Midday draws nearer as you’re sat in class. After a long morning of studying hard in subjects like mathematics and science your stomach starts to rumble… What was the meal you were most looking forward to eating in lunch at school?
For many of us we will have our lunch break, refuel with some food and get ready to get back to studying. But this isn’t the case for everyone.
There are still children who face continuous food deprivation, who will start feeling tired as their thinking gets foggy and their stomachs rumble, impeding their abilities at school.
The effects of continuous food deprivation and malnutrition in children reach far beyond their abilities in school, with children suffering from severe weight loss, muscle weakness, and impaired physical and mental development that will often be irreversible, including stunting of growth.
We still have too many children who face this problem on a daily basis in Kigoma. Unfortunately, the effects of climate change, land degradation and desertification only exacerbates this problem, plunging our already vulnerable communities into further poverty and hunger.
However, whilst our vulnerable communities may bear some of the worst impact from the climate crisis, we also hold the ability to take action.
To combat hunger in schools we work with teachers to create school gardens filled with fruits and vegetables that will be used to feed our hungry students. We already have some gardens that are doing well, with things such as tomatoes, spinach, watermelon, avocados and more growing in protected and well conserved areas. The students love tending to the gardens and eating the food that they themselves have grown.
We simply need to fund more schools to feed more students.
Across November and December last year held another seed money challenge so we could create school gardens to feed our students at school. With the aim of raising $600 within the month, our amazing supporters didn’t disappoint us, helping us raise $632 for our students!
To some, this may seem a relatively small amount. However, this has allowed us to reach 4 schools – Myowosi, Kinyaka, Tithe and Kurunyemi – and approximately 2000 students! With the money we have planted approximately 600 banana trees, 300 avocado seedlings, and 60 orange seedlings!
As you can see, thanks to your generosity the students have already been enjoying planting their new seedlings, from which they’ll soon be getting delicious fruits from!
No child should go hungry, and with these trees and seedlings approximately 2000 students will be able to concentrate in school and get a better education.
We cannot thank you enough for your continued support, and we look forward to sharing more updates from the schools and students in the future!
