‘School is the only hope for our future’
Feeding the dreams of children in Rwanda
Yvette Dusabe, a 27-year-old university student at the Kepler University Programme in Kiziba camp, left the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) when she was 13 years old, together with her parents and siblings.
They are some of the 17,000 Congolese refugees living in Kiziba camp in the west of Rwanda.
“We had everything; land, livestock, good house, and my father used to bring us to school in our car. I miss that life,” says Yvette.
Yvette sees education as the foundation to a better life and encourages families in the camps to send their children to school.
“Today kids are lucky to have this porridge, full bellies understand lessons better” says Yvette, who also believes school to be a critical tool to reduce serious social problems in the camp, including drug abuse and early pregnancies.
Yvette is referring to the regular schools meals provided by WFP. Each school going child in primary school receives a daily cup of nutrient rich porridge.
A fellow university student in the camp, 22-year-old Elie Ndagijimana agrees with Yvette.
“As highly educated individuals in our small community, we need to advocate to parents for sending their kids to school. They are lucky today as there is porridge to keep them strong in class all day. School is the only hope for our future.”
School meals providing hope for the future
The school meals programme reaches over 57,400 boys and girls in primary schools, of which 21 percent are children from host communities who attend the same school as refugees in and around the six camps.
“I love this porridge because it makes me feel very energetic and ready to study hard up to university. I never imagine how we could study without it,” says 9-year-old Alexis Mushimimana, who dreams of becoming president of DRC and lead his country to peace and development.
The positive effect the food has on the students is acknowledged by the teaching staff.
“Thanks to the porridge, kids no longer look tired all day as it used to be. There is a big difference and even drop-out figures have dramatically reduced at an estimate of 80 percent,” says Anatole Kiza, a teacher for over two decades and the current head master of Kiziba primary school.
Widening the impact
And its not just the students that benefit but the programme also brings job opportunities for the refugee families. Marcianne Mukagatare, is 40-year-old widower staying in Kiziba together with her 5 children. She is one of 56 people employed by the school meal programme in Kiziba camp, a programme that WFP is implementing through its partner the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).
“Thanks to this opportunity I can cloth my kids and diversify food, which is a big challenge for families here in the camp,” says Marcianne. She is employed at the school kitchen as a cleaner and earns 18,000 (US$ 20) a month.
WFP assistance to refugees in Rwanda
Refugees in Rwanda, remain highly dependent on food assistance, as livelihood opportunities continue to be limited. They face challenges in increasing their self-reliance due to a lack of appropriate skills, limited access to loans and start-up capital to either establish or expand a small business, and unequal opportunities and wages between refugees and host community members on the labour market.
Besides the school meal programme, WFP provides a monthly food ration to families. Food assistance is currently provided through cash transfers in the five camps hosting Congolese refugees, whilst Burundian refugees are assisted through a hybrid support of cash and in-kind food.
Additionally, all children age 6 to 23 months as well as pregnant and nursing mothers receive a specialized porridge known as Super Cereal Plus to prevent malnutrition. Curative Supplementary Feeding is provided to moderately acute malnourished children between the ages of 6 to 59 months old and nutritional support for patients seeking treatment for either HIV or tuberculosis.
WFP plans to reach 150,000 refugees in camps in Rwanda with food and nutrition assistance in 2019. However US$8.5 million is urgently needed to ensure a continuation of food distributions and cash transfers for refugees in Rwanda for the next six months.
WFP is grateful for the funding it has received to date from its donors including the United Stated of America, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan and Belgium.
