The Enguike
primary school in Tanzania is a good example of how great a difference the World Food Program’s (WFP) school meal program can make in the education and everyday life of undernourished children. Prior to 2003, when the School Meals program was instituted in Enguike, the pass rate on entry exams for the secondary school was close to zero, meaning that few, if any students graduated primary school. In an interview with the World Food Program, George Lowassa, district coordinator for the WFP school meals program, remembers “You would find the children fast asleep because they were so hungry and tired.” According to Lowassa, many students had to walk up to 7.5 miles on an empty stomach in order to get to school each day.
In 2003 with the help of WFP, students at the primary school were given a morning snack and cooked lunch each day that they attended school. The positive effects of the school meals program were evident by 2004; half of the 18 student class passed their exams and graduated to the secondary school. By 2005 attendance, enrollment and the pass rate were even better, with 36 students out of a class of 38 passing their exams and continuing onto the secondary school.
Many families in the region rely on maize crops as their main source of income and nutrition. When there is a poor harvest or a drought, parents and their children suffer the consequences. For many of the students in Enguike, the meal they receive at school is the largest and most nutritious meal of the day.
It is remarkable the great effect that one snack and one meal can make in a child’s daily life and moreover in their education. Therefore, it is important to engage our communities here in the United States on the work of the World Food Program and the campaign to alleviate global hunger so that we can help to make sure that students everywhere, not just in Enguike, receive enough food to concentrate and succeed in their education.
-Devinne Mack
Outreach Intern
Friends of WFP
