Food Security for Primary Schools Campaign

Oli otya (Hello) Family and Friends,

From the previous year, two youth leader's from Mbale Uganda have been providing scholastic materials like books, pens, pencils, mathematical sets and school shoes hoping that this will create a level playing academic ground for the children who come from dire economic and social families. Early this year the youth leader's made a decision to check in with the school and see the impact of the support they've been giving to the little one's but were shocked to find that the books that children got were used for other purposes like 1) they were sold to get pocket money 2) they were used for lighting fireplaces 3) were used as toilet paper 4) were used for wrapping purposes or used as paper bags and 5) very few used them for school

They engaged the teacher's, students and a few parents to find out why and below were the findings

For the teachers: They are unable to teach because the salary they are paid is little to enable them to live the life they want. Secondly, they are unable to manage the day to day family expenses like food and school dues for their children so they opt for Boda Boda business which implies that the pupils have no teacher in class.

For the parents: They are small scale farmers and some are business retailers while the majority are stay home parents. They face similar challenges that the teachers face

For the children: They have no food at school and some times at home. They move long distances to and from school. They don't have fees. The kids told us they are happy with the scholastic materials but they weren't their biggest need

After conducting a few focus groups with teachers, parents, and students, the young men learned that HUNGER was also a challenge in obtaining a quality education because parents are unable to invest in agriculture to secure food to provide their children with breakfast and lunch.

They have come to realize that providing scholastic materials is treating a symptom, not the cause which has resulted in them redesigning their program to introduce a Community School feeding program in which schools take a lead in producing food for children to eat while at school. Each class from P.4 to P.7 grows a different type of food and later the whole school feeds on the different types of food for breakfast and lunch.

This means that the Community School Feeding Program will be providing a sustainable source of meals for the children, staff, and non-teaching of the schools. This is because a healthy mind as well as a strong immune system encourages learning from the pupils and also motivates the teachers to be present in school and fulfill their obligations to their pupils.

Did you know?

The majority of the world’s hungry people live in developing countries, where 12.9 percent of the population is undernourished.
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with the highest prevalence of hunger, with the rate increasing from 20.7 percent in 2014 to 23.2 percent in 2017.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of undernourished people increased from 195 million in 2014 to 237 million in 2017.

In an effort to alleviate the perils of hunger and to improve food security, Youth Leaders, Bob Oganga and Wamalwa Wekesa Augustine, are introducing a Community School feeding program by setting up school farms in three (3) primary schools in rural Uganda.

These schools have redundant resources like land & many pupils who are eager to learn. With these two resources, the schools will be provided with seeds for maize, beans, cassava stems, onions, tomatoes and potatoes that the school will grow, harvest and use as a source of food through the academic calendar for three terms.

To make this a success, they are engaging the administrators, teaching/non-teaching staff, pupils, parents, the community and the local leaders of the given area to ensure there are ownership and responsibility for the farm.

They anticipate challenges like lack of farm materials like hoes, wheelbarrows, panga’s, slashers, and pesticides amongst others; theft of the crops if they are nearing the harvest period, lack of manpower to weed and harvest.

To make the program sustainable, they will train the partner school community on how to manage the farm and value of the food crops in the long run. They also hope to involve/engage the community so that they own and protect the farm as it benefits their own children. Also with the right funding, we hope to set up a fence around the farm to keep away the thieves.

They hope to 1,200 USD to set up school farms that will provide food for each and every pupil in school as well as their teachers. They believe with the food in addition to scholastic materials, there will be improved academic performance.

The funds raised will be used to purchase farming equipment to start school farms in at Mutoto Primary School, Bukasakya Primary School and Nasabisolo Primary School in Bungokho Mutoto Sub County Mbale District. The rainy season begins mid - September and in support of their efforts to improve food security for primary schools, I am calling on my community to join me.

Here is the breakdown of farming equipment per school:

15 Hoe's at 61 USD each hoe at 4 USD
3 Packets of Maize seeds at 17 USD (After harvesting the school will make posho out the maize)
3 Packets of Beans seeds at 13 USD
15 Wheelbarrow's at 811 USD
3 Packets of Tomato seed at 4 USD
3 Packets of Onion seeds at 4 USD
15 Panga's at 61 USD
15 Rakes at 61 USD
Transportation costs 168 USD

A donation as little as $5 can support this campaign. I strongly believe that youth education is important to develop tomorrow’s leaders and innovators. Thank you in advance for supporting youth education in rural Uganda.

With love for Uganda,
Dahjanay Williams

#ZeroHungerinprimaryschools #RuralUganda #SupportYouthLeaders