Education Cannot Wait (ECW) support to the World Food Programme and partners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ensures crisis-affected children receive a hot, nutritious meal each day as part of whole-of-child education response
There's a lot of activity in and outside the walls of Lweyeye School in the Democratic Republic of the Congo this morning. As students sit at their desks and enthusiastically raise their hands to answer the morning's questions, school staff are busy outside picking fresh vegetables from the school garden and beginning to prepare the meal that will be served at lunch today.
The smells of savory porridge and cooking peas, eggplant and sweet potato greens waft through the open windows, signaling to the classroom that a filling meal is just around the corner.
Education Cannot Wait (ECW) investments delivered by the World Food Programme (WFP) are supporting school meal programmes like this one to reach the country's most vulnerable girls and boys. This initiative is part of ECW's Multi-Year Resilience Programme. The Programme is implemented by UNICEF, in collaboration with the Government and provincial education authorities, and other key implementing partners – including WFP and other local partners.
The Programme takes a cross-cutting approach to support a holistic and inclusive education system. For children like Noela, Muna and Jean, this means receiving a nutritious hot meal that keeps them in school and helps them to continue to grow, learn and thrive.
8-year-old Noela loves to eat sweet potato greens with peas for lunch. She eats like she learns – with gusto. And Noela has big dreams for when she grows up.
"I would like to be a doctor so I can help everyone!" ~Noela, 8
Her classmate, Muna, 11, always sits at the very front of the classroom, fully engaged in the day's lesson. Just like Noela, he is one of over 550 school children receiving daily hot meals from WFP at this school in the Tanganyika Province – and having a full stomach is allowing him to focus better in class and feel good throughout the day. Like Noela, his favorite meal is sweet potato greens, but he prefers his with rice.
The daily lunches provided by WFP and its partners are making school a safe, healthy place for children. WFP gives amaranth and cabbage seeds to farmers and school staff so they can grow vegetables in school gardens. This food not only encourages children to come back each day, but also encourages parents and guardians to keep sending their children to school – sometimes the only place they will get a meal that day.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo faces extreme poverty and a compounding humanitarian crisis due to armed conflict, natural disasters, epidemics and a large influx of refugees from neighboring countries. The country is home to the largest population of internally displaced persons within Africa, and nearly 2/3 of the population lives below the national poverty line. Nearly 3 million children in the country are acutely malnourished.
Families and communities benefit from school feeding programmes in numerous ways. Children receive healthy meals to learn and grow, households see substantial financial savings from less money spent on food, and local agricultural production is stimulated. Additionally, mothers in the community often join the school staff as cooks – where they prepare food, look after the school garden, and can ensure their children are safe and healthy as they watch them flourish through the learning, additional nutrition and care they receive at school. Generose Mbuyu-Kyonge, a cook at Vumiliya School, says, "Six of my children are students in this school. When we bring them the food, they are very happy."
"I'm grateful because I see how the food we cook is helping the well-being of the children."
These interventions are making a huge impact on school attendance and overall well-being of vulnerable children. School meals have also contributed to improving social cohesion in the Tanganyika Province – where inter-communal conflict has affected generations.
"Before, children grouped together by ethnicity and stayed away from each other. Now, they come together thanks to the school canteen, which has brought them to eat and play together." ~Mwadjuma Zamuda, cook at Lweyeye School
Multidimensional crises have disrupted the education of millions of children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As a result, children and youth in the country are exposed to many risks, including abuse and exploitation, forced recruitment by armed groups, child labor, child marriage and gender-based violence. Refugees and internally displaced persons are also among the most affected by food insecurity and malnutrition. High poverty rates force many children to drop out of school and, oftentimes, families are forced to choose which of their children can attend school.
To help address these challenges and promote long-term resilience and development, ECW has invested a total of US$31 million to reach those left furthest behind in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a strong focus on girls' education.
The school feeding delivered by WFP – as part of ECW's multi-year investment in the country – is currently providing nutritious food to vulnerable children throughout the Tanganyika Province. Schools that benefit from this initiative have seen a substantial number of children return to school or enter the classroom for the very first time. Abedi Kumanu Abdeldinho, Director of Lweyeye School, said, "With the available data from the past two years, we noticed that with the canteen, [more] children started studying."
By continuing their education, students like 10-year-old Jean – who wants to become a carpenter so he can work with his hands and create things for others in his community – are feeling strong and empowered to follow their dreams.
Like the rest of her classmates, 12-year-old Rashidi is feeling the positive impact that a daily nutritious meal at school is having on her body and mind.
"Meals at school help me to concentrate better. I like to eat sweet potato leaves with rice."~ Rashidi, 12
School feeding is an important part of ECW's commitment to holistic education responses in crises. As the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, ECW supports a whole-of-child approach including access to quality, inclusive learning environments, mental health and psychosocial support, disability inclusion, menstrual hygiene management training/resources, and clean water/sanitation facilities. Through this approach, ECW and partners are working to ensure crisis-affected children receive an education that supports them to acquire holistic learning outcomes, including foundational literacy and numeracy skills, while improving their well-being.
Simply put: healthy children mean better school attendance and learning. With the support of ECW and partners like WFP, Muna, Noela, Jean, Rashidi and many more crisis-affected children are accessing and staying in school, filling their stomachs and feeding their dreams in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
