made possible by the World Food Programme (WFP) and local partner NGOs, working with the local government. WFP buys the harvest local communities cultivate as a part of a set of agricultural activities led by the international organization. This food is then donated to local schools to be used in school lunches.
“Knowing that our children can eat what we make locally is important. Before we just didn’t have enough to feed the kids. Many children never wanted to go to school because they would be hungry all day,” says Faridiato Ousmane, cook at an elementary school in the Tahoua region of Niger. “Now our children want to go because they can eat, but also because they can concentrate since they’re not hungry.”
In addition to school meals, WFP and local NGOs have financed scholarships for adolescent girls in the hope of encouraging them to continue their education.
“The NGOs have really helped us with getting girls to go to school. The girls’ scholarship has really helped convince parents to get their children to come. They know they will be fed and there will be benefits for them. It’s like an all-girls school at this point thanks to our scholarships,” says Bandar.
In the Sahel countries of central Africa, it is very common for adolescent girls to discontinue their education after they reach the age of 12 in order to help the family with the daily demands of the home.
Due to these scholarships, families now have a greater incentive to send their daughters to school for a longer period of time, especially since the price of education is no longer a concern.
